- Hardcover: 1408 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; New ed of 2 Revised ed edition (25 Nov 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857238974
- ISBN-13: 978-1857238976
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 19 x 7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 506,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £15.60
Trade in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £15.60, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Did your last convention visit leave you feeling out of touch? Was the latest issue of Locus full of unfamiliar writers? Or are you looking for a definitive analysis of the role of eschatology in science fiction? Look no further. You can find all the help you need, and the answers to questions you didn't even know you wanted to ask, in John Clute and Peter Nicholls's invaluable reference work, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. In the introduction, Clute and Nicholls write, "We see this book as more than merely an encyclopedia of SF; it is a comprehensive history and analysis of the genre."
With over 4,360 entries and 1,300,000 words, this is a jam-packed sourcebook on science fiction authors, books, subgenres, movements, and history. You can live without it, but why would you want to? It's got riveting trivia on every page, hours of browsing enjoyment, and endless potential for playing spot-the-error, a game popular among science fiction writers and fans. Clute and Nicholls have put together an admirable, ever- improving encyclopedia that tries to encompass a genre that grows new pseudopods every year. This is a great resource for fans and writers. Those with a yen for a more visual approach might appreciate Clute's Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, and fantasy readers and writers should definitely check out The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. --Therese Littleton
FRANK HERBERT
'It will become the Bible for all science fiction fans'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The hours and hours of brousing you can do with this text may it worth the price alone, and its a great reference to fill in the gaps in your sci-fi knowledge. The mayor let down is that its age is now showing, as it was last updated in 1993. All the major tv shows and movies that have come out over the last near decade are missing and so its writing can often seem obsolete. Sci-fi up to 1993 is however brilliantly covered, with critical but not overly cynical reviews, often with a gentle level of personal opinion that will make you smile. It will also appeal to all levels of fans, with easy surface skimming and greatly increasing depth if you wish to go deeper.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This Hugo award winner is a gold mine, a treasure trove of useful, or useless, information about all aspects of SF, be it books, films, authors, history, whatever. They say only 4360 entries, but the depth of detail, the love and care that has been instilled in this extends to nearly fourteen hundred pages in this much revised 1999 paperback edition.
Brian Stableford has also contributed his valuable expertise.
It is a true Encyclopedia, and one Christmas when I was quite ill and just wanted the world to go away, I started reading it from the beginning. After several fuddled days and 260 pages of very small type I was feeling much better! And I had only got as far as finishing the fascinating article on Conceptual Breakthrough (no irony, it really is fascinating). The rest of the alphabet beckoned, but I was well again, and the summons of work was more powerful. So since then I have only been able to dip in, in the normal fashion, but it always comes up with something I did not know, and then the next item catches my eye...
It is expensive, and takes a lot of shelf space, and the other two reviewers have have been accurate in their appraisals. So all I need add is that is an essential reference book for an SF enthusiast or author, but maybe not for the average SF reader, and certainly not for non-SF readers.
A much lighter alternative approach might be found in Jakubowski and Edwards Complete Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy Lists
Brian Stableford has also contributed his valuable expertise.
It is a true Encyclopedia, and one Christmas when I was quite ill and just wanted the world to go away, I started reading it from the beginning. After several fuddled days and 260 pages of very small type I was feeling much better! And I had only got as far as finishing the fascinating article on Conceptual Breakthrough (no irony, it really is fascinating). The rest of the alphabet beckoned, but I was well again, and the summons of work was more powerful. So since then I have only been able to dip in, in the normal fashion, but it always comes up with something I did not know, and then the next item catches my eye...
It is expensive, and takes a lot of shelf space, and the other two reviewers have have been accurate in their appraisals. So all I need add is that is an essential reference book for an SF enthusiast or author, but maybe not for the average SF reader, and certainly not for non-SF readers.
A much lighter alternative approach might be found in Jakubowski and Edwards Complete Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy Lists
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Everything you could ask for and more, still essential despite a decade's outdating
22 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover
First off, I'd like to tell you a bit about what you WON'T find in this hefty volume filled with small print: you won't find pictures - no photos, no illustrations, no book covers, no maps. You won't find entries on specific science fiction characters - no page for Valentine Michael Smith - or aliens: look under Hal Clement and Larry Niven if you want anything at all on the Mesklinites and Puppeteers. And you won't find anything about what's been happening over the past decade, or more, in the field, as the book was last updated in the 1990s.
What you WILL get though is the best reference work covering the major authors, books, films, countries with science fiction writing traditions, comics, magazines, and themes and concepts in the field. The authors have said that neither it nor its equally indispensible "Fantasy" companion will be updated in print again -- they will be online only. That's a shame for paper-lovers like me; I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent in the company of this, paging back and forth between entries. Sure, clicking through a website is easier in some ways, but thus far that hasn't materialized. Virtually every writer and novel that I've ever heard of that could be considered part of the genre is in here; the authors seem to have missed nothing. Founding names in the field like Wells, Verne, Stapledon and Heinlein not surprisingly receive several page entries apiece, but it's rare to find any figure at all - at least any writing in English, I think the coverage outside of the language is a bit sparser - who doesn't get a fairly thorough bibliographic listing at the least.
One complaint that several reviewers of the Fantasy volume have made is the authors' usage of "made-up" terms like "polder" or "edifice" (not artificial words, but new in their application to the genre). I have no problem with this issue, as typically they've come up with language where none really existed before - they're filling a void - but if this is an issue for you, rest assured that it's less prevalent in this volume, perhaps because the terminology in the genre has been set down more systematically by academics and writers who have gone before.
You can probably get both this and its fantasy partner quite cheap now, and I would highly recommend them if you have any interest in the byways of the fields. One thing I really like is that neither book discriminates against the more "literary" figures (William S. Burroughs or Italo Calvino for example) who sometimes are given short shrift in genre-geeky references. The writing is generally serious, and I like the fact that "objectivity" isn't always the highest goal; no matter how popular a book or author may be, Clute and Nicholls are not afraid to cut them down to size, though never maliciously. And on the other hand they always seem to find something nice to say about even more marginal figures in the fiel. They are in short enthusiastic supporters of the genre as a whole, and I can't think of many writers who have done half as well at grasping the enormity of this gigantic and wonderful field of literature.
What you WILL get though is the best reference work covering the major authors, books, films, countries with science fiction writing traditions, comics, magazines, and themes and concepts in the field. The authors have said that neither it nor its equally indispensible "Fantasy" companion will be updated in print again -- they will be online only. That's a shame for paper-lovers like me; I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent in the company of this, paging back and forth between entries. Sure, clicking through a website is easier in some ways, but thus far that hasn't materialized. Virtually every writer and novel that I've ever heard of that could be considered part of the genre is in here; the authors seem to have missed nothing. Founding names in the field like Wells, Verne, Stapledon and Heinlein not surprisingly receive several page entries apiece, but it's rare to find any figure at all - at least any writing in English, I think the coverage outside of the language is a bit sparser - who doesn't get a fairly thorough bibliographic listing at the least.
One complaint that several reviewers of the Fantasy volume have made is the authors' usage of "made-up" terms like "polder" or "edifice" (not artificial words, but new in their application to the genre). I have no problem with this issue, as typically they've come up with language where none really existed before - they're filling a void - but if this is an issue for you, rest assured that it's less prevalent in this volume, perhaps because the terminology in the genre has been set down more systematically by academics and writers who have gone before.
You can probably get both this and its fantasy partner quite cheap now, and I would highly recommend them if you have any interest in the byways of the fields. One thing I really like is that neither book discriminates against the more "literary" figures (William S. Burroughs or Italo Calvino for example) who sometimes are given short shrift in genre-geeky references. The writing is generally serious, and I like the fact that "objectivity" isn't always the highest goal; no matter how popular a book or author may be, Clute and Nicholls are not afraid to cut them down to size, though never maliciously. And on the other hand they always seem to find something nice to say about even more marginal figures in the fiel. They are in short enthusiastic supporters of the genre as a whole, and I can't think of many writers who have done half as well at grasping the enormity of this gigantic and wonderful field of literature.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Not Free SF Reader
24 Sep 2007
Format:Hardcover
Clute and Nicholls have produced a masterful piece of work here, the breadth and detail is immense, and even includes errata and other information at the end. An amazing treasure trove of information and is something I have found myself using many, many times this year, having gone through it from cover to cover. If you see one lying around at what looks like a decent price, get it without hesitation!
You could also use it to bludgeon camels.
You could also use it to bludgeon camels.
Great with Online update underway
28 April 2012
Format:Hardcover
This is simply a fabulous resource despite it being somewhat outdated and having opinions one might not accept. I was fortunate enough a decade ago to find a used paperback copy.
The excellent news is that a new version is being created online, as reported by Indiana Science Fiction Sojourns, and can be read while it is a work in progress.
The excellent news is that a new version is being created online, as reported by Indiana Science Fiction Sojourns, and can be read while it is a work in progress.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
