The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

by George Mann (Editor)

From Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke to Chelsea-Quinn Yarbro and Roger Zelazny, from science fiction authors worldwide to the directors of sci-fi films for movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and television series like Star Trek, from the magazines that publish the writers in this exciting and extraordinarily inventive field to the Hugos, Nebulas, and other awards that annually honor them, this encyclopedia offers the most concise, clear, and comprehensive guide currently available to one of fiction's most popular and intriguing genres. In an A-to-Z format, augmented by an ample index and helpful cross-references, this richly informative volume presents science fiction as it appears in film as well as in the print media, including entries on important illustrators, and covers both the modern developments in the field and the classic landmarks. Furthermore, each author entry ends with an "Also see" section that directs readers to related topics, and all entries provide full bibliographies. Equally invaluable is the opening chapter, which gives a brief history of the genre and traces its evolution from origins that long precede the twentieth century.

Genres: Reference, Science Fiction, Ebooks

612 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

George Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.

Reviews

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a fantastic resource for all SF lovers. It gives a wide range of information about authors and movies, and also about various SF themes, societies, awards and recipients. An excellent reference book into which one can dip at will. The only possible flaw is that it gives glowing reviews to each book and film it tackles, so a pinch of salt is recommended.

I have been using this a basic resource to catch up on my SF reading (especially the classics) and viewing for the past three years.

[ספרן הלילה · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is not perfect nor very broad, it is still a wonderful journey through the basics of a fascinating genre.

[Lee Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky to find a free PDF of this book at the Internet Archive. Otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. As others have mentioned, there are a lot of important people missing. I noticed that the important early television series, TALES OF TOMORROW (which influenced THE TWILIGHT ZONE and others) is not included. But this is a problem with any survey of the genre, which is much too large and complicated to fit into any book. The internet is now a better resource for this kind of thing.

[Thomas Rose-Masters · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful guide for the beginner in the field of the SF genre, though by no means an exhaustive resource. Divided into three sections: the writers, the film and TV media and the terminology (which is probably the most useful for those like me who are just getting into the genre). As a compendium, useful but hardly essential.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/sf/mann.htm[return][return]This book weighs in at 612 pages, and is split into 7 sections as follows:[return][return](1) a 26-page essay on "The History and Origins of Science Fiction" (why not "The Origins and History" I wonder). Not especially exciting.[return][return](2) 300 pages, amost half the book, on "Science Fiction on the Page", in fact around 100 articles on individual authors and the best-known magazines. The selection is tilted towards the UK; no entry for Connie Willis, Mike Resnick, Charles Sheffield or indeed L Sprague de Camp, but full coverage for Eugene Byrne, Roger Levy, Justina Robson and Stephen Palmer. Not exhaustively researched, for instance Neal Stephenson's first book was not Zodiac but The Big U. One nice innovation is that reading lists of similar writers are given at the end of each author's entry.[return][return](3) 130 pages on "Science Fiction on the Screen"; 100 classic sf films (or films based on classic sf books) and 20 classic sf TV series. No entry, not even a cross-reference, for The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy which is covered in the Douglas Adams entry in the previous section.[return][return](4) 40 pages on "Terms, Themes and Devices in Science Fiction". Rather difficult to get into because it's stuck in the middle of the book without any clear signposting. Same rather pedestrian style as the introduction - eg "Gender issues in SF are not frequently raised but are of great importance."[return][return](5) 15 pages on "Societies and Awards" which also includes four websites, Made in Canada, scifi.com, SF Crowsnest and SF Site. The listing of Hugo and Nebula awards includes a Nebula for "The Cost of Doing Business" by M Night Shyamalan, which will come as news to Leslie What, and a Hugo for "Bear Discovers Fire", a new twist to that story.[return][return](Leslie What sent me an email in November 2001 saying, "yes, it did come as news and I have to say I'm amazed that a Hollywood guy would bother writing short stories for so little money." ;-) )[return][return](6) An "Appendix" which is an alphabetical list of almost 70 pages of sf stories listed alphabetically by title, giving the author(s) in each case.[return](7) A short "Index" which lists only the main article referring to each author and doesn't bother with those tedious cross-references.[return][return]This could have been a much more usable book if the whole lot had been merged into a single alphabetical run

[K. Axel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love science fiction? Wanna know the people behind the works... the history of the genre? So far this book sounds promising.

Yeah, I haven't read the whole book yet, just bits here and there, as I come across authors I wanna know more about.

However, if you are looking for a complete encyclopedia of science fiction... this is not it!

[Colleen Hillerup · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is divided into three sections - authors, tv and films, and terms. It's a subjective list - well-known SF authors aren't mentioned, while ones who have written very little at the time of publication (fifteen years ago) are. Still, a good reference for readers who want an extensive list of books to read and shows to watch that they may have missed before.

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bargain from National Bookstore (P100), it has proven very informative, both for books, movies and TV shows on my genre of choice, SF. Clearly I haven't even scratched the surface SF, I've only read/seen maybe 10% of what's written here.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre science fiction reference that pales in comparison to the vastly superior and much more mammoth John Clute and Peter Nichols Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

[Sohail Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first learnt about a number of excellent TV serials and movies from this book.