This encyclopedia is the most up-to-date, concise, clear and affordable guide to all aspects of science fiction, from its background to generic themes and devices, from authors (established and new) to films. Science fiction has evolved into one of the most popular, cutting-edge and exciting fiction geners, with a proliferation of modern and classic authors, themes and ideas, movies, TV series and awards. Arranged in an A-Z format, and featuring a comprehensive index and cross-referencing system, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is also the most accessible and easy to use encyclopedia of its kind currently available.

Here are 25 stories of science fiction that push the envelope, by the biggest names in an emerging new crop of high-tech futuristic SF - including Charles Stross, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton and Neal Asher. High-tech SF has made a significant comeback in the last decade, as bestselling authors successfully blend the super-science of 'hard science fiction' with real characters in an understandable scenario. It is perhaps a reflection of how technologically controlled our world is that readers increasingly look for science fiction that considers the fates of mankind as a result of increasing scientific domination. This anthology brings together the most extreme examples of the new high-tech, far-future science fiction, pushing the limits way beyond normal boundaries. The stories include: "A Perpetual War Fought Within a Cosmic String", "A Weapon That Could Destroy the Universe", "A Machine That Detects Alternate Worlds and Creates a Choice of Christs", "An Immortal Dead Man Sent To The End of the Universe", "Murder in Virtual Reality", "A Spaceship So Large That There is An Entire Planetary System Within It", and "An Analytical Engine At The End of Time", and "Encountering the Untouchable."

The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction was published in 1979 and was immediately hailed as a classic work of reference. This edition, now available in paperback, has taken years to prepare and is much more than a simple updating. The world of science fiction in the 1990s is much more complex than it was in the 1970s. The advent of game worlds, shared worlds, graphic novels, film and TV spin-offs, technothrillers, SF horror and much more has meant that the book has been expanded dramatically to cope with the complexities and changes in the genre. It now contains well over 4,300 entries - a staggering 1,500 more than the original - and, at 1.3 million words, it is over half a million words longer than the first edition. Written and compiled by a team of editors with unparalleled collective experience in the field, it is an invaluable reference work for any fan of imaginative fiction.

Presents alphabetical entries covering important works and authors in the field of science fiction.

An encyclopedia of science fiction magazines, authors, classic titles, graphic works, genre films and television programs, and the effect history has played in relation to this genre.

This massively comprehensive work of science fiction and fantasy bibliography is already a library standard. It consists of an alphabetical listing of hundreds of authors, anthologists, editors, artists, etc., with biographical sketches where available, and compilations of their science fiction and fantasy works. The contents of most collections and anthologies are listed. In most cases the entries include bibliographic data for all known English-language editions and forms, as well as some foreign translations. Each author's entry also includes listings of books and short stories which form connected series, such as Robert Heinlein's famous Future History. Large 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages in two columns of small print.