22. SF Encyclopedia et al
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This article is from the rec.arts.sf.written FAQ, by Evelyn C. Leeper evelynleeper@geocities.com with numerous contributions by others.
22. SF Encyclopedia et al
P Nielsen Hayden (pnh@panix.com) says:
I think we're all going to be confused about this forever. In a wan
attempt to straighten out what's what:
The original ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by Peter Nicholls
(1979) had pictures. [In the US, this volume was titled THE SCIENCE
FICTION ENCYCLOPEDIA. -Joe Bernstein]
The completely revised ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by John
Clute and Peter Nicholls (1993) has no pictures. [It has the same name
in Britain and the United States.]
[John Pomeranz says that the trade paperback edition of this has additional
text and corrects some errors. There is also THE FANTASY ENCYCLOPEDIA,
a companion volume first published in 1997.]
The CD-ROM edition of the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION (1995) has
pictures, audio clips, Quicktime movies of authors, etc, in addition to
the entire text of the 1993 edition of the ENCYCLOPEDIA.
The SCIENCE FICTION: THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA by John Clute (1995)
has tons of pictures, but is a completely separate work not based on
the ENCYCLOPEDIA. (I bet Clute was less than wild about the publishers'
insistence on giving this volume a name that will forever lead to it
being confused with the actual ENCYCLOPEDIA.)
THE VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION is a 1977 work by Brian Ash.
All of the above works are worthwhile. The ENCYCLOPEDIA is a serious
reference work; the VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA is a fun coffee-table book.
[end of Nielsen Hayden's comments]
I would add that there are also:
Donald H. Tuck's 1974-1982 three-volume set, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. No illustrations.
Robert Holdstock's 1978 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION.
Illustrations.
James E. Gunn's 1975 ALTERNATE WORLDS: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
OF SCIENCE FICTION. Illustrations. (Okay, so it doesn't
use the word "encyclopedia" and is more a "serious
coffee-table book," but it seems pertinent to mention it
here.)
James E. Gunn's 1988 NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION.
Illustrations.
David Pringle's ULTIMATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION:
THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE
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