.
H.G. Wells
Illustration from 1906 Belgian edition of The War of the Worlds (Alvim Corréa)
Jules Verne
Illustration from 1864 edition of Voyage au centre de la Terre (Édouard Riou)
Octavia E. Butler
Dust jacket from Dawn (1987)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Mary Shelley
Illustration from the 1831 edition of Frankenstein by Theodor von Holst
Margaret Atwood speaking to a class at Cornell, March 2011.
Encyclopedias & Guides
Specialized subject encyclopedias and dictionaries are excellent sources for overviews and introductions to topics within the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Since the 1970s many of these have been published, some with deeper and more extensive coverage than others. Below is a list of reference books available in Olin and Uris libraries. Some may be found in the Olin Reference collection, others are shelved in the Olin/Uris stacks or the Library Annex, as noted.
Anatomy of wonder : a critical guide to science fiction
Call Number: Olin Reference Z5917.S36 A52 2004Publication Date: Libraries Unlimited, 2004 (5th ed.)A comprehensive reference source for the genre offers critical overviews of the primary literature from 1516-2004, an annotated bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and coverage of the following topics: science fiction: publishing, reviewing, readers, and libraries; general reference works; online resources; history and criticism; author studies; science fiction in film, television, and radio; science fiction illustration; science fiction magazines and fandom; teaching science fiction; research library collections of science fiction; listings: best books, awards, series, young adult books, translations, organizations. Author, title, and themes indexes. Entries include bibliographies, summaries, and critical discussions of the works.
Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic MonstersCall Number: Print copy: Olin Reference PN 56 M55 W45 2013Publication Date: Ashgate, 2014A scholarly A-Z of monsters throughout the ages. Contains over 200 signed entries written by experts in the field accompanied by an overview introduction by the editor. Generic entries such as 'ghost' and 'vampire' are cross-listed with important specific manifestations of that monster. Entries include bibliographies for further study.Brave new words : the Oxford dictionary of science fiction
Call Number: Print copy: Olin Reference PN3433.4 .P78 2006Publication Date: Oxford University Press, 2007"...covers the shared language of science fiction, as well as the vocabulary of science fiction criticism and its fans...and shows exactly how science-fictional words and their associated concepts have developed over time, with full citations and bibliographic information." (Publisher)British science fiction : a chronology, 1478-1900 by
Call Number: Olin Stacks PR830.S35 R84x 1992 (7th floor)Publication Date: Greenwood, 1992
Cambridge Companion to American Science FictionCall Number: Print copy: Olin stacks PS374.S35 C36 2015Publication Date: Cambridge UP, 2015Contains essays that address not only the history of science fiction in America but also the influence and significance of American science fiction throughout media and fan culture, this companion serves as a key resource for scholars, teachers, students, and fans of science fiction.
Cambridge Companion to Science FictionCall Number: Print: Olin Library stacks PN3377.5 S3 C36x 2003Publication Date: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003Brings together essays by scholars and practitioners of science fiction, which look at the genre from different angles. After an introduction to the nature of science fiction, historical chapters trace science fiction from Thomas More to more recent years, including a chapter on film and television. The second section introduces four critical approaches to science fiction drawing their theoretical inspiration from Marxism, postmodernism, feminism and queer theory. The final section of the book looks at various themes and sub-genres of science fiction..
Cambridge History of Science FictionPublication Date: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2019The Cambridge History of Science Fiction is a landmark volume Over forty contributors with diverse and complementary specialties present a history of science fiction across national and genre boundaries, and trace its intellectual and creative roots in the philosophical and fantastic narratives of the ancient past. Science fiction as a literary genre is the central focus of the volume, but fundamental to its story is its non-literary cultural manifestations and influence. Coverage thus includes transmedia manifestations as an integral part of the genre's history, including not only short stories and novels, but also film, art, architecture, music, comics, and interactive media.Companion to science fiction
Call Number: Print: Olin stacks PN3433.5 .C73 2005 + (6th floor)Publication Date: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005Signed scholarly essays cover important aspects in the history, genres, movements, films, international developments, and major authors (Russ, Delany, Bradbury, Dick, etc.) of SF. Bibliographies appended to each article. A Blackwell Companion.Critical terms for science fiction and fantasy : a glossary and guide to scholarship by
Call Number: Olin stacks PN3435 .W85 (6th floor)Publication Date: Greenwood, 1986"The first literary glossary specific to the critical study of science fiction and fantasy. An introduction... provides an insightful and lengthy overview of the discipline and its historical evolution. Glossary consists of some 500 terms drawn from the writings of critics and of science fiction writers, and from the scholarly vocabulary of literature and related disciplines. Definitions vary in length from several sentences to a page or more, and are well documented from 218 scholarly resources, as well as with citations from other titles. Numerous cross-references. Indexed by the names of authors whose works are used as examples in the text." (ALA Guide to Reference)
Dictionary of science fiction places by Call Number: Olin stacks PN3433.4 .D53 1999+ (6th floor)Publication Date: Wonderland Press, 1999A descriptive "dictionary of imaginary places [Tralfamadore, Trantor, Gethen, Schar's World] devised by writers of science fiction" [Vonnegut, Asimov, LeGuin, Banks] and derived from "the genre's classic texts."Encyclopedia of fantasy
Call Number: Olin Reference PN3435 .E53x 1997 +Publication Date: St. Martin's Press, 1997"Alphabetically arranged, entries cover genre, motif, authors, characters, and so on, beginning at the end of the 1700s. Broadly interprets fantasy to be works of fiction that deal with the impossible." (ALA Guide to Reference)Encyclopedia of Fictional and Fantastic Languages by
Call Number: Olin Stacks P120.I53 C66 2006+ (6th floor)Publication Date: Greenwood, 2006examines fictional and fantastic languages in a broad range of literature, films, and television shows. Each entry discusses the features of the invented language central to the work and relates it to the film, literary text, or television program. Entries provide suggestions for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a selected bibliography.- Encyclopedia of horror movies byCall Number: Library Annex PN1995.9.H6 M65Publication Date: Harper & Row, 1986Considered by many to be the definitive horror film reference. Covers films produced internationally between 1896 and 1985. Chronological arrangement. Illustrated.
- Encyclopedia of science fictionCall Number: Olin Stacks PN3448.S45 E56++ (6th floor)Publication Date: 1978Contains introduction by Isaac Asimov
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE)Call Number: Library Annex PN3448.S45 S4183 1979 (1st ed)Publication Date: 2012 (online)Published online in collaboration with Gollancz and the SF Gateway. This new version climaxes thirty-five years of work (with breaks) for the senior editors, and is much expanded from previous editions of the Encyclopedia. Subscribe to the RSS Feed to see the most recently added entries.- Encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy through 1968: a bibliographic survey of the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction through 1968 byCall Number: Olin Reference Z5917.S36 T88 1974+Publication Date: Advent, 1974-19823 vols.
Encyclopedia of the GothicCall Number: Print copy: Olin Reference PN3435 E56 2013+Publication Date: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013Features a series of newly-commissioned essays from experts in Gothic studies that cover all aspects of the Gothic as it is currently taught and researched, along with the development of the genre and its impact on contemporary culture. Provides comprehensive coverage of relevant authors, national traditions, critical developments, and notable texts that define, shape, and inform the genre. Extends beyond a purely literary analysis to explore Gothic elements of film, music, drama, art, and architecture.Fantasy literature : a core collection and reference guide by
Call Number: Olin stacks PR830.F3 T98 (7th floor)Publication Date: Bowker, 1979An introductory essay maps the varieties of fantasy fiction (gothic, science fantasy, sword and sorcery, high fantasy) while an extensively annotated bibliography identifies core authors and works in the genre. Fully indexed.
Handbook of the gothic by Call Number: Olin Reference PN 3435 H35 2009Publication Date: New York University Press, 2009 (2nd ed.)"...plots the characteristics of Gothic's vastly different schools and manifestations... Among the many topics and figures discussed are: American Gothic, Aftican-American Gothic, the Bronte Sisters, Angela Carter, the Demonic, Female Gothic, Ghost Stories, Film, the Gothic Graphic Novel, Washington Irving, Henry James, Stephen King, H. P. Lovecraft, Madness, Herman Melville, Monstrosity, Orientalism, Post-Colonial Gothic, Anne Rice, Romanticism, Sado-Masochism, Bram Stoker, the Sublime, the Uncanny, Vampires, and Werewolves." (publisher)
Historical Dictionary of Horror CinemaCall Number: Olin Reference PN1995.9.H6 H836 2018Publication Date: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018 (2nd. ed.)Traces the development of the genre from its beginnings to the present through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries. Entries cover major horror characters; directors, producers, writers, actors, cinematographers, make-up artists, special-effects technicians, and composers; production companies; major films in the genre; and national traditions in horror cinema - as well as themes, formats, conventions, and cycles.- Horror literature : a core collection and reference guide byCall Number: Olin Reference Z2014.H6 H81Publication Date: Bowker, 1981Provides historical and bibliographic overviews of topics and sub-genres, including the Gothic Romance, Cosmic Horror, Antiquarian Horror, Horror Pulps, Supernatural Verse in English, etc.
MUP encyclopaedia of Australian science fiction and fantasyCall Number: Olin stacks PR9612.6.S34 M87x 1998 + (7th floor)Publication Date: Melbourne University Press, 1998"Entries cover authors, book and story titles, important fanzines, important sub-genres and works published electronically. It categorises works for adults, young adults and children and includes essays and articles by distinguished Australian scholars and writers in the field.' (publisher)- New encyclopedia of science fiction byCall Number: Library Annex PN3433.4 .N48x 1988Publication Date: Viking, 1988Includes articles on 96 broad topics, as well as relatively brief entries on writers and others in the field. The editor is himself a science fiction writer.
- Penguin encyclopedia of horror and the supernaturalCall Number: Olin stacks BF1407 .P39 +Publication Date: Penguin, 1986Generic title notwithstanding, this volume primarily includes author entries (encompassing artists, actors, directors, etc., as well), individual film entries, and entries on themes (zombies, insects, opera). Illustrated. Introduction by Jacques Barzun.
Reference guide to science fiction, fantasy, and horror
Call Number: Olin Reference Z5917.S36 B87 2003Publication Date: Libraries Unlimited, 2003 (2nd ed.)"...maps the territory of reference works, covering all major (and some minor) information sources published in the field starting in the 1950s and well into 2001. Fan publications, serials, periodicals with reference value and non-genre materials of interest to science fiction researchers are reviewed in addition to such standard tools as bibliographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, and indexes. Major online resources and printed guides to the Internet have been added on a selective basis." (Publisher)
Routledge companion to science fictionCall Number: Print copy: Olin stacks PN3433.5 .R69 2009+Publication Date: Routledge, 2009A solid scholarly overview of the genre's history, theory (feminisms, race, postcolonialism, queer theory, virtuality), subgenres (, and contemporary thematic concerns (environmentalism, ethics and alterity, animal studies, etc.). Signed articles include bibliographies.Science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction magazines by
Call Number: Olin Reference PN3433 .T9 1985Publication Date: Greenwood, 1985The main section, English-language magazines, offers signed profiles of the magazines, with publication history and references to additional sources of information (including index sources, reprints, and library locations). Additional sections for: associational English language anthologies, academic periodicals and major fanzines, and non-English language magazines, by country. Chronology; bibliography; index. (ALA Guide to Reference)
Science Fiction and Futurism: Their Terms and IdeasCall Number: Olin Reference PN3433.4 .P55 2017Publication Date: McFarland, 2017Science and science fiction have become inseparable-with common stories, interconnected thought experiments, and shared language. This alphabetically arranged encyclopedia covers the terms that collected, clarified and crystallized the futurists' ideas in fact and fiction.Science fiction encyclopedia
Call Number: Olin Reference PN3448.S45 S4183+; also, Olin stacksPublication Date: Doubleday, 1979Contains concise but substantive entries on science fiction authors, editors, publishers, illustrators, films, magazines, comics, television shows, fanzines, etc. Many b&w illustrations.- Visual encyclopedia of science fiction : a documented pictorial checklist of the SF world : concepts, themes, books, mags, comics, films, TV, radio, art, fandom, cults, personal commentaries by the greatest names in SF writingCall Number: Olin stacks PN3448.S45 V83 1977 + (6th floor)Publication Date: Harmony Books, 1977Includes a year-by-year chronology and encyclopedic overviews of SF themes (Utopias and Nightmares, Computers and Cybernetics, Cities and Cultures, Mutants and Symbiotes), SF fandom, SF art, recurrent concepts, SF magazines, SF cinema, SF television, etc. Heavily illustrated.
