Wednesday 25 August 2010

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION

Octopus Books hardback. Jacket illustration by Tony Roberts.
 "This exceptional encyclopedia unfolds new exciting material on the major areas of science fiction. The collected thoughts and experiences of eleven outstanding contributors are blended into twelve superb, concise, critical but constructive sections each supplemented by magnificent and illuminating illustrations. 
It is a remarkable volume which delves into every conceivable crevice of the sf world. The work and ideas from authors such as Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, Olaf Stapledon, Philip K. Dick, Brian Aldiss, Robert Silverberg and J. G. Ballard, are among the many looked at in this volume. The origins of sf are examined in detail and an in-depth study is made of aliens, hardware, locations, alternative worlds, biology, space technology, sociology, ecology and the many complementary and adjacent fields. 
A compact catalogue section which includes collectors items, cults, magazines, film titles and awards concludes this impressive addition to science fiction reference books."
Painting by Jim Burns for Harry Harrison's The Streets Of Ashkelon.

Painting by Colin Hay.

Painting by Josh Kirby for Brian Aldiss' The Interpreter.

Illustration by David Pelham, for the second Jerry Cornelius novel
A Cure For Cancer by Michael Moorcock.

2 comments:

Egrove said...

My favourite book of all time! I think I've gone through 3 copies since I was a kid. Mainly destroyed disassembled to decorate the walls when I was growing up.

The original dustjacket artwork is still avialable for sale on Tony Roberts website.

The original Colin Hay artwork is still available for sale through Chameleon Arts (along with a lot more of his wicked work, at very reasonable prices).

I'd kill for the original artwork for "the Streets of Ashkelon". If anyone knows who owns it, I'd love to hear. Ditto for Josh Kirby's "the Interpreter".

Unknown said...

Haha, I did the same - this is my second copy!