This book, both to-end or just randomly (although an end-to-end read will be diminished a bit by redundancies). In addition, the author is a decent enough writer to make this a relatively pleasant read.

Unfortunately, the omissions in this book are so apparent that they make the reader question the author's true knowledge of the genre. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the section on authors, where such prominent science fiction names as Piers Anthony, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Keith Laumer and Clifford Simak (one of the legends in the field) are missing while much more obscure authors get space. This is not a judgement on the quality of the authors either mentioned or forgotten, merely their level of contribution to the genre. In addition, there are cases where plot descriptions are inaccurate.

While an interesting read, the flaws in this book are so significant and obvious that it cannot rate any higher than two stars. While this might give a reader a glimpse into the world of science fiction, it is a distorted glimpse, like through a piece of flawed glass: you can get a lot of the details, but the overall picture is a mess.

Expections run high when a 600 plus page encyclopedia of SF is published. The major section of the text, "Science Fiction on the Page," devoted to SF writers, takes up nearly 300 pages. However, this encyclopedia is fannishly idiosyncratic, to say the least, as the following list of omitted writers attests - to wit: Tony Daniel, Avram Davidson, Gordon R. Dickson, George Alec Effinger, James Gunn, Alexander Jablokov, Nancy Kress, Ian McDonald, George R. R. Martin, Andre Norton, Rebecca Ore, Robert Reed, Mike Resnick, Frank M. Robinson, Fred Saberhagen, Charles Sheffield, Dan Simmons, Clifford Simak, Cordwainer Smith, William Tenn, Jack Williamson, George Zebrowski, and David Zindell. No offense, but frankly, I could have done with a little less on Eugene Byrne, Simon R. Green, Kim Newman, et. al., for entries on Terry Bisson, C.M. Kornbluth, Stanley Weinbaum, Robert L. Forward, Michael Flynn, Michael Bishop, Barry Malzberg, James Tiptree, Jr., George Turner, et.al. The number of important SF writers neglected in this enclyclopedia is staggering. This is less a comprehensive reference work than a deficient compilation by a fan whose predisposition toward Brithsh SF and occasional crankiness makes for a disappointing entry into SF reference field.

I bought this book sight unseen or without even a description, since i do love things SF. Upon opening and beginning to read it, I realized that it wasn't quite what I expected.

First of all, its from England, which is not a bad thing at all, but it does mean that British authors have a more prominent and highlighted presence in this work than Americans are accustomed to reading about. Iain Banks and Stephen Baxter have pretty big entries, for example, and George R.R. Martin has none at all.

And second, it was written referenced quite well, too. Those looking for a large, exhaustive encyclopedia on the order of the John Clute Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (or his one for Fantasy) should look elsewhere. If you want a more idiosyncratic view, with a British slant on authors and SF in general,this may be more of your cup of tea. And it IS cheaper and more intimate than the other monster SF encyclopedias on the market. It was not what I expected, but I am well satisfied with the Mammoth Encyclopedia of SF.