Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema

In this easy-to-read and informative reference, Booker (English, Univ. of Arkansas; Science Fiction Television) covers sf movies from their beginnings to the present. Varying in length from one-quarter of a page to three pages, the 300-plus alphabetically arranged articles discuss directors, producers, writers, actors, subgenres, styles, and production companies. Biographical listings include birth and death years and information on relevant movies and the subjects' contributions to the industry; actor entries also offer brief synopses of characters they played. Movie entries list the release date, director, a brief synopsis of the film, and social or moral issues it may raise. The main characters in the Star Wars and Star Trek series are among the few fictional characters to receive their own entries, owing to their popularity. Bolded words in each entry refer users to other entries in the book. BOTTOM LINE Sf aficionados may feel that the book is not inclusive enough. While some movies merit full entries, numerous others are instead briefly summarized only in other entries. Still, this could be a helpful place to begin research on sf movies, offering more depth of coverage than Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction (2007). It is likely to be of most interest to academic researchers but may also be useful to curious public library patrons.—James Langan, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Johnstown