Reference Guide To Science Fiction

From The Critics

This is one of the best and most complete works to be published on the three popular genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It is designed to guide librarians, researchers, and fans to reference works dealing with some of the most popular literature of the twentieth century. Burgess, a science fiction critic and librarian, brings a unique perspective to his annotations. For example, he decries a lack of indexing where it is necessary and abhors the overuse of abbreviations The book is divided into 29 sections, including "Encyclopedias and Dictionaries," "Awards Lists," "Biographical and Literary Directories," and "Magazine and Anthology Indexes." Each section begins with a scope note explaining what is included and why. A complete bibliographic citation is followed by an annotation that varies from a brief note indicating that the item was not available for examination to three or four lengthy paragraphs. A description of the work is followed by a critique of its strengths and weaknesses. For example, for James Gunn's "New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", Burgess points out "typographical and textual errors, with which the book overflows in profusion, and the lack of cross- and see-also references (or index)." He recommends Nicholls' "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" as a much superior work Following the 551 annotations is an extremely useful section, "Core Collections," that lists by annotation number the works Burgess recommends for research university collections, state university collections, small private and community college collections, large city public libraries, medium-size county and city libraries, small public and county libraries, and personal research libraries. This will be an invaluable starting point for libraries working to build or evaluate a collection. The work ends with author, title, and subject indexes The "Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror" is such an excellent example of how to organize and analyze materials that it should serve as a model. Comprehensive, easy to use, and reasonably priced, this work belongs in every library that has patrons interested in science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

Booknews

An annotated (both descriptively and evaluatively) bibliography for 551 reference works on fantastic literature, movies, television shows, and organizations, encompassing all the major (and most minor) SF reference volumes published through the fall of 1991, plus some items from 1992. Also included are lists of core reference works for various types of libraries. A major tool for collection development. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)