The Science Fictionary: An A-Z Guide to the World of SF Authors, Films, & TV Shows

The 1980 publication date limits this book to scifi films, TV, and authors before the budgets and special effects got bigger and the quality of the writing shrank to the bare minimum. If your primary interest is in "them big vidya game dinosaurs", you'd best go elsewhere.However, if you love the classics--Star Trek (no specification needed), Day the Earth Stood Still, the Planet of the Apes series, This Island Earth, Destination Moon--this book is well worth checking out.The author's prose is respectful where justified--a fine tonic for more cynical takes on the classics of the genre--and laugh-out-loud funny without being condescending to the source material.If nothing else, if you have any special memories of the scifi genre prior to 1980, this book will bring them all back in a rush, and that alone makes the purchase worthwhile.