In the selection of any enumerated list there will always be omissions or surprising appearances, and from a personal standpoint there are some authors this reviewer was surprised not to make the cut. For example, both Peter F. Hamilton and Alex Reynolds are major modern SF&F writers and yet they are conspicuous in their absence. When Margaret Attwood, whom has published within the genre but hardly to an extensive degree, is included in the 100, there is clearly some degree of bias evidenced. However, Heaphy clearly acknowledges such limitations in her preface, seeking rather to provide a book that would sit as a broad, if not comprehensive, biographical and bibliographic introduction to science fiction across three centuries of publication. With this in mind this book does offer a balanced and largely representative listing. Coverage spans from early greats such as Verne and Shelley through the grand masters of the literature like Asimov and Heinlein to contemporary giants like Iain M. Banks.
The preface details the book's selection criteria and considers how it meets the needs of its anticipated audience. It also offers a breakdown of the individual entry structure aiding in the scholastic usage of this work. That said, any reader should be readily able to follow the alphabetic contents listing, by family name, or by simply flicking through the entries to locate a particular choice. Each individual's entry runs to a few pages in length; starting with the author's subgenres, benchmark titles, biographical dates and a quote from one of their works. This is followed by an essay detailing their life and publishing history lasting around a couple of pages. Heaphy's style is both engaging and informative, and for the casual reader as well as the serious scholar there is much to be relished. Following each essay there is a list of awards, where appropriate, and then a bibliographic listing split into novels, series, short fiction and sundry works. For the more prolific authors this is restricted to notable publications, rather than a complete listing. Finally, further reading and bibliographies, where available, are listed as well. All textural content is cleanly laid out with excellent use of white space.
Many entries are illustrated with a headshot that offers a hint at the author's personal style, from the smirking Douglas Adams to the stentorian Harry Harrison. It is perhaps a shame that not every entry is illustrated in this way. Within entries there is unsurprisingly no cross‐referencing, save for mentions of related contemporaries who may or may not be included in the book. However, a detailed 50‐page author/title index more than compensates and makes navigating to topics of special interest easy. There is even a one‐page supplementary index guiding you to those authors writing within each sub‐genre.
Overall, this is both a compelling and well written overview of the luminaries of SF&F. It would serve as an excellent resource for the scholar and student of the literature and please any fan of the genre. It would make a worthy addition to an educational or public library and is highly recommended for purchase.
