Author Archives: Alex R. Howe

About Alex R. Howe

I'm a full-time astrophysicist and a part-time science fiction writer.

S2E5: Paul Frommer Interview

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

I interview Dr. Paul Frommer, the creator of the Na’vi language from Avatar as well as Barsoomian from Disney’s John Carter. Prospective movie recommendation: Avatar: The Way of Water Dr. Frommer’s blog. Check out this episode!

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S2E4: Catch-Up Episode #2: Monster Movies

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

In this second catch-up episode, I talk about the most recent monster movies (and one novel) to come out and their place in science fiction as a whole. Movie recommendation: Love and Monsters My YouTube video on the physics of giant … Continue reading →

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Follow-Up: Languages Mentioned in S2E3

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

In this week’s episode of A Reader’s History of Science Fiction, I talked about constructed languages, or conlangs. I listed the major ones I discussed in the description, but there were many more that I mentioned in passing, which I … Continue reading →

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S2E3: Constructed Languages in Science Fiction

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Science fiction frequently plays with language in different ways to explore the concepts of philosophy, culture, and cognition; and constructed languages (or conlangs) are a big part of that. In this episode, I highlight how conlangs have contributed to the … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Thor: Love and Thunder is Disney’s latest addition to the MCU and the fourth Thor movie. This is actually a pretty big deal. Thor is the first MCU hero to get a fourth movie outside of the ensemble Avengers films. … Continue reading →

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S2E2: Catch-Up Episode #1

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

My first episode catching up both on classic works of sci-fi that I passed over before, and new works from the past 2 years. These are “short” episodes that will continue intermittently with longer ones. Book recommendation: To Sleep in a … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Jurassic World: Dominion

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

The new Jurassic Park trilogy made big waves when it debuted in 2015. Now, that trilogy has concluded with Jurassic World: Dominion, and things are crazier than ever. This movie has not been loved by the critics, scoring the worst … Continue reading →

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S2E1: Farah Mendlesohn Interview

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

I interview Farah Mendlesohn, a scholar of children’s sci-fi and fantasy literature and author of The Intergalactic Playground. Farah’s website. Farah’s book recommendations: The Mortal Engines Quartet by Philip Reeve The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (free online) Check out this episode!

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Season 2 Coming Next Week!

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

A Reader’s History of Science Fiction will return next Monday with my interview with Farah Mendlesohn, author of The Intergalactic Playground. Be sure to check it out. Check out this episode!

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Television Review: Prehistoric Planet

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

This past week, Apple TV premiered its new dinosaur documentary, Prehistoric Planet. This is a bigger deal than it may sound. Okay, so, for a long time, the gold standard for dinosaur documentaries was Walking with Dinosaurs, which premiered on … Continue reading →

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