Author Archives: Alex R. Howe

About Alex R. Howe

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

SpaceX’s First Human Spaceflight Is Tomorrow!

Posted on May 26, 2020

Astronauts have not blasted off to space from American soil in nearly nine years. But tomorrow, that finally changes. SpaceX will launch its first ever crewed mission, Crew Dragon Demo-2, tomorrow at 4:30 pm Eastern Time. The rocket will ferry … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Space exploration | Tagged , , ,

#4 – The Roots of Sci-Fi in Adventure

Posted on May 25, 2020

Jules Verne was perhaps the first author to systematically incorporate the latest science into his work, becoming one of the biggest minds behind the idea of science fiction. Yet his focus wasn’t so much on sci-fi as it was on … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction

Writing Advice: Scrivener

Posted on May 16, 2020

Disclaimer: not a sponsored post. I just really like Scrivener. It’s been a long time since I’ve given any proper writing advice on this blog, but I had one thing I wanted to tell you after seeing recent developments in … Continue reading →

Posted in reviews, Writing | Tagged , , ,

#3 – The Roots of Sci-Fi in Horror

Posted on May 11, 2020

Note: WordPress seems to have a new option for an embedded podcast player, although it still has to be inserted manually. I may continue to tweak the post format once I have a better idea of how it works. Check … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Roots of Sci-Fi in Satire

Posted on April 27, 2020

Several books widely regarded as the first science fiction novels date back as far as the sixteenth century, but most of these weren’t dramatic stories at all, but were satirical instead. In this episode, I explore how satire contributed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

What Is Science Fiction

Posted on April 13, 2020

In this first episode, I explain how I developed the idea of this podcast, what I mean by science fiction, and how this podcast will proceed. A preview for the rest of the series. The cover art is the heart … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

I’m Starting a Podcast!

Posted on April 12, 2020

A long time ago–around the time I started this blog, actually–I decided I was going toread all the classic novels of science fiction. It was a long list, so it’s taken me eight years to get through it, but I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Science Fiction | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Cosmos Season 3 Starts Tomorrow!

Posted on March 8, 2020

Correction: as of March 10, Cosmos is NOT available on Disney Plus. As far as I can tell, you can currently get it only on cable services like Hulu Live TV or YouTube TV. (Ugh. If I wanted to pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Science, TV Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang

Posted on February 18, 2020

One of the top science fiction books of 2019, even reaching the summer reading list of former President Barack Obama, was Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang. This collection compiles nine recent short stories by the author of “Story of Your … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged , ,

Help Name the Mars 2020 Rover!

Posted on January 25, 2020

If you remember the summer of 2012, you might recall the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. (As a hint, it was right at the end of the London Olympics.) It was a pretty big deal because this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Space exploration | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments