Author Archives: Alex R. Howe

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About Alex R. Howe

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

New Year’s Resolutions, Part 3

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

As I’ve written before, back in January, I made several New Year’s resolutions, but I later wound up adjusting them every three months. All year, I’ve been trying to set goals for myself that are ambitious, but doable—particularly to improve … Continue reading →

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The Handmaid’s Tale as a Different Kind of Dystopia

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

The Handmaid’s Tale is the famous dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood in which a radical theocratic regime has taken over America, brutally oppressing everyone who isn’t a Reconstructionist “Christian,” but particularly focusing on women. Since the book was released, and … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Ad Astra

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

You don’t see many movies like Ad Astra these days—movies that depict space exploration in the future, but in the forseeable future. Ad Astra falls in that narrow, but vital window in storytelling with Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian in … Continue reading →

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Classic Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Posted on September 14, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

I’ve spent the past few years reading (okay, mostly listening to audiobooks) through a long list of classic science fiction novels (more on that at the end of the year), but I’ve put off reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale … Continue reading →

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Book Review: How To by Randall Munroe

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Randall Munroe, writer of the popular xkcd webcomic has released his latest book, How To. I previously reviewed his book, What If? which gave scientific answers to absurd questions submitted by readers. I also wrote a series of posts answering … Continue reading →

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The Evolution Debate: Beneficial Mutations

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

In the creationism-evolution debate, one of the most common creationist talking points is that random mutation cannot be the driving force behind evolution, either because it is too unlikely to happen by random chance, or because mutations can’t make any … Continue reading →

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The Evolution Debate: Transitional Fossils

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

According to proponents of evolution, PRATTs are Points Refuted a Thousand Times—arguments by creationists against evolution that are easily refuted, yet keep coming up again and again. I’ve dissected a few of them so far to try to figure out … Continue reading →

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The Evolution Debate: Micro v. Macro

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

VS I’m slowly moving forward with my series about evolution. In my previous posts, here and here, I’ve tried to explore why debates between evolution and creationism are so unproductive. One thing I’ve noticed is people on both sides of … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad M. Brooks

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

If you haven’t heard of Shad Brooks, you should really check him out. He’s probably best known for his YouTube channel, Shadiversity, where he talks about all kinds of medieval swords, castles, fantasy literature, and related topics. Though an engineer … Continue reading →

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Essay: Harry Potter Theory: What Was Dumbledore’s Actual Plan?

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

The Harry Potter series is one of the most beloved stories of this generation, but it’s not without its flaws. J. K. Rowling is a very good storyteller, but not a very good world-builder, and the closer you look at … Continue reading →

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