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.

Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Well, this is the moment fellow Harry Potter fans have been waiting for: the second Fantastic Beasts movie: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Now we see the continued adventures of Newt Scamander and the evil schemes of Gellert Grindelwald. So how … Continue reading →

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The Kilogram Is Redefined (and Other Units, too)

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

The kilogram, as my international readers will know is the official unit of mass in the metric system—or more precisely, the International System of Units (SI). But less well known is that until today, the kilogram has been defined not … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Only Human is the conclusion to the Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel, following Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods. In this installment, trouble with the aliens who built the giant robot Themis leads to trouble on Earth, and three kidnapped … Continue reading →

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Elon Musk’s BFR Update and Yusaku Maezawa, the First Lunar Tourist

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Last night, Galactic President CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk gave an update on his big future projects, the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), BFS (which he says he needs to rename), and his planned tourist flight around the Moon. Video here. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Artemis by Andy Weir

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Andy Weir, author of The Martian, put out his second novel late last year: Artemis. Artemis is another space-based adventure for the one-time computer programmer, but he takes it in a different direction this time. While The Martian is a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Six Wakes is the latest novel by Mur Lafferty, author of the Shambling Guides series. In this book, however, she takes a left turn from urban fantasy to a sci-fi mystery story. From the central story of a perfect locked-room … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Ant-Man is one of the sillier entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that goes double for the science in it. (Yes, comic books in general consider the laws of physics to be more like guidelines, but Ant-Man takes the … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

So, I wasn’t going to review this one for a while, not because I didn’t want to, but because I haven’t had time, and my writing process has been more chaotic than usual lately. Plus Incredibles 2 and Ant-Man and … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Incredibles 2

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Pixar’s newest offering is one of the most anticipated movies of the year—dare I say it, even more than Infinity War. This is a sequel 14 years in the making: Incredibles 2. More supers, more crimefighting, more…villains with a weirdly … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Alex R. Howe

Okay, I really need to put out my review of Solo. I don’t review every movie I see, either because I haven’t had time (see Deadpool 2) or because I’m not really sure what to make of it (see Annihilation … Continue reading →

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