MarkMaker by Mary Jessica Woods is Catholic science fiction. It is published by Chrism Press and this is her debut novel.

I finished this book more than two weeks ago now and I still don’t know how to review it. Just to be clear, before this turns into a rambling review, I enjoyed this book very much. It makes you think. What it makes you think is something I am still attempting to discern.

First up is the problematic categorization as science fiction. Yes, it tells the story of an alien species that lives aboard a generational spaceship but are those two facts enough to categorize a book as science fiction? There is some use of magic in the book, does that make it fantasy? The magic isn’t really magic as in wizards and mages, but rather technology driven “magic”. So, does that make it a steampunk fantasy science fiction?

Secondly, there is the issue of what makes this book Catholic or Christian? There is zero mention of God or faith. There is some discussion as to the old gods the aliens worshiped in the distant past and there is ancestor remembrance, but there is no overt religious tone to this book. Is publishing by a Catholic author and publishing house enough to make the book Catholic?

Thirdly, does the book ask big questions? Does it ask what role you play in a corrupt society and what obligation do you have to take steps to combat injustice from your perspective? If it asks that question, and I’m still not sure it does, is it a question posed about the state of the United States or is it a question posed about the state of the Roman Catholic Church?

I enjoyed the book because at its heart, at least for me, it was a character study in a young or new adult genre. At the very heart of the book is the fundamental question of, who am I and what do I stand for. That in and of itself is a very big question when one is young and finding their place and path in the world. This novel does an excellent job in navigating that path with twists, turns, questions, and decisions.

Any book that has left me pondering its premise this long after completion was an amazing book. However, to whom would I recommend the book? I honestly cannot answer that question. The story is good, the story left me wanting more and I don’t know if this is a series or not. The character study was fascinating too. However, if you are a reader of Christian or Catholic fiction you will find the book overtly lacking what you are seeking. If you are a secular reader, you will find the genre designation off putting and bypass it completely. If you are timid to read science fiction or fantasy, then it would be of little interest.

Thus, you see my dilemma. I enjoyed the book, I am hoping there is another which continues the series, and I like books that make me think. But to whom would I hand it to and recommend it with a concise summary? I still don’t have an answer.

P.S.: After an e-mail conversation with Rhonda Ortiz, author of The Molly Chase series and a lay Dominican, she offered one way to view the novel as Catholic. The protagonist is an analogy for a Catholic priest and the act of tattooing akin to a sacrament. This does bring some clarity to the novel and does work. My high school English teach, Sister Rosemary, may God have mercy on her soul, would approve of this interpretation. However, she would be less than approving of the tattooing as an expression of faith.

I like the idea of view of the protagonist as a priest, but it is also very humbling that I didn’t figure that out on my own. I realize that it is perfectly acceptable to need to bounce ideas off others, but at the same time, is the analogy so esoteric that the average reader would miss the analogy if they had no one to discuss books with? I think the answer is yes for me, because without Rhonda speaking up in an e-mail it isn’t, an analogy my brain figured out in more than two weeks thinking about the novel. But it could also be, that the very obscure and esoteric nature of the book is what could possibly classify it as science fiction.