Title: I Have a Question: A Novel
Author: Macintosh Steele
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 979-8823000932
Pages: 238
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh
Pacific Book Review
With I Have a Question: A Novel, author Macintosh Steele uses science fiction to address some of mankind’s biggest questions. Science fiction gives creators plenty of liberty to explore pressing life issues in a way that’s imaginary, yet still real – and all under the veil of fiction. So, much like The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and so many others in the past, Steele puts many philosophical curiosities into a futuristic space story. With a keen knowledge of actual science, Steele will likely open up many new questions for the reader, as well as answer some in this fascinating book.
The ‘good guys’ in our story is The Alliance. One will see immediate sci-fi parallels between Star Trek’s Enterprise and The Alliance ship, called Infinity. Although we’re not given a lot of backstory, the crew of this ship is from earth – albeit our planet as it might be far into the future – are out to explore the universe(s). Also, like Star Trek, these space travelers run into both friends and foes. However, it is one particular mystery friend that propels these explorers into going where no man has gone before.
Referred to as Old Man, this enigmatic persona befriends The Alliance in order to engage it in a special mission. As the story unravels, we learn more and more about this unusual character. He’s called Old Man because he’s existed for an extremely long time – much longer than the typical human lives. He also has special powers. For example, after a particularly deadly space battle, he is able to heal and restore Alliance crew members back to good health. He also helps one crew member come to grips with an incident in his past by showing him how he wasn’t at fault in the accidental death of a family member.
Old Man often comes off as a Christlike figure. However, if Old Man at all represents Steele’s personal spiritual beliefs, he’s not actually a messianic character. Toward the book’s end, Old Man and a female crew member engage in a deep conversation about religion. This uneasy soul he converses with is troubled about retaining strong religious beliefs during a time when religion is generally looked down upon. Here, Old Man explains his thoughts about religion and the possible existence of God. Old Man is not a believer because he can’t say he’s ever seen evidence of a god. In order to ease her mind, though, he tells her that if a religious belief helps her reach her life goals and gives her comfort, then he sees the true value in such a belief system.
As you can see, Steele’s book is as much about exploring inner feelings as it is about exploring outer space. Yes, there are plenty of sections that concern Black Holes, spaceships, and high-tech weaponry. However, Steele never forgets the humanity of this story’s characters. Steele also uses this tale to promote peace among planets. Instead of detailing conflicts between the nations on earth, Steele details the tragic legacy of planetary conflicts. Steele may be imagining space travel in a futuristic time, but these thoughts can just as easily be applied to our sadly violent contemporary world.
Finding a balance between sci-fi and relatable humanity is a complicated task, but Steele does an extremely good job in getting this balance correct. The reader is left caring for the characters Steele has created, even though some of them are quite different in look and nature from the humans that populate our contemporary planet.
Perhaps best of all, Steele never gets too science-y for the average fiction reader. Even though many of the concepts explored are complicated head-scratchers, they never bog down the plot’s forward momentum. It’s reassuring to consider how, even in the far-off future, humans will still have many unanswered questions. Thus, Macintosh Steele’s, I Have a Question: A Novel, is a pure delight for inquisitive minds.
