The title of this rollicking novel by Vancouver writer David Jones pretty much says it all. Fifty monks of the fictional “Copernican” order, accompanied by a boozing captain named Gary and young monk-in-training named Bart, zip through the cosmos on the church/spaceship Prominence, leading lives of devotion and making ceramic bowls.

In offering up these anachronistic and somewhat familiar elements and placing them in direct contrast with the decidedly futuristic ­­– the Prominence can sail close to the sun, and is equipped with a full-blown church and a kiln for firing the bowls, all space-travel elements NASA hasn’t quite figured out yet – Jones is clearly aiming for an ironic tone right from the get-go. The extent to which young readers will enjoy this story, though, depends entirely on how willing they are to go along with the joke.

For some readers, the old-meets-new backdrop (which has worked well in other tales, such as the animated film Treasure Planet, for example) will provide an endless source of amusement and a great setting for lots of action and intrigue. Jones has constructed his narrative well, introducing a ship in distress into the plot early on – a twist that leads to a life-and-death climax some 200 pages later. Along the way, the book’s main characters demonstrate the strength and weaknesses of their souls – not to mention their abilities to deal with the predatory habits of giant space eels.

But for others, the irony of the setup will be a one-note symphony that just isn’t enough to keep the pages turning. Somewhere around Gary’s 100th complaint  about how hopelessly antiquated the traditions of his passengers seem amidst all the high-tech gadgetry, many young readers will simply get tired of the shtick.

But this is science fiction after all, a genre for which even the youngest fan understands that suspension of disbelief is an important skill. Monks in Space will find its most devoted readership among young people who have already built up a fondness for sci-fi, and understand some of the rules of the genre.