Singer Distance

Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier: my overall impression is that this is a literary novel focused on relationships, life journeys, and the distance between people. The premise is that of a sci-fi alternative history, in which beings on Mars begin communicating with Earth via giant glowing glyphs reflecting complex equations. A ragtag band of graduate students sets out to solve the equation, and the plot ensues. The prose is elevated beyond most books I read, sometimes almost attaining a level of word-craft worthy of being called poetry. It is hard science fiction in that it has lots of references to math and physics, etc. but I never found these elements to be overwhelming. Despite Mars, aliens, etc. being a prominent aspect of the book, it's not a sci-fi adventure/thriller in the sense of Star Wars/Trek, etc. It's really about the humans, not the Martians. In this sense it reminds me a tiny bit of Station Eleven, wherein the big sci-fi event, though important, is really a device for a meditation upon humanity in the form of a story, not the principle focus of the work itself. A couple aspects of the plot confused me. This may be due to me missing something in the audiobook (I do not love the narrator's performance...) and some characters seemed underdeveloped (who exactly is Otis again?) but nevertheless I am thinking this book is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.