Quite good. Had a slow serious pace, but the science fiction of communicating with the planet mars overlaid onto the past (the late 1960’s) was very well done and the science-y part of the fiction was interesting and also well-handled. I think the ending came to an emotional crescendo, but I was a little rushed as I was so close to the end but I had a hard stop for a meeting so unfortunately rushed through it. Still, I liked it very much.

In many ways, this novel was not what I expected. Set in an alternative history where Martians and Earth communicate through the universal language of math, I expected something more fantastical and sci-fish. No, the novel revealed itself to be even better, delving into the mysteries of the human heart and brain, a story of love and its persistence across time and space.

For centuries scientists had been baffled about lines on Mars, theorizing a lost civilization who had left irrigation canals etched on the surface of the planet. In 1894, an astronomer carved three parallel lines into the desert. And the next time Mars was opposite the Earth, astronomers were stunned to see four parallel lines etched on the surface of Mars. Communication between Mars and Earth posed mathematical problems, until Earth’s scientists were unable to formulate an answer to one and Mars went silent.

Crystal Singer is an expert on the Curious Language and believes she has found the answer to Mar’s last communication. In 1960, Crystal and her boyfriend Rick and three other MIT Phd students drive across the country to the desert to set up an answer.

Success has it’s negative side. Crystal progressively retreats into her obsession to answer the latest communication from Mars that suggests distance was a construct. Her equation for calculating “true distance” between objects was called Singer Distance. Her letters to Rick become more sporadic and she never leaves a trace of how to find her. Finally, she just disappeared.

Rick never moves on. Thirteen years later, Rick learns that Crystal has a daughter–his daughter and Crystal’s sister can no longer care for her. As scientists prepare another answer for Mars, Rick and his daughter travel cross-country searching for people who might know how to find Crystal. Then, Rick realizes that Crystal may have already given him the answers they sought.

Singer Distance is a beautiful story of how love negates distance. It is a story of loss and of of hope, of being alone and seeking to bridge the gaps between us. It’s a beautiful, wondrous read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. ( )