Singer Distance

By: Ethan Chatagnier

Narrated by: Tristan Morris

For fans of Station Eleven and Light from Other Stars, Ethan Chatagnier’s propulsive, genre-bending debut novel asks: What happens when we discover intelligent life just next door? And what does it really mean to know we’re not alone in the universe?

The odds of the planet next door hosting intelligent life are―that’s not luck. That’s a miracle. It means something.

In December 1960, Crystal Singer, her boyfriend Rick, and three other MIT grad students take a cross-country road trip from Boston to Arizona to paint a message in the desert. Mars has been silent for thirty years, since the last time Earth solved one of the mathematical proofs the Martian civilization carved onto its surface. The latest proof, which seems to assert contradictory truths about distance, has resisted human understanding for decades. Crystal thinks she’s solved it, and Rick is intent on putting her answer to the test―if he can keep her from cracking under the pressure on the way. But Crystal’s disappearance after the experiment will set him on a different path than he expected, forever changing the distance between them.

Filled with mystery and wonder, Ethan Chatagnier’s Singer Distance is a novel about ambition, loneliness, exploration, and love―about how far we’re willing to go to communicate with a distant civilization, and the great lengths we’ll travel to connect with each other here on Earth.

©2022 Ethan Chatagnier (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Magnificent writing

I feel sorry for the listeners that were disappointed that this was not, to their thinking, "science fiction," and criticized it. They missed out on a great story.

This was not what I expected, but I was riveted. The writing is terrific. Great dialog, wonderful descriptions. The context is science fiction, but it's more about the people - and that didn't bother me.

No, it's not "The Three Body Problem," but it's still a great story. The author can really write.

Almost stopped listening due to narration

I kept going because I wanted to know the ending but the narrator is so overly dramatic I’ll avoid books he narrates.

An Unexpected Gem

I didn't know anything about this author and the short blurb seemed interesting but not great. However, this novel is superb, beautifully written and thought provoking. The narration was also great.

Eh.

Stuck it through, but it wasn’t worth it in the end. Well written but just not interesting.

A different human story, very light on the sci-fi.

Picked this up as a daily deal and I'm glad I did. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. It feels outside of time. Some hazy indistinct period in the mid 1960's, but like it could have been going on today. The Sci-Fi elements give the characters real motivations. Ultimately, I enjoyed the people and the passage of time. Dealing with their limitations in different ways. Letting go of the past, or not. The choices they made, the consequences they faced. Two men in a canola field, one life's work destroyed, while another considers the new door of possibility that's been opened. Poignant scenes that will stay with me long after I've forgotten the whole of the story. It's simple and complex at the same time. I loved the way the threads of the different characters touched and moved away and touched again. Even with unanswered questions, the end of the journey felt satisfying.

So good!

Stick with it. The narrator is off-putting at first, but he grew on me, and the story is definitely worth it. It called to mind everything from Sagan and Chiang to L’Engle.

Lovely and engaging

It’s rare to read a book that fills you with hope while also grappling with the existentialism of life. The story is love, mystery, science fiction, math, and philosophy. My only criticism is that there wasn’t more to read.

Beautifully written fiction.

Beautiful and poetically written. A mix of mat, relationship and surprisingly aliens. I loved this book and intend to reread it.

Loved the story despite the narrator

I loved the story so much, I found it fascinating and could hardly put it down. The insufferable hambone of a reader, lousy as he was, couldn't dampen my engagement with the story. I found it was easier to deal with him if I increased the narration speed. If you remember some of Shatner's worst Kirk performances, this guy has the same cadence.

Aside from that, I was deeply drawn to the characters, and cared about what happened to them. I was completely caught up in the "what if" and the philosophical discussions. And the ending was completely satisfying to me. This is not ray-guns-and-little-green-men science fiction, but more thoughtful speculative fiction.

Somber yet elating scifi, superbly heartfelt.

This alternate-history novel feels so real because the protagonist is so human. The author weaves relationships together with subtlety. Details tugged at my memories and dragged me earnestly along. The science is light and mildly philosophical.