Second paragraph of third chapter:

‘That acolyte of yours? Jamieson? He was worried about you, so he called me, and we went to your house and found the note she left you, Tas.’ His mother’s hand was dry and frail, yet somehow comforting in this chill, efficient hospital where doctors moved among acolytes of their own. ‘He got a search party out after you right away. They found you in the car, out near the Enigma. You’d been knocked in the head pretty badly. You’ve got some pins and things in your skull.’ She had always talked to him this way, telling him the worst in a calm, unfrightened voice. ‘You’ll be all right, the doctors say.’

Back around 1990, I went through a real Sherri S. Tepper phase and read as many of her books as I could find, starting with Grass. I didn’t remember this one at all clearly, but once I got into it, it all came back – a settler planet where specially trained singers must pacify the mysterious giant crystals which otherwise explode and kill travellers; the evil capitalists and bigots who want to destroy the entire ecology to make it useful for humans; and the cute cuddly alien viggies, which are in fact more than they seem. And it’s not just about pacifying the crystal Presences, but about opening up communication between the humans and the indigenous inhabitants of the planet. A chunky book, perhaps a bit old-fashioned by twenty-first century standards, but there’s a lot in it. You can get The Enigma Score here.

(Apparently it’s a direct riposte to The Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey, which I have not read.)

This was my top unread book by a woman. Next on that pile is Looking Glass Sound, by Catriona Ward.