Reviews
“Those Brighter Stars” illustrates the wildly varying ways in which humans react to the coming of the aliens: some with fear, others with hope, or greed. Ava’s struggles with her relationships with her father, mother and daughter finds echoes in the aliens’ behavior toward humanity. It’s a well-told, insightful tale with some disturbing ironies. ~Tadiana Jones (Full review at Fantasy Literature)
[B]oth a first contact story, and a story about abandoned daughters searching for a connection with their mothers. …. Ava is willing to leave her own daughter, pinning her hopes on the aliens’ arrival ushering in a better world for humanity. There’s a kind of naiveté to Ava’s belief, one that is heartbreaking. In the end, there’s a strong sense that Ava is seeking from the aliens the kind of relationship she never had with her mother…. Ava passes up a chance at a relationship with her own daughter in search of a surrogate for a relationship she never had, yet she remains sympathetic as a character. Her choices are portrayed as tragic, rather than cruel. It’s interesting to think of Ava in terms of the real-world choices many women face between their families and their careers, and the way they’re judged for their choices regardless of which way they lean. Rivera presents a balance, and the story doesn’t censure Ava for her faults. Rather, it shows her as human, flawed, and doing the best she can, which is the best any of us can do. (Full Review at Apex Magazine)
This is a story about contact and abandoned children. About being left and about the hope and fear that happens after being left…. I love how the story treats the idea of contact. It’s framed as a story told by the main character to her absent mother, the last promise to her father, that she would tell this story. And to me it becomes about expectation. About hope. About wanting so badly for someone paternal or maternal to help you. To lift you up. The way the main character wants from the aliens. The way she never was helped by her mother…. It’s a touching story and a hopeful piece, I would say, even when it refuses reconciliation. Because sometimes that’s not the goal and not even a desirable thing. Sometimes the victory is in living and keeping on regardless. An excellent read! – (Full review at Quick Sip Reviews)
This story is sure to appeal to fans of hard science and interpersonal relationships, because it has them in spades. Especially given our current political environment, I enjoyed the accurate depiction of science as a cooperative, international field. Those Brighter Stars feels so spot on about so many things, I find it a great depiction of a world just a couple of years or even months from ours. -(Full review at Strangely Charmless)