[In the following favorable review, Jones briefly discusses thematic and stylistic characteristics of Vinge 's short fiction. ]

Joan D. Vinge writes the kind of science fiction that might appear in a family magazine of tomorrow. Her themes are the common currency of modern science fiction—first contact with alien intelligences, post-nuclear-holocaust survival, the mixed blessings of extrasensory powers, the unpredictable outcome when more advanced beings interfere in the affairs of "lesser" species. In plot outline, some of these stories resemble old-fashioned adventure-oriented science fiction but the pace is invariably slower, the texture of the prose richer. Instead of looking for new twists on old themes, Miss Vinge concentrates on people. She is interested, if you will, in sensibility. Caught in situations not of their own making, her characters feel pain, sorrow, ecstasy.

The title story [of Phoenix in the Ashes] not in a post-holocaust community fearful of all technology, exemplifies Miss Vinge's virtues: attractive people, believable conflicts, readable dialogue. It also reveals her shortcomings. She looks too hard for cosmic significance in each situation. Too often, her endings dissolve into uplifting lessons. A hint of what might happen if her characters were freed from the obligation of making points for the author can be found in a story called "Pairen" about a blocked telepath. Perhaps because this story is a sequel to the novel Psion, the motives of the principal characters are never quite clear; events crucial to our understanding have taken place offstage. Instead of more action. We get reactions. Instead of cosmic significance, we get the slow healing of a deep wound—which is all the more remarkable because the hurt is felt in a sensory channel, which we do not share with the protagonist. A fine, disturbing story.