SOURCE: A review of Phoenix in the Ashes, in The New York Times Book Review, April 28, 1985, pp. 20-1.

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...