Preview of Phoenix in the Ashes Summary:

As in Psion (1982), the main theme of Phoenix in the Ashes is communication as a means of ending isolation. Hoffmann the helicopter pilot is a loner, tolerated by his employers because he is their best prospector for abandoned cities which can be mined for raw materials such as metal and other minerals. Hoffmann talks to himself both because he does not really like any of his employers and because he spends long hours alone on his journeys. He has no friends. In Amanda's case, none of her kin, except for her sister Teresa's family, speaks to her. Teresa has fortunately married a man who truly loves her and wants her to be happy.

Amanda is amazed and envious at the trust and unspoken affection between Teresa and her husband. She is also keenly aware that her other sister, Estella, is beaten by her husband for imagined transgressions. In...