Chris Roberson is a prolific young writer, delving into all manner of science-fiction ideas and themes. One of his most successful is his Celestial Empire sequence that began with The Voyage of Night Shining White (2006) dealing with an alternative history in which China is the leading power in the world and has settled Mars. The Dragon's Nine Sons followed in 2008, and the new tale, Three Unbroken, will debut later this year. All of these novels were written for adults.

Iron Jaw and Hummingbird, released last year, was the first set in the Celestial Empire on Mars written for young adults. This ambitious story follows two main characters. The first is Gamine, a young orphan who was scooped up out of the streets and tutored in a household of privilege. When she proves that the mistress of the household could teach and train even a street urchin to pass for society, she is tossed back out on the street at thirteen to make her own way. There she meets Temujin, a wily old con artist who teaches her the art of grifting in order to eat. The other character is Huang, a young man of eighteen who has spent most of his life frittering away his study time in gaming and drink. The only option left to him is to become a soldier in the Army of the Green Standard. But when he is on his first convoy, he is beset by bandits and captured. These two lives eventually intertwine into the stuff of legends as they become known as Iron Jaw and Hummingbird.

The story was exciting, offering great battle scenes and strategies. It also explored the roots of social and spiritual movements. In addition, I really enjoyed the characters.

I was most intrigued by the way the author laid out the story. There is a prelude where both characters are introduced. Then, there are four sections or Acts that follow. The first is devoted exclusively to Gamine and then one deals with what happens to Huang. Next comes an act called Dissonance where incidents occur in two two lives that set up the next act called Unison where Gamine and Huang come to know each other and work together. The story ends with a short Coda that shows what happens several years later. There are no numbered chapters, just these sections, broken up by spaces or asterisks between parts of the story. It may have been Roberson's intention to write the novel as a prose Chinese opera and that is why it is constructed in this manner. It is very cleverly done.