Iron Jaw and Hummingbird, a New Young Adult Novel by Chris Roberson

Iron Jaw and Hummingbird, a new Young Adult novel by Chris Roberson, was published earlier this month by Viking. The second book in Roberson’s Celestial Empire series, it has been called a “Chinese opera set on a terraformed Mars.” Here’s a more formal description, taken from the publisher’s website:

“Mars is controlled by the Chinese, who call their civilization the Celestial Empire. But for teenagers Gamine and Huang, it is anything but heavenly. Gamine was taken off the street by an aristocrat, schooled as a fine young lady -- then abandoned at her patron’s whim and forced to make her living as a grifter. Huang’s army career is cut short by a bandit ambush. When the two meet, Gamine -- “Iron Jaw” -- is the leader of a sham religious movement, and Huang, or “Hummingbird,” is the bandits’ chief tactician. They join forces to bring down the corrupt government that has determined their lives. Iron Jaw and Hummingbird offers a planet’s worth of adventure!”

Roberson, who maintains his own website, spoke recently about Iron Jaw and Hummingbird to editor and critic John Joseph Adams at Sci Fi Wire, noting that “the events of the novel are loosely based on real revolutions in China's history, such as the Boxer Rebellion."

You can browse the novel’s cover, front flap, table of contents, back flap, and back cover through Amazon's Online Reader.

Iron Jaw and Hummingbird was reviewed by John Enzinas at The SF Site and by Angela at SciFiChick.

Despite the fact that this book is classified as YA, I’m adding it to my reading list. Chinese history and mythology are very cool!