The premise is interesting. China sort of rose to dominance and then humans colonized Mars, so it all takes place on a very Chinese Mars. And it's YA to boot, which isn't what you'd expect given the first premise.

Unfortunately, it wasn't very interesting to read. I was trying to pinpoint why. Following Iron Jaw for the first section was the best part of all of it, and it just got duller past that.

A lot of time passes, so in ways it's like an overview and not actually getting _into_ the story. Also perhaps more tell than show? More action than characterization? Some combination of those things is why it wasn't very engrossing for me to read.

Then the ending (I was skimming by that point, just to finish) was rather a letdown. More of an anticlimax than a climax. And maybe the author was trying to make some sort of point.. but it didn't seem like the ending it had been building toward.

Also, in a way, it was just another YA dystopia!! Only without a love triangle. Or a trilogy.

I still might recommend it if people are looking for a nonWestern sf future or books on Mars. Just because of the different premise. ( )

In an alternate reality, the Chinese control Mars and its inhabitants. Gamine was rescued from the streets as a small child, where she was raised and schooled by the upper class. But after serving her purpose, she was abandoned on the street yet again where she takes up with a con artist. Soon after young Huang Fei joins the army, his ship is attacked by bandits. But Huang quickly moves from the bandit leader's pet to trusted advisor. When Gamine (Iron Jaw) and Huang (Hummingbird) meet, they team up to overthrow the current regime.

Geared towards teens and older, this science fiction story has the feel of a fantasy, as Roberson's other books Set the Seas on Fire and Paragaea also do. But this story is completely unique as it is based solely on an alternate reality Mars. Granted the planet itself has little bearing on the story, which revolves around the two central characters Gamine and Huang. Both go through tremendous ordeals and hardships which eventually lead the two together, aiming for a common goal. Both Gamine and Huang also have to go through a range of emotions that eventually force them to deal with the thoughts of revenge in their hearts.

Gamine and Huang's stories began as completely different situations. Gamine, as a child from the streets, who eventually grows from a thief and con artist to a respected leader. And her ideals slowly change over time as well. And Huang, as a spoiled rich boy, bored with army life, who eventually evolves from a slave of a group of bandits to their leader. But meanwhile, he discovers the bandits are more than just thieving monsters, they have a past and a purpose.

Iron Jaw and Hummingbird is a fascinating story of two very different young people and their journey to finding themselves and a fight against a corrupt authority . ( )