A well-crafted blend of world-building, characterization and storytelling... Interesting setting; consistently high level of drama; believable action; well-crafted, layered storytelling; absolutely no padding... every single chapter contributes to world-building, plot and characterizations - a testament to the author's meticulous craftsmanship...
The story is set in Roberson's very intriguing Celestial Empire world, an alternate history in which Imperial China and Mexica have become the dominant superpowers. They have taken their war into space, with much of the conflict revolving around the Fire Planet (Mars) and its colonization and ownership. What's interesting about this alternate history is not only the cultural contrast between the two cultures (the traditionalist Imperial China versus a Mexica whose religion is based on human sacrifice - a source of several chilling moments) but also that both civilizations, despite their ability to travel through space, have relatively low tech cultures. There are no supercomputers and artificial intelligences, no transhumans and whatnot... Each character is ultimately described with a brief history of who they are and how they got assigned to this suicide mission. These distinct back stories not only flesh out the characters (archetypical though some of them may be), but they also add to the dramatic tension, which is another major appeal of the book. There is conflict at nearly every turn: in the command structure of the mission, in the contention between the characters during training, in the realization of Mexica's "barbaric" rituals, in their personal dramas (current and past), and, of course, in the execution of the mission itself which . This mission itself is an exciting combination of Western and War movie... In reading The Dragon's Nine Sons, it's obvious that much time was spent researching history (for the portrayal of the two cultures) and astrophysics (for the orbital dynamics of the asteroid and pace travel sequences). But even more time was spent constructing a believable, lean-and-mean military sf story that offers dramatic tension every chance it gets.
-- SF Signal
“...the fact that Mr. Roberson explores how such ancient cultures as the Aztecs and Imperial China would function in a futuristic time period was pure genius and really gave the book a distinctive flavor... I was impressed with the author’s fluent prose and his ability to tell a story with a skillful blend of style, passion, and ingenuity.”
-- Fantasy Book Critic
Roberson has used his eloquent storytelling skill to elevate this story about other military SF. Indeed, he defies the nature of this genre with some well-executed sf concepts.
-- Interzone
"The plot’s Dirty Dozen aspects gives Roberson a hook on which to hang his unfamiliar world. The alternate universe is convincing and well thought out. Although the story is told from the viewpoint of Chinese Celestial Empire characters, it’s actually the Mexic Dominion that comes across as more interesting, because it’s almost as much a mystery to the viewpoint characters. As a result, the audience convincingly shares their apprehension and surprise. It’s clear that Roberson has done his historical and cultural research as well as his astrophysics... All the science is well handled and very detailed; this is proper military SF... The pace is just right — not too slow, not breakneck — and the story flows very nicely, never short of dramatic developments of interesting surprises... Highly recommended."
-- Deathray
