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The Water Outlaws
The Water Outlaws
In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.
Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.
Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.
Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.
Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.
Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.
Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.
Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.
Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.
488 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2023
622 people are currently reading
39789 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 967 reviews
October 20, 2023
Reads like a cross between Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold and Nghi Vo's Singing Hill books. The fantasy I've enjoyed most lately are tales coming from non-European traditions, and I was hopeful that The Water Outlaws would take me on a journey to new places. It's an interesting tale and I read closely for the first quarter of the book or so until the overall trajectory became clear and I stalled.
I had a great deal of hope when I read the 'Author's Note on Potentially Disturbing Content,' where Huang finishes by stating, "I hope this is primarily a joyous, toothy escapist adventure, one in which a group made up almost entirely of women and queer folk--who are in equal parts devastating, powerful, righteous, and terrible." Apparently this is a retelling of a classic Chinese novel called Water Margin "in which antiheroic bandits rise up against a tyrannical government on behalf of the people." I wish to make it clear: this is not a nice tale, despite feminist-humanist leanings, not one told from the distance of history or the sanitized tales children hear before bed. On the one side we have loyalty, perseverance, acceptance, autonomy, community; on the other we have flagrant abuse of power, lies, torture, threat of rape, cannibalism. So your mileage is going to vary. For my own self, prone to gentleness and preferring my violence heavily stylized and absent of torture, I found it heavy. This, like Abercrombie, is one of the few books I've read with genuine anti-heroes.
It's well written and movingly told. Characterization is decent for such a large cast, though the primary focus is on Lin Chong, a martial arts instructor originally in service to the Empire, and Lu Junyi, a sort of socialite who runs a coffeehouse where intellectuals debate freely. Lin Chong rejects the advances of one of the Emperor's favorite advisors and Lin Chong comes to the attention of an advisor with boundless ambition. Needless to say, things go badly.
"Violence is not the way." Lin Chong thought of Lu Da, and her mouth folded into a frown. Violence was never the way. Anyone skilled enough in the fighting arts to be a master arms instructor knew that to her bones."
You just know with a line like that that a character is going to have to learn some dramatic lessons. And all of that is okay, truly. It's just that passage getting there is grim. Grim and deeply realistic. There's no stylized manga-color to ease it. This is an amazingly competent woman who has had her belief in herself, her profession and her empire shattered, and then further humiliated as she's imprisoned and led to detention camp. Clearly, Lin Chong is undergoing metamorphosis, but it's a deeply ugly one.
"Our true success will mean some of them lose power... and that will not come without anger and fear."
Here's the thing: I don't disagree. We need these stories. Some transformations come because of rock bottom, and Huang has written a tale of the consequences of that. It is also an appropriate tale of consequences of unchecked power.
"What was she hanging on to?
She took a deep breath. Almost laughed. A dizzying freedom rippled through her. Lu Da had been right, in her blunt, brash way. Perhaps these were the true haojie."
It's well written. The biggest weakness, besides mood for me, is pacing. I think to make this transformation believable, Huang spends more time on the women's internal journey. Once Chong reaches the bandits, events proceed rapidly. I pushed through despite the rising violence because I still had hope in the triumph of good over evil.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for an advanced e-copy of this book
I had a great deal of hope when I read the 'Author's Note on Potentially Disturbing Content,' where Huang finishes by stating, "I hope this is primarily a joyous, toothy escapist adventure, one in which a group made up almost entirely of women and queer folk--who are in equal parts devastating, powerful, righteous, and terrible." Apparently this is a retelling of a classic Chinese novel called Water Margin "in which antiheroic bandits rise up against a tyrannical government on behalf of the people." I wish to make it clear: this is not a nice tale, despite feminist-humanist leanings, not one told from the distance of history or the sanitized tales children hear before bed. On the one side we have loyalty, perseverance, acceptance, autonomy, community; on the other we have flagrant abuse of power, lies, torture, threat of rape, cannibalism. So your mileage is going to vary. For my own self, prone to gentleness and preferring my violence heavily stylized and absent of torture, I found it heavy. This, like Abercrombie, is one of the few books I've read with genuine anti-heroes.
It's well written and movingly told. Characterization is decent for such a large cast, though the primary focus is on Lin Chong, a martial arts instructor originally in service to the Empire, and Lu Junyi, a sort of socialite who runs a coffeehouse where intellectuals debate freely. Lin Chong rejects the advances of one of the Emperor's favorite advisors and Lin Chong comes to the attention of an advisor with boundless ambition. Needless to say, things go badly.
"Violence is not the way." Lin Chong thought of Lu Da, and her mouth folded into a frown. Violence was never the way. Anyone skilled enough in the fighting arts to be a master arms instructor knew that to her bones."
You just know with a line like that that a character is going to have to learn some dramatic lessons. And all of that is okay, truly. It's just that passage getting there is grim. Grim and deeply realistic. There's no stylized manga-color to ease it. This is an amazingly competent woman who has had her belief in herself, her profession and her empire shattered, and then further humiliated as she's imprisoned and led to detention camp. Clearly, Lin Chong is undergoing metamorphosis, but it's a deeply ugly one.
"Our true success will mean some of them lose power... and that will not come without anger and fear."
Here's the thing: I don't disagree. We need these stories. Some transformations come because of rock bottom, and Huang has written a tale of the consequences of that. It is also an appropriate tale of consequences of unchecked power.
"What was she hanging on to?
She took a deep breath. Almost laughed. A dizzying freedom rippled through her. Lu Da had been right, in her blunt, brash way. Perhaps these were the true haojie."
It's well written. The biggest weakness, besides mood for me, is pacing. I think to make this transformation believable, Huang spends more time on the women's internal journey. Once Chong reaches the bandits, events proceed rapidly. I pushed through despite the rising violence because I still had hope in the triumph of good over evil.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for an advanced e-copy of this book
Read
April 26, 2023Non-stop action that will thrill you with its feminist heart. This tale’s legendary gathering is the birth of true heroes: those with the imagination to understand how the world could be different for the downtrodden, and the courage to make it so. What skill it takes to turn a cornerstone of the canon upside down and yet have it feel so convincingly classic! SL Huang doesn’t put a foot wrong in this magisterial epic.
Want to read
February 24, 2023I see this cover and immediately want to eat it
October 10, 2023
It took me a minute to get into this, but it was SO worth it
What I liked: I think my favorite part about this book was the slow, but incredibly well written, development of the characters. We begin with two women, Lin Chong and Lu Junyi, who are vastly different from one another: Lin Chong starts as a very victim blame-y, “if you just do the right things nothing bad will happen” character, while Lu Junyi makes it her mission to stand up and do what is right, no matter the cost. However both of their narratives take drastic turns, in what I think is one of the best written character arcs I have ever read. The commentary on power and privilege was profound in so many ways. This book was heartfelt and heartbreaking, quick witted, with a hint of magic and some incredibly entertaining fight scenes.
What I didn’t like: The first part of this book was a little bit difficult pacing wise, really picking up about halfway through. I also felt that the ending left a few questions to be answered, despite the very long epilogue and no known plans for a sequel.
Overall: I would recommend this for the characters, amazing development, social commentary, and fantasy elements (so, pretty much everything lol)
Content warnings: cannibalism, murder, attempted rape (on page), torture
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super excited to start buddy reading with Robin. Thank you Tor for the ARC!
What I liked: I think my favorite part about this book was the slow, but incredibly well written, development of the characters. We begin with two women, Lin Chong and Lu Junyi, who are vastly different from one another: Lin Chong starts as a very victim blame-y, “if you just do the right things nothing bad will happen” character, while Lu Junyi makes it her mission to stand up and do what is right, no matter the cost. However both of their narratives take drastic turns, in what I think is one of the best written character arcs I have ever read. The commentary on power and privilege was profound in so many ways. This book was heartfelt and heartbreaking, quick witted, with a hint of magic and some incredibly entertaining fight scenes.
What I didn’t like: The first part of this book was a little bit difficult pacing wise, really picking up about halfway through. I also felt that the ending left a few questions to be answered, despite the very long epilogue and no known plans for a sequel.
Overall: I would recommend this for the characters, amazing development, social commentary, and fantasy elements (so, pretty much everything lol)
Content warnings: cannibalism, murder, attempted rape (on page), torture
————————————————
super excited to start buddy reading with Robin. Thank you Tor for the ARC!
August 10, 2023
The Water Outlaws is a martial arts political fantasy inspired by a classic of the wuxia genre, but centering mostly women and quite a few queer characters. It follows a band of outlaws, a military trainer who joins them after being falsely accused by a corrupt official, and people being pushed to develop magical weapons.
It's pretty entertaining and has interesting fantasy elements while commenting on corrupt government and patriarchy. I liked a lot of the characters, but I wish we got to know them in a deeper way. They feel a bit at arms length, perhaps because the focus is really on the action and plot points. That said, there are some fantastic badass and smart ladies in this book. The middle portion dragged at times, but overall I enjoyed the ride. Note that there are content warnings for sexual assault, violence, and cannibalism. The audio narration is well done! I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
It's pretty entertaining and has interesting fantasy elements while commenting on corrupt government and patriarchy. I liked a lot of the characters, but I wish we got to know them in a deeper way. They feel a bit at arms length, perhaps because the focus is really on the action and plot points. That said, there are some fantastic badass and smart ladies in this book. The middle portion dragged at times, but overall I enjoyed the ride. Note that there are content warnings for sexual assault, violence, and cannibalism. The audio narration is well done! I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
July 1, 2023
3.75/5
I've always had words. Always... I have no right words tonight. I have no poetry for our kindred.
Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I saw that this was described as being about bandits of ungovernable gender set in the Song dynasty of ancient China and knew I had to read this book. I went to look at the reviews and discovered that one of my favourite authors, Shelley Parker-Chan, spoke highly of it too. My fate was sealed.
I loved the atmosphere of this book, the world sparks to life with such vibrancy. Huang writes the perfect action scenes, full of wonder and otherworldly powers that collide with the more brutal force of human anger. Huang delicately weaponises both of these intricate furies and spins a classic tale of heroes.
The characters all have enthralling histories and fascinating pasts. My only complaint here is that I was sometimes left wanting more, I wanted to delve deeper into these characters and discover all their dark secrets. My largest complaint whilst reading this book was that I wanted to feel more of their emotions. Don't misunderstand me, I still felt the emotions of this book flooding off the page, however I also felt a slight disconnect between myself, the reader, and the characters on the page. I wanted to be more connected to them than I was. I found them interesting, I found them epic and glorious, but I didn't always find myself fully empathising with them like I wished.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. It did leave me wanting more, but I, regardless, always love a tale of bandits and found family. I think this is a wonderful addition to wuxia epics and a beautiful retelling of the Liangshan outlaws.
I've always had words. Always... I have no right words tonight. I have no poetry for our kindred.
Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I saw that this was described as being about bandits of ungovernable gender set in the Song dynasty of ancient China and knew I had to read this book. I went to look at the reviews and discovered that one of my favourite authors, Shelley Parker-Chan, spoke highly of it too. My fate was sealed.
I loved the atmosphere of this book, the world sparks to life with such vibrancy. Huang writes the perfect action scenes, full of wonder and otherworldly powers that collide with the more brutal force of human anger. Huang delicately weaponises both of these intricate furies and spins a classic tale of heroes.
The characters all have enthralling histories and fascinating pasts. My only complaint here is that I was sometimes left wanting more, I wanted to delve deeper into these characters and discover all their dark secrets. My largest complaint whilst reading this book was that I wanted to feel more of their emotions. Don't misunderstand me, I still felt the emotions of this book flooding off the page, however I also felt a slight disconnect between myself, the reader, and the characters on the page. I wanted to be more connected to them than I was. I found them interesting, I found them epic and glorious, but I didn't always find myself fully empathising with them like I wished.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. It did leave me wanting more, but I, regardless, always love a tale of bandits and found family. I think this is a wonderful addition to wuxia epics and a beautiful retelling of the Liangshan outlaws.
September 23, 2023
maybe it's on me for wanting a book called the water outlaws to be more about the water outlaws than everything else.
first, what i loved: the women and genderqueer bandits of course. i love seeing people living in the margins of society banding together to defy oppression and injustice. i especially love it when those people are tough, hardened, muscular, clever, skilled women from all walks of life. i will never get enough of huge, brash, physically strong women like lu da and li kui and i'd love to read a book entirely focused on them. also, the battle scenes were fantastically written. the writing in general was very sure and easy to read.
so my problems with this book: i think the focus was on the wrong main characters. i just didn't care enough about lin chong and li junyi; their respective hypocrisy and cowardice made it hard to read at times (yes they redeem themselves in the end but it came a bit too late for me). li junyi's chapters were particularly frustrating, taking away from what should have been the real crux of this novel: the titular water outlaws. i wanted more of the outlaws, their found family, their dynamics with each other. for me, when side characters are far more interesting and compelling than the leads, that's a problem.
i also found the mindset of the bandits a little baffling: "let the empire be the emperor and the people, not those others who would use their power to destroy everything civilized..." over and over, it's emphasized that the bandits are loyal to the emperor, as if corruption and oppression are somehow separate entities from the leader and the system. i do understand wanting to believe in the system and the empire, to believe that simply removing the rot from the system will fix everything and not that the system itself is the rot (and i wouldn't even complain about this element of the book if it wasn't so present throughout).
i'm glad that the ending redeems this a bit and highlights taking power away from oppressors and into the hands of ordinary citizens. it's just that everything about the ending was a bit too late and rushed for me. still though, it's a good ending and the final battle was well done.
overall, i think character-driven readers might struggle with this book but plot-driven readers will likely enjoy it. i do think it's worth the read for everyone.
first, what i loved: the women and genderqueer bandits of course. i love seeing people living in the margins of society banding together to defy oppression and injustice. i especially love it when those people are tough, hardened, muscular, clever, skilled women from all walks of life. i will never get enough of huge, brash, physically strong women like lu da and li kui and i'd love to read a book entirely focused on them. also, the battle scenes were fantastically written. the writing in general was very sure and easy to read.
so my problems with this book: i think the focus was on the wrong main characters. i just didn't care enough about lin chong and li junyi; their respective hypocrisy and cowardice made it hard to read at times (yes they redeem themselves in the end but it came a bit too late for me). li junyi's chapters were particularly frustrating, taking away from what should have been the real crux of this novel: the titular water outlaws. i wanted more of the outlaws, their found family, their dynamics with each other. for me, when side characters are far more interesting and compelling than the leads, that's a problem.
i also found the mindset of the bandits a little baffling: "let the empire be the emperor and the people, not those others who would use their power to destroy everything civilized..." over and over, it's emphasized that the bandits are loyal to the emperor, as if corruption and oppression are somehow separate entities from the leader and the system. i do understand wanting to believe in the system and the empire, to believe that simply removing the rot from the system will fix everything and not that the system itself is the rot (and i wouldn't even complain about this element of the book if it wasn't so present throughout).
i'm glad that the ending redeems this a bit and highlights taking power away from oppressors and into the hands of ordinary citizens. it's just that everything about the ending was a bit too late and rushed for me. still though, it's a good ending and the final battle was well done.
overall, i think character-driven readers might struggle with this book but plot-driven readers will likely enjoy it. i do think it's worth the read for everyone.
August 17, 2023
4.0 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/U9KIoxdYmfo
This reads like a gender swapped version of The Legends of the Condor Heroes. I love that traditional story but it has a notable male cast. Instead this one is far more feminist energy.
The narrative is quite fast paced and action packed, feeling reminiscent of the Wuxia tradition of martial arts. I wished the characters had been more fleshed out but the story didn't provide much time for that. I do prefer more character driven stories, but I recognize that it wasn't the focus of this one.
I wished the story had leaned into the more humorous side of martial arts that we often see in Shonen manga. Instead this has a more serious tone, which is clearly an intentional choice but made for a dryer read.
Overall, I found this to be a solid Asian inspired fantasy story that I would recommend to readers looking for a non-western setting. I especially appreciated how this one pulled some much inspiration from cultural traditions of storytelling.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Video Review: https://youtu.be/U9KIoxdYmfo
This reads like a gender swapped version of The Legends of the Condor Heroes. I love that traditional story but it has a notable male cast. Instead this one is far more feminist energy.
The narrative is quite fast paced and action packed, feeling reminiscent of the Wuxia tradition of martial arts. I wished the characters had been more fleshed out but the story didn't provide much time for that. I do prefer more character driven stories, but I recognize that it wasn't the focus of this one.
I wished the story had leaned into the more humorous side of martial arts that we often see in Shonen manga. Instead this has a more serious tone, which is clearly an intentional choice but made for a dryer read.
Overall, I found this to be a solid Asian inspired fantasy story that I would recommend to readers looking for a non-western setting. I especially appreciated how this one pulled some much inspiration from cultural traditions of storytelling.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Read
November 21, 2023As someone who loves feminist retellings, The Water Margin hits the spot. This book really said, "I respect women's rights AND women's wrongs."
Though the story is long and the pacing slow at times, I didn't care much at all; I had such a good time reading this. There's a mix of action and fantasy, as you would expect, but there's also a great deal of introspection as to what it means to be just and heroic in the face of corruption and greed. Huang takes another step and makes the women and queer* bandits complex and, in some cases, "bad" people who have killed and murdered prior to their bandit lives. Can antiheroes truly deliver justice?
*Note: This isn't a criticism of the book, more of a note to interested readers: don't go into this book expecting significant queer themes. Some characters are queer, but it isn't a plot point; the queer characters in this book simply are, and that's that.
Though the story is long and the pacing slow at times, I didn't care much at all; I had such a good time reading this. There's a mix of action and fantasy, as you would expect, but there's also a great deal of introspection as to what it means to be just and heroic in the face of corruption and greed. Huang takes another step and makes the women and queer* bandits complex and, in some cases, "bad" people who have killed and murdered prior to their bandit lives. Can antiheroes truly deliver justice?
*Note: This isn't a criticism of the book, more of a note to interested readers: don't go into this book expecting significant queer themes. Some characters are queer, but it isn't a plot point; the queer characters in this book simply are, and that's that.
September 8, 2023
[background music: cell block tango from chicago the musical]
Told in multiple POVs — Lin Chong, Lu Junyi, Lu Da, Cai Jing, Wu Yong — The Water Outlaws is a genderbent retelling of the fourteenth-century Chinese classic Water Margin (水滸傳). Huang did an excellent job of adding original content to the well-known story, keeping the classic fresh, queer, and even more satisfying in our heroes’ resilience.
“Haojie (豪傑),” the way the bandits of Liangshan claimed this word as their own, for this ragtag bunch of wayward women — of exceptional women — is a thrill in itself! Before the end of the book, there were thirty-six people on Liangshan, most of them women. There were at least two genderqueer characters and few men. With many of the characters being genderbent in Huang’s retelling, this deliberate choice added another layer to the big-picture plot.
Set in Song Dynasty (宋朝), it is clear right off the bat the villains are powerful men like Cai Jing and Gao Qiu. It’s difficult to watch them get away with their schemes and crimes time and time again. With most of the heroes of Liangshan being women, this further heightens the power imbalance between them and the imperial government officials.
I hadn’t expected to be so invested in this story. Having read the original Water Margin a decade ago (or maybe only part of it), I couldn’t remember having particularly enjoyed the book. So when I picked up The Water Outlaws, I was planning on going along for the ride, rooting for justice Liangshan believes in perhaps. Before I knew it, I started caring for the heroes. The camaraderie between the haojie is both moving and formidable. These bandits are people who had nowhere else to go — either for financial reasons or charged with crimes they might not have committed — or people who believe in a better world with better justice. Aren’t they like a lot of us, just trying their best to live and survive, carving out a corner of safe space? The heroes of Liangshan, to some extent, is a found family.
If you’re familiar with the original Water Margin, you would anticipate the major plot points. You would also notice that the original bandits of Liangshan are even messier and more morally grey than they are in Huang’s version. Comparing the original work and this retelling, the time when some characters join Liangshan is slightly different, and the characters who participate in certain missions are somewhat altered, too.
I love the changes Huang made to the characters, the way The Water Outlaws leans more toward a balancing force — righteous or not, you decide — against the corrupt court officials serves the book well. As far as I could tell, the god’s tooth wasn’t in the original novel, but Fan Rui’s magic and Chao Gai’s paranormal skills were. The extra fantasy elements were woven well into the plot, and if you like martial arts, there is no lack of sparring, fighting, and training scenes, either.
Lin Chong, whose “crimes” drive the progression of the story, arguably goes through the most change character-wise in this novel about fighting for change in the system. I’m enamored with the Tactician Wu Yong’s (homophone to “useless,” which I find interesting) wit and plans being cunning and clever, her ethics questionable. I also love that An Daoquan, the Divine Physician, only signs and is nonverbal. Her calming presence and medical skills hold the injured together after battles and tragedies. Li Kui, with her incessant thirst for bloodshed, is also endearing in her own twisted sense. While this retelling is deeply queer, it is queer in the sense that we, as readers, know that many of the haojie are queer. There is little to no queer relationships, and the only known nonbinary folks are minor characters.
If you’re unfamiliar with Chinese names, all characters in this book are referred to with their family names first. For example, Lin Chong’s family name is Lin, and her given name is Chong. Given that many family names are common and that all names are romanized in Pinyin, having the same family names does not mean they’re related unless specified, like the Ruan brothers. For example, Lu Da (魯達) and Lu Junyi (盧俊義) have different family names, and Song Jiang (宋江) and Song Wan (宋萬) are not related.
If you like classic retellings, wuxia stories, historical fiction, or unhinged women fighting for justice, The Water Outlaws is for you.
content warnings: sexual assault, sexism, misogyny, murder (including killing children), massacre, cannibalism, torture, dismembering (of ear), penal tattoos, gore, blood, mention of dog meat
Told in multiple POVs — Lin Chong, Lu Junyi, Lu Da, Cai Jing, Wu Yong — The Water Outlaws is a genderbent retelling of the fourteenth-century Chinese classic Water Margin (水滸傳). Huang did an excellent job of adding original content to the well-known story, keeping the classic fresh, queer, and even more satisfying in our heroes’ resilience.
“Haojie (豪傑),” the way the bandits of Liangshan claimed this word as their own, for this ragtag bunch of wayward women — of exceptional women — is a thrill in itself! Before the end of the book, there were thirty-six people on Liangshan, most of them women. There were at least two genderqueer characters and few men. With many of the characters being genderbent in Huang’s retelling, this deliberate choice added another layer to the big-picture plot.
Set in Song Dynasty (宋朝), it is clear right off the bat the villains are powerful men like Cai Jing and Gao Qiu. It’s difficult to watch them get away with their schemes and crimes time and time again. With most of the heroes of Liangshan being women, this further heightens the power imbalance between them and the imperial government officials.
I hadn’t expected to be so invested in this story. Having read the original Water Margin a decade ago (or maybe only part of it), I couldn’t remember having particularly enjoyed the book. So when I picked up The Water Outlaws, I was planning on going along for the ride, rooting for justice Liangshan believes in perhaps. Before I knew it, I started caring for the heroes. The camaraderie between the haojie is both moving and formidable. These bandits are people who had nowhere else to go — either for financial reasons or charged with crimes they might not have committed — or people who believe in a better world with better justice. Aren’t they like a lot of us, just trying their best to live and survive, carving out a corner of safe space? The heroes of Liangshan, to some extent, is a found family.
If you’re familiar with the original Water Margin, you would anticipate the major plot points. You would also notice that the original bandits of Liangshan are even messier and more morally grey than they are in Huang’s version. Comparing the original work and this retelling, the time when some characters join Liangshan is slightly different, and the characters who participate in certain missions are somewhat altered, too.
I love the changes Huang made to the characters, the way The Water Outlaws leans more toward a balancing force — righteous or not, you decide — against the corrupt court officials serves the book well. As far as I could tell, the god’s tooth wasn’t in the original novel, but Fan Rui’s magic and Chao Gai’s paranormal skills were. The extra fantasy elements were woven well into the plot, and if you like martial arts, there is no lack of sparring, fighting, and training scenes, either.
Lin Chong, whose “crimes” drive the progression of the story, arguably goes through the most change character-wise in this novel about fighting for change in the system. I’m enamored with the Tactician Wu Yong’s (homophone to “useless,” which I find interesting) wit and plans being cunning and clever, her ethics questionable. I also love that An Daoquan, the Divine Physician, only signs and is nonverbal. Her calming presence and medical skills hold the injured together after battles and tragedies. Li Kui, with her incessant thirst for bloodshed, is also endearing in her own twisted sense. While this retelling is deeply queer, it is queer in the sense that we, as readers, know that many of the haojie are queer. There is little to no queer relationships, and the only known nonbinary folks are minor characters.
If you’re unfamiliar with Chinese names, all characters in this book are referred to with their family names first. For example, Lin Chong’s family name is Lin, and her given name is Chong. Given that many family names are common and that all names are romanized in Pinyin, having the same family names does not mean they’re related unless specified, like the Ruan brothers. For example, Lu Da (魯達) and Lu Junyi (盧俊義) have different family names, and Song Jiang (宋江) and Song Wan (宋萬) are not related.
If you like classic retellings, wuxia stories, historical fiction, or unhinged women fighting for justice, The Water Outlaws is for you.
content warnings: sexual assault, sexism, misogyny, murder (including killing children), massacre, cannibalism, torture, dismembering (of ear), penal tattoos, gore, blood, mention of dog meat
characters with their chinese names in water margin:
Citizens of Biangliang (汴梁):
Lin Chong 林沖 / Lu Junyi 盧俊義 / Ling Zhen 凌振 / Fan Rui 樊瑞 / Jia 賈氏
The Bandits of Liangshan (梁山):
Lu Da 魯達 / Chao Gai 晁蓋 / Wang Lun 王倫 / Sun Erniang 孫二娘 / Song Jiang 宋江 / Wu Yong 吳用 / Li Kui 李逵 / An Daoquan 安道全 / Hu Sanniang 扈三娘 / Zhu Gui 朱貴 / Chai 柴進 / Jiang Jing 蔣敬 / Yang Xiong 楊雄 / Shi Xiu 石秀 / Shi Qian 時遷 / Du Qian 杜遷/ Song Wan 宋萬 / Li Jun 李俊 / Li Li 李立 / Wang Dingliu 王定六
Imperial Government Officials:
Gao Qiu 高俅 / Cai Jing 蔡京
Other Residents of the Empire:
Yang Zhi 楊志 / Bai Sheng 白勝 / Huang Wenbing 黃文炳
June 23, 2023
"We're dangerous people.”
“Only to those who would oppose what the Empire should be," Song Jiang affirmed, with her usual calm poetry. "What the Empire's heart can be. To all others, we shall be what stands between them and the rising waves. We shall be the storm of silk and steel that shelters all those in need."
Thank you to Solaris for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Lin Chong is a respected arms instructor until the power and greed of men sees her unlawfully sentenced to unjust and underhanded death, leading to a new life as a fugitive exile, highway robber, and bandit chieftain.
Along with a cast of delightful characters who have also found themselves out of sorts with the bureaucracy of the empire and the vain, powerful men who rule it, they wish to righten the wrongs of the empire and protect the people.
The biggest highlight? Apart from the chivalry, the humour, the found family, cannibalism (yes, cannibalism), the desire for justice, and depiction of unfairness?
The representation.
It was deftly handled and incorporated so naturally, especially in a time period where these sorts of issues were probably strife with the male dominated regime and power.
“I am one who 'rides the sixteen winds'- I'm a man as chief of Dongxi, though my people know my eccentricities now and are unbothered that I become a woman elsewhere.”
"Perhaps it would have made my life easier, to live as a man," she wondered aloud. Though if she imagined hiding herself away, the idea was stifling. "Only if it feels like freedom. If not, it becomes just another kind of cage.”
One thing to note: there were a lot of names and nicknames to pin to people. There is a character list at the start so you can refer to that, but I find I never do as it always draws you out of the story.
This was such a clever reimagining inspired by the popular literature, the Water Margin. The character dynamics bounced off the page, the tactics deployed were superb, and the fight scenes were cinematic.
Not to mention the humour!
”I missed curfew," Lu Da answered.
“I see."
“A hundred and seventy-three times."
“That would-" started Lin Chong delicately.
"Because I was drunk!"
I would recommend the Dandelion Dynasty if you enjoyed this for a more dense adult fantasy!
”I only mean that as yet, our advancement has not come at the expense of men. But it shall, It must. There is not sufficient room for us otherwise. Our true success will mean some of them lose power… and that will not come without anger and fear."
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“Only to those who would oppose what the Empire should be," Song Jiang affirmed, with her usual calm poetry. "What the Empire's heart can be. To all others, we shall be what stands between them and the rising waves. We shall be the storm of silk and steel that shelters all those in need."
Thank you to Solaris for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Lin Chong is a respected arms instructor until the power and greed of men sees her unlawfully sentenced to unjust and underhanded death, leading to a new life as a fugitive exile, highway robber, and bandit chieftain.
Along with a cast of delightful characters who have also found themselves out of sorts with the bureaucracy of the empire and the vain, powerful men who rule it, they wish to righten the wrongs of the empire and protect the people.
The biggest highlight? Apart from the chivalry, the humour, the found family, cannibalism (yes, cannibalism), the desire for justice, and depiction of unfairness?
The representation.
It was deftly handled and incorporated so naturally, especially in a time period where these sorts of issues were probably strife with the male dominated regime and power.
“I am one who 'rides the sixteen winds'- I'm a man as chief of Dongxi, though my people know my eccentricities now and are unbothered that I become a woman elsewhere.”
"Perhaps it would have made my life easier, to live as a man," she wondered aloud. Though if she imagined hiding herself away, the idea was stifling. "Only if it feels like freedom. If not, it becomes just another kind of cage.”
One thing to note: there were a lot of names and nicknames to pin to people. There is a character list at the start so you can refer to that, but I find I never do as it always draws you out of the story.
This was such a clever reimagining inspired by the popular literature, the Water Margin. The character dynamics bounced off the page, the tactics deployed were superb, and the fight scenes were cinematic.
Not to mention the humour!
”I missed curfew," Lu Da answered.
“I see."
“A hundred and seventy-three times."
“That would-" started Lin Chong delicately.
"Because I was drunk!"
I would recommend the Dandelion Dynasty if you enjoyed this for a more dense adult fantasy!
”I only mean that as yet, our advancement has not come at the expense of men. But it shall, It must. There is not sufficient room for us otherwise. Our true success will mean some of them lose power… and that will not come without anger and fear."
Bookstagram
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August 5, 2024Long, engaging epic recasting The Water Margin with a mostly female queer cast. Full of fantasy and violence, with non-stop fighting and some highly questionable morals (including some serious brutality from the good guys). One of the few long books I read this holiday that actually supports its length, in large part because it's leaning into the vibes of the episodic and endless original. Enjoyable, engaging, and handles the huge cast with aplomb: I would have liked more time with more of the outlaws.
November 3, 2023
huang does a great job establishing lin chong's character in the opening chapters: principled and hardworking, someone who believes if she just plays to the rules, she can make it in a fundamentally fucked system - until she gets caught in the arbitrary violence of said fundamentally fucked system and her whole world is turned upside down.
compelling opening but after the first quarter, the cast snowballs out of control and there is simply not enough time (within the text or the story) devoted to building up the water outlaws and the relationships with them. they're just one note characters that exist as narrative props or obtacles: lu da the strong side kick, wang lun the jealous rival, wu young the strategist. it is of course refreshing to have a diverse cast of female characters occupying these different story "niches" but the lack of depth left me wanting. i didn't understand the deuteragonist lu junyi at all as a character - if i squint i can see sort of what huang was going for with her as someone in essentially a hostage situation but her motivations and reactions are all over the place.
with the introduction of the outlaws, the story takes on an entirely predictable trajectory. the fantasy element is barely developed and feels like an afterthought. for a political novel, the politics are simplistic, your standard good vs evil stuff. like, lin chong inhabits an unquestionably grey moral space yet once she joins the outlaws there's no engagement with the fact that she was their enemy all of three minutes ago. the only antagonism she faces is from a character who is obviously set up to be treated as being unreasonably jealous.
its also honestly baffling that everyone, from the Bandits to the Evil Mustache Twirling Villain, is absolutely besotted with the emperor for reasons that are never explained. granted this is a stock trope in wuxia settings but its poorly contextualized in the book.
no idea why this book was slapped with the "queer feminist" label ... for simply featuring female and/or lgbtq+ protagonists? sexual orientation, sex and gender are barely relevant in the text except when it comes to overt forms of misogyny. (and of course huang introduces a slew of "gender fluid" characters who "dress in male clothes and female clothes depending on their mood" (because gender is clothes) but once we're done with this obligatory gesture of ~nonbinary inclusivity~ their "identity" is never again relevant lol).
fine for an action oriented book but doesn't quite deliver on the front of characters, relationships or politics sadly.
compelling opening but after the first quarter, the cast snowballs out of control and there is simply not enough time (within the text or the story) devoted to building up the water outlaws and the relationships with them. they're just one note characters that exist as narrative props or obtacles: lu da the strong side kick, wang lun the jealous rival, wu young the strategist. it is of course refreshing to have a diverse cast of female characters occupying these different story "niches" but the lack of depth left me wanting. i didn't understand the deuteragonist lu junyi at all as a character - if i squint i can see sort of what huang was going for with her as someone in essentially a hostage situation but her motivations and reactions are all over the place.
with the introduction of the outlaws, the story takes on an entirely predictable trajectory. the fantasy element is barely developed and feels like an afterthought. for a political novel, the politics are simplistic, your standard good vs evil stuff. like, lin chong inhabits an unquestionably grey moral space yet once she joins the outlaws there's no engagement with the fact that she was their enemy all of three minutes ago. the only antagonism she faces is from a character who is obviously set up to be treated as being unreasonably jealous.
its also honestly baffling that everyone, from the Bandits to the Evil Mustache Twirling Villain, is absolutely besotted with the emperor for reasons that are never explained. granted this is a stock trope in wuxia settings but its poorly contextualized in the book.
no idea why this book was slapped with the "queer feminist" label ... for simply featuring female and/or lgbtq+ protagonists? sexual orientation, sex and gender are barely relevant in the text except when it comes to overt forms of misogyny. (and of course huang introduces a slew of "gender fluid" characters who "dress in male clothes and female clothes depending on their mood" (because gender is clothes) but once we're done with this obligatory gesture of ~nonbinary inclusivity~ their "identity" is never again relevant lol).
fine for an action oriented book but doesn't quite deliver on the front of characters, relationships or politics sadly.
September 12, 2023
7/10
This book has a great opening, and a pretty good ending. I liked the characters, and it was a nuanced and imaginative take on the Water Margin. I do feel it was way too long, it definitely could have been cut down in some places. The fights were entertaining, but I found some of the dialogue very stilted.
Ultimately, glad I read this book as its an interesting experiment, but it wasn't a favorite.
This book has a great opening, and a pretty good ending. I liked the characters, and it was a nuanced and imaginative take on the Water Margin. I do feel it was way too long, it definitely could have been cut down in some places. The fights were entertaining, but I found some of the dialogue very stilted.
Ultimately, glad I read this book as its an interesting experiment, but it wasn't a favorite.
August 21, 2023
Niestety spore rozczarowanie. Gdyby nie to, że chciałam mieć pojęcie o całości, to zrobiłabym DNF w okolicach 30%, bo już wtedy umierałam z nudów. Ta książka obiecuje fajny pomysł na fabułę (bandytki walczące ze skorumpowanym rządem), który gubi się w rozwlekłych monologach wewnętrznych i nierównym tempie. Spokojnie można by ją skrócić o jakieś 150 stron, bo jest zwyczajnie za długa, a postacie nieraz powtarzają tę samą myśl na trzy różne sposoby i tych wszystkich analiz tego, co widzą, jest zwyczajnie zbyt wiele. Poza tym książka zaczyna się, jakby miała konkretną główną bohaterkę, po czym stwierdza, że jednak woli być o bohaterze zbiorowym, w rezultacie żadnej z postaci nie poznajemy dość dobrze i żadna z nich mnie nie obchodziła, więc jak zaczynały ginąć, to cieszyłam się, że to już koniec.
To wersja genderbender klasycznej chińskiej „Opowieści znad brzegów rzek”, której autorka trzyma się chyba zbyt kurczowo (wnioskuję ze streszczenia, które przeczytałam), bo jako XXI wieczna powieść fantasy (chociaż tego fantasy jest tam tyle, co w The Green Bone Saga Fondy Lee, niektóre rody korzystają z „zębów boga”, artefaktów, które dają im nieco nadprzyrodzone moce w walce) ta struktura się zwyczajnie nie sprawdza.
Tl;dr: za długie i nudne
To wersja genderbender klasycznej chińskiej „Opowieści znad brzegów rzek”, której autorka trzyma się chyba zbyt kurczowo (wnioskuję ze streszczenia, które przeczytałam), bo jako XXI wieczna powieść fantasy (chociaż tego fantasy jest tam tyle, co w The Green Bone Saga Fondy Lee, niektóre rody korzystają z „zębów boga”, artefaktów, które dają im nieco nadprzyrodzone moce w walce) ta struktura się zwyczajnie nie sprawdza.
Tl;dr: za długie i nudne
December 15, 2023
I really enjoyed this. Approachably feminist, very "eat the rich" but in a deserved way, with a lot of care for the people impacted by what our heroes do.
CONTENT WARNING:
I personally did not enjoy the audio narration, but the story shone through anyways.
It was often not pleasant to be in this world, but it was done with care and made a powerful argument for the complex and engaging relationships that women and queer folk can have away from constraining views on gender roles.
CONTENT WARNING:
I personally did not enjoy the audio narration, but the story shone through anyways.
It was often not pleasant to be in this world, but it was done with care and made a powerful argument for the complex and engaging relationships that women and queer folk can have away from constraining views on gender roles.
September 6, 2023
A queer epic fantasy of cinematic proportions. Water Outlaws is filled with fierce (and terrifying) women warrior bandits, found family, corruption, love, loyalty and a crusade to save the world. Be prepared to immerse yourself until you are finished with this breath taking book.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
Staff Pick 9/23
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
Staff Pick 9/23
June 15, 2023
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
To preface this review, I will say that I am not familiar with Water Margin, the Chinese classic that this book is based off of, so my review won't offer any insights into the retelling/reimagining aspect of the book, but is purely based on the book itself.
To keep it concise, I really loved so much of this book. It's a fantastic modern (and feminist) take on the wuxia genre, but contains all the heart, charm, and nostalgia for some of the more classic wuxia tales that I grew up with. It's fast-paced and action-packed, and I think that it's a great entry into the genre. I've read one other book by Huang in the past (Burning Roses), and I do distinctly remember really enjoying her writing style then as well, but her writing style here is just excellent. It has a sort of lyrical quality to it that lends itself to the historical vibes, and the descriptions of the setting really make you feel fully immersed in the world.
Thematically, there is so much to enjoy here. The way that Huang explores power dynamics and the responsibility of wielding power in this story is so well done. Throughout all this, the book constantly is asking the question of what does justice mean? What does it mean to be a hero? Who gets to be a hero? And throughout our entire cast of characters, we get to see the answer to this question manifest in different people in very different ways, and I think it was executed beautifully.
That brings me to my favourite part about this book - the characters. This is, by far, The Water Outlaws' greatest strength. While Lin Chong is undoubtedly our main character, we also get to see the perspectives of a variety of different characters, including a number of her fellow bandits (Song Jiang and Lu Da are my favourites), the antagonists, and one of my favourite characters, Lu Junyi, a scholar and socialite who is a friend of Lin Chong. If you, like me, are obsessed with big, beefy, and brainless women (basically a female himbo) - Lu Da was made for us. I'm surprised at how much I got to know each of these characters by the end of the book, despite there being so many of them, and not that many pages.
My main criticism of the book is honestly just that it is too short for my personal taste. I don't think this will be an issue for every reader - if you enjoy fast-paced stories, you probably would love the book as is, but for me personally, I just felt like I needed more time with our characters than we got. I feel the same way about this book as I do with films - it does what it needs to do within the given time frame, and what we are presented with is incredible, but I just personally prefer watching TV shows where I can spend 10+ hours with my cast of characters as opposed to just a few. I don't think this is a flaw of the book, but just something that comes down to personal preference.
All in all, I would highly recommend The Water Outlaws to anyone who enjoys wuxia, historical settings, an ensemble cast of characters, and beautifully written action scenes. This book has definitely solidified S.L. Huang as an author that I will continue to keep an eye on, and I'll be looking to read the rest of her backlist sooner rather than later.
CW: sexual assault, torture, cannibalism
To preface this review, I will say that I am not familiar with Water Margin, the Chinese classic that this book is based off of, so my review won't offer any insights into the retelling/reimagining aspect of the book, but is purely based on the book itself.
To keep it concise, I really loved so much of this book. It's a fantastic modern (and feminist) take on the wuxia genre, but contains all the heart, charm, and nostalgia for some of the more classic wuxia tales that I grew up with. It's fast-paced and action-packed, and I think that it's a great entry into the genre. I've read one other book by Huang in the past (Burning Roses), and I do distinctly remember really enjoying her writing style then as well, but her writing style here is just excellent. It has a sort of lyrical quality to it that lends itself to the historical vibes, and the descriptions of the setting really make you feel fully immersed in the world.
Thematically, there is so much to enjoy here. The way that Huang explores power dynamics and the responsibility of wielding power in this story is so well done. Throughout all this, the book constantly is asking the question of what does justice mean? What does it mean to be a hero? Who gets to be a hero? And throughout our entire cast of characters, we get to see the answer to this question manifest in different people in very different ways, and I think it was executed beautifully.
That brings me to my favourite part about this book - the characters. This is, by far, The Water Outlaws' greatest strength. While Lin Chong is undoubtedly our main character, we also get to see the perspectives of a variety of different characters, including a number of her fellow bandits (Song Jiang and Lu Da are my favourites), the antagonists, and one of my favourite characters, Lu Junyi, a scholar and socialite who is a friend of Lin Chong. If you, like me, are obsessed with big, beefy, and brainless women (basically a female himbo) - Lu Da was made for us. I'm surprised at how much I got to know each of these characters by the end of the book, despite there being so many of them, and not that many pages.
My main criticism of the book is honestly just that it is too short for my personal taste. I don't think this will be an issue for every reader - if you enjoy fast-paced stories, you probably would love the book as is, but for me personally, I just felt like I needed more time with our characters than we got. I feel the same way about this book as I do with films - it does what it needs to do within the given time frame, and what we are presented with is incredible, but I just personally prefer watching TV shows where I can spend 10+ hours with my cast of characters as opposed to just a few. I don't think this is a flaw of the book, but just something that comes down to personal preference.
All in all, I would highly recommend The Water Outlaws to anyone who enjoys wuxia, historical settings, an ensemble cast of characters, and beautifully written action scenes. This book has definitely solidified S.L. Huang as an author that I will continue to keep an eye on, and I'll be looking to read the rest of her backlist sooner rather than later.
CW: sexual assault, torture, cannibalism
March 7, 2023
A fantastic novel of resistance. It's directly inspired by The Water Margin, while carving out a fresh identity for itself. If you're familiar with the old classics of Chinese literature, you'll find not just familiar characters and conflicts, but a sense of formal structure that reads as cleanly as the classics. It's simultaneously comfortable and exciting. Yet as rigorously thought-through as the book is, it rewards us with scintillating action, deep worldbuilding, and unapologetic queerness. The Water Outlaws refuses to apologize for what it is, every bit as much as its characters refuse to bow. It teaches us to refuse to be defined by people who don't care about us.
A lot of people are about to fall in love with this book.
A lot of people are about to fall in love with this book.
dnf
July 14, 2023might pick this up later
May 19, 2024
The gorgeous cover is a perfect complement for the intense, engrossing story. From start to finish, I had trouble ever putting the book down, which is impressive in a year when my usual pace has been very slow even for books I love. The contrasting arcs of Lin Chong and Lu Junyi were beautifully drawn, and I thought the other POV characters were really well written also. I'm not familiar with the original story, but that didn't take away from the appeal of this story, and Huang definitely makes me want to learn more.
(It should be noted that both the original and this version have a high body count, and Huang provides a content note at the beginning of this book that addresses violence in the text, including that there are scenes of .)
(It should be noted that both the original and this version have a high body count, and Huang provides a content note at the beginning of this book that addresses violence in the text, including that there are scenes of .)
February 29, 2024
Overall, a mediocre book across the board. Everything from the style of prose to the characters, structure, and overarching ideas, manage to tick the boxes without doing anything remarkable. Would not have written a review if it wasn't for how inaccurately the book was introduced to readers in the author's note. It's a very sincerely written story, but written in a naive manner that does not convey full control and awareness of the larger themes it attempts to get across.
First--the story is a retelling of The Water Margin, and it reuses a majority of the character names (albeit with adjusted backstories and varied contributions to the plot) and locations verbatim. Most of the arcs line up extremely close with the original text. The author's creative control is limited to the tweaks made to re-adjust the story to a plight of not only class struggle by women's rights, and its staunch adherence to these beats of the original text often makes character decisions and emotional journeys feel weak and unresolved.
First example:
Second example:
The previously mentioned author's note states that this is "primarily a joyous, toothy escapist adventure." There is no joy in this book. I cannot recall a single scene in this 400+ pages book where its two main protagonists Lin Chong and Lu Junyi even smile, let alone feel joy. The primary emotion is pain, fear, and a sense of helplessness. The pacing pushes relentlessly fast to the point that every scrap of descriptive prose provided about the environment, a building, or the marsh, was a relief to read. It is an escapist novel in that I wanted to escape out of its world.
This books ticks the box for depicting queer characters and forgot to elaborate. If one enjoys the fact that the story "just happens to be queer, it shouldn't be the focus and we should normalize queer people in fiction," this will not be a problem. However, in a retelling where the main difference to the original sold to readers lies in its inclusion of women and queer characters, it isn't a leap to assume that something interesting would be done with their presence. Keep in mind as well that this deviance to the Water Margin is more explicitly stated than the large fantasy element that came out of the left field. If you're looking for any possible interesting portrayals / interpretations of queerness in historical or even fantasy China, this will not satisfy you.
Lastly, this is a book about power and empire that is disinterested in fleshing out its power structure and the motives of its many hierarchical classes. Everyone from the Liangshan Bandits to Lu Junyi to Cai Jing, one of two main antagonists, have, curiously, the exact same goal--prosperity and safety of its Empire. Throughout reading this, I held out hope that maybe by the end, someone, anyone, will crack, and admit that this loyalty to the empire is a farce for advancing their own goals, for digesting their personal trauma, anything. But this never happens. The extremely intimate and closed third-person POV shows an absolute devotion to this vague goal from both sides of the conflict, a nonsensical sincerity that never is betrayed.
Numerous other inconsistencies and flaws abound, but this is already a criminally (in a sexy bandit sort of way) long review for a book I wasted months to carefully read and give the benefit of the doubt to. Do not judge a book by its beautiful cover.
First--the story is a retelling of The Water Margin, and it reuses a majority of the character names (albeit with adjusted backstories and varied contributions to the plot) and locations verbatim. Most of the arcs line up extremely close with the original text. The author's creative control is limited to the tweaks made to re-adjust the story to a plight of not only class struggle by women's rights, and its staunch adherence to these beats of the original text often makes character decisions and emotional journeys feel weak and unresolved.
First example:
Second example:
The previously mentioned author's note states that this is "primarily a joyous, toothy escapist adventure." There is no joy in this book. I cannot recall a single scene in this 400+ pages book where its two main protagonists Lin Chong and Lu Junyi even smile, let alone feel joy. The primary emotion is pain, fear, and a sense of helplessness. The pacing pushes relentlessly fast to the point that every scrap of descriptive prose provided about the environment, a building, or the marsh, was a relief to read. It is an escapist novel in that I wanted to escape out of its world.
This books ticks the box for depicting queer characters and forgot to elaborate. If one enjoys the fact that the story "just happens to be queer, it shouldn't be the focus and we should normalize queer people in fiction," this will not be a problem. However, in a retelling where the main difference to the original sold to readers lies in its inclusion of women and queer characters, it isn't a leap to assume that something interesting would be done with their presence. Keep in mind as well that this deviance to the Water Margin is more explicitly stated than the large fantasy element that came out of the left field. If you're looking for any possible interesting portrayals / interpretations of queerness in historical or even fantasy China, this will not satisfy you.
Lastly, this is a book about power and empire that is disinterested in fleshing out its power structure and the motives of its many hierarchical classes. Everyone from the Liangshan Bandits to Lu Junyi to Cai Jing, one of two main antagonists, have, curiously, the exact same goal--prosperity and safety of its Empire. Throughout reading this, I held out hope that maybe by the end, someone, anyone, will crack, and admit that this loyalty to the empire is a farce for advancing their own goals, for digesting their personal trauma, anything. But this never happens. The extremely intimate and closed third-person POV shows an absolute devotion to this vague goal from both sides of the conflict, a nonsensical sincerity that never is betrayed.
Numerous other inconsistencies and flaws abound, but this is already a criminally (in a sexy bandit sort of way) long review for a book I wasted months to carefully read and give the benefit of the doubt to. Do not judge a book by its beautiful cover.
July 10, 2023
More accurately a 3.5 stars.
From the minute I started THE WATER OUTLAWS, and each time I picked it up again after putting it down, I was sucked right into the story. It’s a mix of power plays, magical (and somewhat scientific) forces, camaraderie and unlikely heroes that entertained me greatly. There were moments that made me feel like cheering, others that made me angry and still others that made me sad; and generally, the fact that this story stirred up some of my own feelings already feels like a reason to commend it.
The only thing that prevents this one from being rated higher is the fact that I would have liked to feel like I’d gotten to really connect with this cast of characters even more, though it does makes sense in a way to only get to know them to a certain extent given the large cast and the number of moving plot pieces.
From the minute I started THE WATER OUTLAWS, and each time I picked it up again after putting it down, I was sucked right into the story. It’s a mix of power plays, magical (and somewhat scientific) forces, camaraderie and unlikely heroes that entertained me greatly. There were moments that made me feel like cheering, others that made me angry and still others that made me sad; and generally, the fact that this story stirred up some of my own feelings already feels like a reason to commend it.
The only thing that prevents this one from being rated higher is the fact that I would have liked to feel like I’d gotten to really connect with this cast of characters even more, though it does makes sense in a way to only get to know them to a certain extent given the large cast and the number of moving plot pieces.
August 13, 2023
The Water Outlaws is a queer genderbent retelling of Water Margin, one of the most famous works of Chinese literature about 108 bandits living on Mount Liang who rebel against the government. With a gorgeous cover and an author known for writing fantastic fight scenes, I was quite excited to see more retellings of Chinese literature. However, I felt a general disconnect with the characters and the pacing felt off.
I admit, I wasn’t actually familiar with Water Margin when I read this book (although I did skim the Wikipedia article after) so I treated this book as its own work. Perhaps knowing the original story, I would have had a better appreciation for how Huang re-interprets the plot and characters. In the original work, all the bandits are men, whereas in The Water Outlaws, the bandits of Mount Liang are women who’ve been failed by society in some way or other, and have found a second life in this new sisterhood. This one factor completely overhauls the motivations of the original story, and while I thought the exploration of such was interesting, it felt lacking to me.
I think The Water Outlaws suffers from the same issue a lot of retelling face: being forced to follow the same rough outline and not deviating too far from the character arcs from the original work in a way that still feels true to the re-imagined character. I think it’s here where I had the biggest struggle. These characters like Lin Chong and Wu Yong would be so interesting and then suddenly do something that felt out of character, and my guess is because of the retelling issue. Despite this book being so character-driven, I just never felt myself connecting to the actual characters and so I found it difficult to really get into the story.
That being said, the action and fights were delivered exactly as promised. Huang writes combat in a way that feels clear, one where you can picture every move a character makes and exactly where they’re positioned on the battlefield. After the first 35% or so, the story is pretty much non-stop action (they’re bandits after all). The added component of the god’s tooth, giving characters wuxia-like fighting technique, made the stakes so much higher and more fun to read.
Overall, I rate this book a 3/5. I struggled through the slow first 35% of story and it was hard to immerse myself in the story due to a lack of connection with the characters, but the action was extremely well written and the worldbuilding was both interesting and surprisingly compact.
___
3/5
Really wanted to like this more but I wasn't feeling it. I had a disconnect from the characters and the world that made it hard to immerse myself in the story. I think this suffers from the same issue a lot of retellings do, where some of the plot points and character decisions felt off because it had to follow the general plot points of the original story
I admit, I wasn’t actually familiar with Water Margin when I read this book (although I did skim the Wikipedia article after) so I treated this book as its own work. Perhaps knowing the original story, I would have had a better appreciation for how Huang re-interprets the plot and characters. In the original work, all the bandits are men, whereas in The Water Outlaws, the bandits of Mount Liang are women who’ve been failed by society in some way or other, and have found a second life in this new sisterhood. This one factor completely overhauls the motivations of the original story, and while I thought the exploration of such was interesting, it felt lacking to me.
I think The Water Outlaws suffers from the same issue a lot of retelling face: being forced to follow the same rough outline and not deviating too far from the character arcs from the original work in a way that still feels true to the re-imagined character. I think it’s here where I had the biggest struggle. These characters like Lin Chong and Wu Yong would be so interesting and then suddenly do something that felt out of character, and my guess is because of the retelling issue. Despite this book being so character-driven, I just never felt myself connecting to the actual characters and so I found it difficult to really get into the story.
That being said, the action and fights were delivered exactly as promised. Huang writes combat in a way that feels clear, one where you can picture every move a character makes and exactly where they’re positioned on the battlefield. After the first 35% or so, the story is pretty much non-stop action (they’re bandits after all). The added component of the god’s tooth, giving characters wuxia-like fighting technique, made the stakes so much higher and more fun to read.
Overall, I rate this book a 3/5. I struggled through the slow first 35% of story and it was hard to immerse myself in the story due to a lack of connection with the characters, but the action was extremely well written and the worldbuilding was both interesting and surprisingly compact.
___
3/5
Really wanted to like this more but I wasn't feeling it. I had a disconnect from the characters and the world that made it hard to immerse myself in the story. I think this suffers from the same issue a lot of retellings do, where some of the plot points and character decisions felt off because it had to follow the general plot points of the original story
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January 22, 2024
Lin Chong never wanted to be anything more than she was: an imperial arms instructor. But when everything she'd fought and scrambled for is shattered by the arrogance of a corrupt marshal, she finds herself in the arms of a group of (mostly) female bandits. Bandits who are going to change the world...one way or another. Against the Empire. For the Empire.
I can't believe I put off reading this ARC for so long. I blame my tepid enjoyment of the first (and before this, only) work of Huang's I had read, Burning Roses for my procrastination.
Right from the first sentence, I was snatched up in this book. It's a gender-bent, queer retelling of The Water Margin about a group of 108 righteous bandits who face off against ten thousand Imperial troops and, against all odds, win. Of course, there is so much more than that.
It is so good.
The perfect mix of politics and wuxia and bravery, and so, so queer and so good. Did I mention it was good?
It's good.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
I can't believe I put off reading this ARC for so long. I blame my tepid enjoyment of the first (and before this, only) work of Huang's I had read, Burning Roses for my procrastination.
Right from the first sentence, I was snatched up in this book. It's a gender-bent, queer retelling of The Water Margin about a group of 108 righteous bandits who face off against ten thousand Imperial troops and, against all odds, win. Of course, there is so much more than that.
It is so good.
The perfect mix of politics and wuxia and bravery, and so, so queer and so good. Did I mention it was good?
It's good.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
October 25, 2023
2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2023/10/12/...
Inspired by what is considered one of the greatest classic novels of Chinese literature, The Water Outlaws is a gender-flipped reimagining of Water Margin, a story about 108 rebels who come together to form a rebel force against a corrupt government during the Song Dynasty. It introduces Lin Chong, a master arms instructor for the emperor’s soldiers—and one of only a few women in the imperial service. However, after running afoul of a high-ranking official abusing his power, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death, and only after a friend begs for clemency is our protagonist saved from execution.
Branded a criminal and exiled to a penal colony on the far reaches of the empire, Lin Chong manages to escape death a second time when she foils a plot by the official, Gao Qiu, to have her killed on the way. With the help of Lu Da, the Flower Monk, she finds her way to the Liangshan bandits, a group of women and other societal outcasts who have made their home in the swamp.
After a lifetime of working hard, following the rules, and generally doing what was expected of her, Lin Chong initially has a hard time settling into this new world. In this cutthroat society where ferocity is a measure of strength and provocative philosophies are not only allowed but encouraged, nothing you were or did before matters. The past is dead. Lin Chong has no choice now but to pluck up the courage and determination to face the future and move on. No longer will she have the option to go quietly on her own way into obscurity and solitude, as she must learn to embrace her new family and fight together as a single force against their common foe.
In Chinese culture, Water Margin, also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, is as ubiquitous as the legend of Robin Hood. It is everywhere, adapted into movies, TV shows, stage plays, graphic novels—you name it, it’s been done. As such, I have been familiar with its story since childhood and was very excited when I learned about this retelling by S.L. Huang. Again like Robin Hood, the original story of Water Margin contains themes of rebellion against oppressive rulers for the benefit and protection of the common people. It also features martial arts in the wuxia tradition and other elements of ancient Chinese history. In other words, it’s pretty damn epic.
So, you can imagine my surprise and frustration, given the epicness of the inspiration behind The Water Outlaws, I felt that much of this retelling was quite a slog. If I hadn’t been so curious to see how the whole “reimagined” aspect of it would pan out, I might even have been tempted to set this one aside. The real kicker is that the first quarter of the book was actually very good, as I was completely captivated by Lin Chong as a protagonist. Here was a woman who has always kept her head down, taking comfort and pride in doing the right thing, yet powerful men were still able to seize her freedom and dignity through no fault of her own. Even as her entire worldview was crumbling around her, Lin Chong’s will to survive made me admire her resilience and strength.
Unfortunately, it’s the middle section that drags, weighed down by exposition and uneven pacing. Any momentum that was built up during the intro runs right smack into a brick wall soon after Lin Chong meets up with the bandits—ironic, seeing as one of the main themes of both Water Margin and The Water Outlaws is comradeship. But to tell the truth, I preferred the book so much more when we were mainly following Lin Chong. The narrative loses its focus once the cast list expands, trying to spread the attention between multiple characters, ultimately struggling to provide any deep or meaningful exploration of any single one.
The result is a scattered storyline that lacks the depth and emotion of the earlier chapters, not to mention it simply much too long. Instead of rehashing the same thing over and over again via multiple perspectives, I would have preferred to see more development into the fantasy element, which was disappointingly light. The magic system, based on artifacts that can grant its wielders supernatural abilities, was an overly simplistic one which felt tacked on as an afterthought.
In the end, I liked the overall concept of The Water Outlaws as a genderbent Water Margin retelling, a unique take which led to an exploration of more resonant themes like justice and rebellion through the lens of feminism. And yet, this novel could also have benefited greatly from rigorous editing, as I think huge chunks of its narrative could have been tossed out or condensed and nothing too much would have been lost. As it is now, certain sections of it are way too drawn out and tedious, and considering the original inspiration, there is just no excuse for any part of this book to be boring.
Inspired by what is considered one of the greatest classic novels of Chinese literature, The Water Outlaws is a gender-flipped reimagining of Water Margin, a story about 108 rebels who come together to form a rebel force against a corrupt government during the Song Dynasty. It introduces Lin Chong, a master arms instructor for the emperor’s soldiers—and one of only a few women in the imperial service. However, after running afoul of a high-ranking official abusing his power, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death, and only after a friend begs for clemency is our protagonist saved from execution.
Branded a criminal and exiled to a penal colony on the far reaches of the empire, Lin Chong manages to escape death a second time when she foils a plot by the official, Gao Qiu, to have her killed on the way. With the help of Lu Da, the Flower Monk, she finds her way to the Liangshan bandits, a group of women and other societal outcasts who have made their home in the swamp.
After a lifetime of working hard, following the rules, and generally doing what was expected of her, Lin Chong initially has a hard time settling into this new world. In this cutthroat society where ferocity is a measure of strength and provocative philosophies are not only allowed but encouraged, nothing you were or did before matters. The past is dead. Lin Chong has no choice now but to pluck up the courage and determination to face the future and move on. No longer will she have the option to go quietly on her own way into obscurity and solitude, as she must learn to embrace her new family and fight together as a single force against their common foe.
In Chinese culture, Water Margin, also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, is as ubiquitous as the legend of Robin Hood. It is everywhere, adapted into movies, TV shows, stage plays, graphic novels—you name it, it’s been done. As such, I have been familiar with its story since childhood and was very excited when I learned about this retelling by S.L. Huang. Again like Robin Hood, the original story of Water Margin contains themes of rebellion against oppressive rulers for the benefit and protection of the common people. It also features martial arts in the wuxia tradition and other elements of ancient Chinese history. In other words, it’s pretty damn epic.
So, you can imagine my surprise and frustration, given the epicness of the inspiration behind The Water Outlaws, I felt that much of this retelling was quite a slog. If I hadn’t been so curious to see how the whole “reimagined” aspect of it would pan out, I might even have been tempted to set this one aside. The real kicker is that the first quarter of the book was actually very good, as I was completely captivated by Lin Chong as a protagonist. Here was a woman who has always kept her head down, taking comfort and pride in doing the right thing, yet powerful men were still able to seize her freedom and dignity through no fault of her own. Even as her entire worldview was crumbling around her, Lin Chong’s will to survive made me admire her resilience and strength.
Unfortunately, it’s the middle section that drags, weighed down by exposition and uneven pacing. Any momentum that was built up during the intro runs right smack into a brick wall soon after Lin Chong meets up with the bandits—ironic, seeing as one of the main themes of both Water Margin and The Water Outlaws is comradeship. But to tell the truth, I preferred the book so much more when we were mainly following Lin Chong. The narrative loses its focus once the cast list expands, trying to spread the attention between multiple characters, ultimately struggling to provide any deep or meaningful exploration of any single one.
The result is a scattered storyline that lacks the depth and emotion of the earlier chapters, not to mention it simply much too long. Instead of rehashing the same thing over and over again via multiple perspectives, I would have preferred to see more development into the fantasy element, which was disappointingly light. The magic system, based on artifacts that can grant its wielders supernatural abilities, was an overly simplistic one which felt tacked on as an afterthought.
In the end, I liked the overall concept of The Water Outlaws as a genderbent Water Margin retelling, a unique take which led to an exploration of more resonant themes like justice and rebellion through the lens of feminism. And yet, this novel could also have benefited greatly from rigorous editing, as I think huge chunks of its narrative could have been tossed out or condensed and nothing too much would have been lost. As it is now, certain sections of it are way too drawn out and tedious, and considering the original inspiration, there is just no excuse for any part of this book to be boring.
August 26, 2023
4.5 rounded up.
The Water Outlaws is a feminist retelling of the Chinese classic Water Margin. I am not familiar with the classic story, but I absolutely loved the retelling by S.L. Huang. Emily Woo Zeller was the narrator. I have listened to many audiobooks narrated by her, and she never fails to deliver.
One thing that I GREATLY appreciated was the content warnings at the beginning of the book. I have some specific triggers and ALWAYS appreciate knowing if they will be present. Being surprised can cause me to not finish the book, and sometimes disregard the author’s future works.
Things to enjoy:
-Complicated characters
-A lot of action
-Found family/friends
-The writing style- I was engaged from beginning to end.
-Normalization of queer characters
-Rebelling against the patriarchy
Things that I enjoyed a smudge less:
-A lot of characters are introduced throughout the book, and as I listened to the audiobook, sometimes I would get confused. This is more of a “me not you” problem though.
-This is a long book, and I feel the ending could have been edited a little more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s my first introduction to S.L. Huang, and I will definitely read more of their work.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media, Dreamscape Lore for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Water Outlaws is a feminist retelling of the Chinese classic Water Margin. I am not familiar with the classic story, but I absolutely loved the retelling by S.L. Huang. Emily Woo Zeller was the narrator. I have listened to many audiobooks narrated by her, and she never fails to deliver.
One thing that I GREATLY appreciated was the content warnings at the beginning of the book. I have some specific triggers and ALWAYS appreciate knowing if they will be present. Being surprised can cause me to not finish the book, and sometimes disregard the author’s future works.
Things to enjoy:
-Complicated characters
-A lot of action
-Found family/friends
-The writing style- I was engaged from beginning to end.
-Normalization of queer characters
-Rebelling against the patriarchy
Things that I enjoyed a smudge less:
-A lot of characters are introduced throughout the book, and as I listened to the audiobook, sometimes I would get confused. This is more of a “me not you” problem though.
-This is a long book, and I feel the ending could have been edited a little more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s my first introduction to S.L. Huang, and I will definitely read more of their work.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media, Dreamscape Lore for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 18, 2023
This novel is a retelling of Water Margin, a classical Chinese novel about the legendary outlaw Song Jiang and his band of outlaws in 11th-century Song Dynasty China. S. L. Huang has made it their own, giving it a gender bent and queer reimagining.
It’s a wuxia story, and my first foray into this genre. My white and American understanding of wuxia is that it is a genre that combines fantastical martial arts with Robin Hood-esque honorable thieves? I feel like there are cultural subtleties that I’m missing, but that’s how I understand it.
Regardless of the historical origins (of which I know practically nothing) and the genre (again, practically nothing) this is a kick-ass story.
The protagonist is a woman named Lin Chong, who (despite being a woman) is an expert martial artist and respected instructor for the Imperial guard in the Song Dynasty capital of Bianliang. This ends when an Imperial Marshall makes unwanted advances on her. She’s easily able to fend him off, but a man so powerful will not meekly accept that kind of denial. So he falsely accuses her of crimes, she’s found guilty and branded, and sent to a labor camp.
From there, she makes her way to the Liangshan Bandits, a mostly-female group of outlaws. But despite their habit of robbing nobles and landlords, the women of Liangshan are loyal to the Emperor and consider themselves as acting in service to the Empire. The Empire is corrupt, and they want to purge that corruption.
Meanwhile, a noted scholar and friend of Lin Chong’s is recruited - like it or not - to help the Imperial Chancellor harness a mighty and dangerous supernatural power.
It’s an exciting story, filled with dramatic fights, defiant last stands, and a plucky underdog fighting to hold back much more powerful forces through determination and clever use of the terrain. Highly recommended.
One last note: Huang opens with content warnings about the attempted sexual assault, graphic violence, and a little light cannibalism. These things are all present, but I want to speak a bit more about the attempted sexual assault. Minor spoilers ahead.
I had an exchange recently with a few people on /r/Fantasy who put the book down after the attempted sexual assault, because they weren’t in the mood or headspace to read a rape story. Between the book blurb and how quickly it takes place, that’s a fair assumption, but it isn’t really what the book is. Lin Chong is driven into exile because she had the audacity to not let herself be raped, but once that happens the story is really about the Liangshan Bandits and their fight for justice. Lin Chong is, justifiably, furious about the injustice she experienced, but the Imperial Marshall who assaulted her isn’t the villain or even really a major character in the story. This is not the tale of a woman damaged by an attempted rape, or of a woman on a quest for revenge.
This is a story about fighting for justice more generally, and eating the rich. Not necessarily literally.
My blog
It’s a wuxia story, and my first foray into this genre. My white and American understanding of wuxia is that it is a genre that combines fantastical martial arts with Robin Hood-esque honorable thieves? I feel like there are cultural subtleties that I’m missing, but that’s how I understand it.
Regardless of the historical origins (of which I know practically nothing) and the genre (again, practically nothing) this is a kick-ass story.
The protagonist is a woman named Lin Chong, who (despite being a woman) is an expert martial artist and respected instructor for the Imperial guard in the Song Dynasty capital of Bianliang. This ends when an Imperial Marshall makes unwanted advances on her. She’s easily able to fend him off, but a man so powerful will not meekly accept that kind of denial. So he falsely accuses her of crimes, she’s found guilty and branded, and sent to a labor camp.
From there, she makes her way to the Liangshan Bandits, a mostly-female group of outlaws. But despite their habit of robbing nobles and landlords, the women of Liangshan are loyal to the Emperor and consider themselves as acting in service to the Empire. The Empire is corrupt, and they want to purge that corruption.
Meanwhile, a noted scholar and friend of Lin Chong’s is recruited - like it or not - to help the Imperial Chancellor harness a mighty and dangerous supernatural power.
It’s an exciting story, filled with dramatic fights, defiant last stands, and a plucky underdog fighting to hold back much more powerful forces through determination and clever use of the terrain. Highly recommended.
One last note: Huang opens with content warnings about the attempted sexual assault, graphic violence, and a little light cannibalism. These things are all present, but I want to speak a bit more about the attempted sexual assault. Minor spoilers ahead.
I had an exchange recently with a few people on /r/Fantasy who put the book down after the attempted sexual assault, because they weren’t in the mood or headspace to read a rape story. Between the book blurb and how quickly it takes place, that’s a fair assumption, but it isn’t really what the book is. Lin Chong is driven into exile because she had the audacity to not let herself be raped, but once that happens the story is really about the Liangshan Bandits and their fight for justice. Lin Chong is, justifiably, furious about the injustice she experienced, but the Imperial Marshall who assaulted her isn’t the villain or even really a major character in the story. This is not the tale of a woman damaged by an attempted rape, or of a woman on a quest for revenge.
This is a story about fighting for justice more generally, and eating the rich. Not necessarily literally.
My blog
September 1, 2023
Well, that was a rollicking good epic fantasy adventure story, wasn't it?? I have no familiarity with the source material (14th century The Water Margin, and its translations) but this delivered everything I expected in terms of a gang of "bandits" fighting against the empire - but much more female / queer-oriented than the original, I suspect.
We are given the story through a few perspectives but primarily Lin Chong - an Arms Instructor for the empire, who at the beginning of the story believes in its rightness (while still teaching a class on martial arts for women on the side). Until she is targeted by a higher up, and very nearly loses her life due to his vendetta. This puts Lin Chong into the orbit of the bandits of Liangshan - misfits, outcasts, rebels and yes, actual bandits, and most of them women or gender non-conforming - who mean to right the injustices of a corrupt empire. Through crime, of course.
A real strength of this tale is the nuanced take on morality. Can you pursue a just cause using unjust means? What sort of violation(s) does it take for unjust means to become valid, indeed, required?
No one in this story is all good or bad, which is just wonderful. Literally EVERYONE does some f*cked up shit at some point. Even Lin Chong.
The story also has beautiful insights on friendship and found family. These bonds are tested (see aforementioned "f*cked up shit") but persevere.
There's also plenty of fight scenes, battle scenes and supernatural powers being used and explored. I'm not typically that into that sort of stuff as much as the emotional moments, but it was written so vividly I could see it all go down. (It no doubt helps here that I have some familiarity with wuxia dramas, but anyone who has seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon should get the vibe.)
If I have any nitpicks at all, it's that there isn't any kind of romance in this story. I knowwww, it's not required, but I just personally like my faves to include it. I mean, all these heroic women and femmes and not even a little hint? *sobs* Seems like a missed opportunity.
But still, it's a small quibble. This reinterpretation is tremendously done imo by S.L. Huang, who is becoming a favorite writer.
We are given the story through a few perspectives but primarily Lin Chong - an Arms Instructor for the empire, who at the beginning of the story believes in its rightness (while still teaching a class on martial arts for women on the side). Until she is targeted by a higher up, and very nearly loses her life due to his vendetta. This puts Lin Chong into the orbit of the bandits of Liangshan - misfits, outcasts, rebels and yes, actual bandits, and most of them women or gender non-conforming - who mean to right the injustices of a corrupt empire. Through crime, of course.
A real strength of this tale is the nuanced take on morality. Can you pursue a just cause using unjust means? What sort of violation(s) does it take for unjust means to become valid, indeed, required?
No one in this story is all good or bad, which is just wonderful. Literally EVERYONE does some f*cked up shit at some point. Even Lin Chong.
The story also has beautiful insights on friendship and found family. These bonds are tested (see aforementioned "f*cked up shit") but persevere.
There's also plenty of fight scenes, battle scenes and supernatural powers being used and explored. I'm not typically that into that sort of stuff as much as the emotional moments, but it was written so vividly I could see it all go down. (It no doubt helps here that I have some familiarity with wuxia dramas, but anyone who has seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon should get the vibe.)
If I have any nitpicks at all, it's that there isn't any kind of romance in this story. I knowwww, it's not required, but I just personally like my faves to include it. I mean, all these heroic women and femmes and not even a little hint? *sobs* Seems like a missed opportunity.
But still, it's a small quibble. This reinterpretation is tremendously done imo by S.L. Huang, who is becoming a favorite writer.
August 23, 2023
"The Water Outlaws" is a retelling of the Chinese classic "Water Margin", keeping the setting - late Northern Song dynasty China - and the general outline of the plot unchanged but gender-flipping most of the characters and adding in some epic fantasy elements.
The result is a classic Wuxia story: gallant bandits roaming the river and lakes of the world, opposing corrupt officials, being loyal to the empire (and its emperor) in their hearts and helping the common people.
It's certainly well-written and it's mostly well-crafted. It's epic and action-packed, with a really entertaining final battle that juggles a lot of set pieces and clever tactics as well as some truly emotional character moments. It feels nearly cinematic, which is a feat not easily pulled off in prose writing. I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator did an excellent job enhancing these aspects.
However, it has a pretty glaring issue: for much of the novel, the Liangshan bandits are not really any better than the principal antagonist: the same stated loyalty to the empire and to the emperor (and the same disregard of the emperor's stated will), the same viciousness when they are wronged and the same disregard for collateral damage.
I also didn't find the protagonists particularly compelling - of the characters we follow most often, Lin Chong is a willfully blind hypocrite, Lu Junyi is a spineless coward and Lu Da a cheerful idiot. Lin Chong and Lu Junyi improve a bit by the end, but by that point it was too little, too late. The only characters I was invested in were the principal antagonist, Cai Jing, and the bandit's resident tactician, Wu Yong (in case you couldn't tell, I always love a schemer).
I definitely still recommend it if you're looking for something action-packed and epic, but I did not end up loving it quite as much as I was expecting to.
I received an advance copy of the audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The result is a classic Wuxia story: gallant bandits roaming the river and lakes of the world, opposing corrupt officials, being loyal to the empire (and its emperor) in their hearts and helping the common people.
It's certainly well-written and it's mostly well-crafted. It's epic and action-packed, with a really entertaining final battle that juggles a lot of set pieces and clever tactics as well as some truly emotional character moments. It feels nearly cinematic, which is a feat not easily pulled off in prose writing. I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator did an excellent job enhancing these aspects.
However, it has a pretty glaring issue: for much of the novel, the Liangshan bandits are not really any better than the principal antagonist: the same stated loyalty to the empire and to the emperor (and the same disregard of the emperor's stated will), the same viciousness when they are wronged and the same disregard for collateral damage.
I also didn't find the protagonists particularly compelling - of the characters we follow most often, Lin Chong is a willfully blind hypocrite, Lu Junyi is a spineless coward and Lu Da a cheerful idiot. Lin Chong and Lu Junyi improve a bit by the end, but by that point it was too little, too late. The only characters I was invested in were the principal antagonist, Cai Jing, and the bandit's resident tactician, Wu Yong (in case you couldn't tell, I always love a schemer).
I definitely still recommend it if you're looking for something action-packed and epic, but I did not end up loving it quite as much as I was expecting to.
I received an advance copy of the audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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