Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy

I love it, really well written. The dynamic between all characters is so great

"The Water Outlaws" is an audacious and vibrant retelling of the classic Chinese novel "Water Margin," reimagined through a distinctly feminist lens. Set against the backdrop of the Song dynasty, this martial arts political fantasy centers on a group of outlaws, primarily women and queer individuals, who band together to confront a tyrannical government. With a narrative rich in action and steeped in cultural tradition, Xiran Jay Zhao crafts a tale that resonates with themes of resistance, autonomy, and the complexities of power.

The book manages to weave together the brutality of life under oppression with the camaraderie found among marginalized groups. Zhao’s portrayal of female and genderqueer characters as complex, multifaceted individuals lends a refreshing perspective to the wuxia genre, traditionally dominated by male heroes.

At the heart of the story are Lin Chong, a martial arts instructor entangled in the corrupt machinations of the Empire, and Lu Junyi, a socialite running a coffeehouse where ideas flow as freely as the coffee. Their journeys are intricately connected as they navigate a world rife with violence, betrayal, and the harsh realities of societal power dynamics. Lin’s transformation from a victim of circumstance to a figure of agency is compelling, though it’s delivered through a lens that can be stark and grim. The narrative does not shy away from the harsh truths of power abuse, including themes of torture and oppression, which may be difficult for some readers but are essential to the story's impact.

Zhao's writing shines in its action sequences and the palpable tension of the political landscape. The visceral depictions of conflict showcase the characters’ martial prowess while intertwining personal stakes and moral dilemmas. However, the pacing can be uneven, particularly in the early sections, which may deter some readers seeking a more immediate connection to the unfolding drama. The middle portion, in particular, has been noted to drag at times, creating a sense of disconnect that might hinder engagement.

One of the book’s most significant strengths lies in its character development, particularly in the arcs of Lin Chong and Lu Junyi. Their contrasting approaches to power, loyalty, and personal agency provide a fertile ground for exploration. However, some readers have expressed a desire for deeper engagement with supporting characters, feeling that the focus on Lin and Lu occasionally detracts from the more compelling dynamics within the band of outlaws themselves. The richness of the ensemble cast hints at untapped potential that could have further enriched the narrative.

The book's themes of empowerment and collective resistance resonate powerfully, especially in the context of contemporary discussions about gender and societal roles. Zhao skillfully navigates the intricacies of power dynamics, showcasing how individuals can reclaim agency in a system designed to suppress them. Yet, some critiques point to the portrayal of the Empire and its corruption as somewhat simplistic, arguing that the narrative does not fully address the systemic nature of oppression.

Despite these critiques, "The Water Outlaws" delivers a satisfying conclusion that emphasizes the importance of community and the fight against tyranny. The final battle encapsulates the novel's themes and offers a sense of hope, albeit one earned through struggle and sacrifice.

In summary, "The Water Outlaws" is a bold and engaging addition to the fantasy genre, blending action, political commentary, and rich cultural elements into a cohesive and thought-provoking narrative. While its pacing and character depth may not appeal to all readers, those looking for a fresh perspective on traditional storytelling, particularly from non-European traditions, will find much to appreciate in Zhao's work. It is a compelling exploration of the power of sisterhood and rebellion that is sure to resonate with fans of fantasy and martial arts alike.

This was a fascinating and compelling story focusing on a band of women fighting for justice under a corrupt empire. I thought the characters were very well drawn, although there were times when I struggled to keep people straight in my mind at the beginning. The narrative is fast paced and brutal, with some excellently wrought fight scenes and more touching and quiet character moments. Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sometimes a book can be exactly the right book for you, but at exactly the wrong time. That's how I felt about this one. I've tried to start it several times, read the first chapter, realised it's great, but not the right time for me to read it, and then put it to one side again. I'm waiting for when the mood strikes, because I know that this will be a banger of a book, so I don't want to do it an injustice by reading it when I'm not ready for it.

I absolutely adore alternative history books and this has sat firmly in one of my favourites. Definitely for fans of The Poppy War and She Who Became the Sun, this was fast paced, gripping, and action packed.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the joy of reading this ARC.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an earc
I really enjoyed the first few chapters of this book, but sadly it didn't end up gripping me. The story felt a bit convoluted and the length of the chapters didn't help at all, I really enjoyed the characters and their very distinct personalities but this is a very plot centric book and that's where it lost me in the end.
It took me months to finally finish the novel.


"Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang's The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart."

For fans of Shelley Parker-Chan comes The Water Outlaws, a fantasy that offers a refreshingly feminist and queer take on a classic martial arts tale: Water Margin. This fantasy debut stands out for its martial arts yes, (the scenes are what can only be described as truly vibrant and kinetic), but also for its motley crew of characters and deft handling of queer identity. Indeed, The Water Outlaws is able both to enliven with its film-esque action and its many incisive themes, in which queerness sidles against social justice, class, and friendship. A true tale for the ages!

Great concept, very slow pacing and too many characters meant I quickly lost interest in this. I limped to the end, but by page 200 I was really not invested. It had a lot of potential too, with some clever character work and morally ambiguous protagonists/antagonists. I just really wish the plot wasn't so slow.

This was quite unique, and you definitely have to go into it with the historical fantasy drama mindset – both in terms of going along with quite dramatic dialogue but also some fantastical fighting styles – flying through the air and all. This was inspired by an actual classic, and the footnote referring to resources if folks want to check out the original will definitely come in handy.

This book had a good, strong start, and I really enjoyed the first 30% or so. It just became dull after that and ultimately I was very disappointed with this story.

The multiple characters and their points of review just didn't grip me at all. I actually disliked almost all of them, and if it wasn't for the character glossary at the start, I'd have been very confused. They seemed incredibly forgettable.

I get that this is a retelling of an old story, but if you're going to reimagine it as fantasy, then it has to be at least a little interesting and there needs to be sufficient background to create the setting and for the reader to get to know the characters, there needs to surely be some sort of back story to them too.

And the incredibly long chapters - I'm not a slow reader by far, and seeing my kindle show that multiple chapters were 28 mins long made me almost cry - why?! This was so unnecessary and I feel like it added to the boredom.

Everything was also described in so much detail - I suppose this was good as it made it easy to image everything, but was so very tedious most of the time.

I wanted to DNF multiple times, but I also wanted to give this book a fair chance and find out how it would end. It wasn't worth it.

I feel like this is a very ambitious book, and maybe even a little impressive, but it's just not a good enough fantasy novel. Even as a historical fiction, I sadly found it lacking.

This was a super exciting book. The action sequences were well written and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I found the plot to be really engaging and the characters were exciting to read about.

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is difficult to review because while I really liked this book, I don't have much to say about it! It's a fun story about a ragtag group of bandits uprising. It's not found family exactly, but close. Although this is mostly a light read, there are definitely some very fucked up things that happen! I liked the casual representation of trans characters, and it was just a very enjoyable read.

Engaging gender-swapped version of the Chinese classic that is familiar to me from the Water Margin TV series from the seventies.

This is guaranteed to be a hit with fans of the Wuxia genre, and plays with established genre tropes skillfully, in a way that still feels fresh. Huang doesnt handhold or explain too much about the (well-built) world to the reader, so those unfamiliar with wuxia may feel a little lost at first. There's so much going on in this novel and it was an action-packed read, though I would have personally liked a little more character exploration. We get a couple of main character POV's, and I'd have loved to have seen or learned a bit more about some of the (huge!) ensemble cast. Unfortunately Lin Chong, the character who has the lions-share of the POV chapters, was my least favourite - I understood why we need her stoic, fish out of water perspective to understand the bandits, but at times I found her a little dry, and would have loved to see the perspective of the more morally complex characters a little more - and I could have done with a lot more of Lu Da's brilliant, fun voice. This was billed as a queer re-telling, and whilst there is casual queerness throughout I did expect this to feature more prominently of this from some of the other reviews. The plot is engaging, although I did feel the pacing sagged a little in the middle. Overall this was a fun read, with a vividly drawn world and exciting plot - I just wish we'd gotten a little deeper into the characters heads.

With thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review (sorry I’m late! It wasn’t the book’s fault).

I really enjoyed The Water Outlaws. It’s based on a 14th century classic (Water Margin) but now many characters are women, queer, or both - it works brilliantly in a story about bandits on the margins of society, literally living on a mountain in a marsh.

It starts with Lin Chong, respected Arms Instructor to the Imperial forces and then goes downhill when she is accused of a crime she did not commit. We spend a lot of time in this set-up, seeing the Empire the Liangshan Bandits are up against. Lin Chong herself learns to question what it is to be a hero, to be righteous even as the Emperor cannot control the god’s teeth powers but the brutish Lu Da does so albeit without finesse. The rest is the mountain and episodes of clashes.

There are vaguely superpowered martial arts, betrayals, subterfuge, scientific experiments beyond the bounds of mortal understanding, bandit politics, fight scenes (I actually liked reading!) and people butting heads. As with many things the tone is what makes it work and will make me watch S L Huang in future. Though she doesn’t shy away from the violence of criminal life or battle, this was sometimes my go-to read when life got a bit much. Heroism after all isn’t always clear cut.

The Water Outlaws is a book about arms instructor Lin Chong, who is framed and falsely convicted of a crime and sent away to a work camp, but unbeknownst to her, the men escorting her have been ordered to kill her on the way. She escapes and is rescued by a group of bandits primarily formed of women and other marginalised groups, who want to try and make a better life for themselves and future generations by tackling a corrupt empire. I enjoyed this book as I loved learning all about the different characters and their dynamics in their sanctuary, and I was interested in seeing the development of Lin Chong throughout, as she realises just how corrupt the empire truly is. This is a great read!

I enjoyed the book, and I love the concept, but there were quite a few issues with pacing which meant I really struggled around the middle of the book. The action scenes are really great, however, and this really does feel like a classic tale of heroes, something that would be passed around a campfire. I also really love how different characters band together throughout the book to prevail, defying injustice, but it was difficult to connect to any of the characters and a lot of the dialogue felt very forced. I do look forward to seeing what else is to come from this author though!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchance for an honest review.

The Water Outlaws was a refreshing blend of martial arts and intrigue, which centers women and queer people, whilst also commenting on things like the patriachy and corruption. The atmosphere was lush and vibrant and definitly one of my favorite aspects of this book, along with its cast of fascinating chracters. Though, i would have loved for these to have been explored just a bit deeper than they were. However, the book was still an incredibly satisfying read and i definitly reccomend it to any who find themselves tempted by that gorgeous cover.

Ya sabíamos que S.L. Huang tiene un don especial para narrar las escenas de acción, pero el cambio de escenario de la actualidad “alternativa” a un mundo fantástico le ha sentado maravillosamente a su obra. The Water Outlaws es una obra autocontenida, que trata temas como la sororidad, la lucha contra la injusticia o la corrupción de los sistemas totalitarios sin dejar de lado la emoción e incluso el humor.


La protagonista de la novela es Lin Chong, una instructora del ejército que siempre se ha amoldado a las reglas, creyendo en la equidad del trato que todos deberían recibir de parte del Emperador y su jerarquía. Pero nada más lejos de la realidad, así que cuando atrae la atención de un veleidoso mariscal, se dará cuenta de que no tenía ninguna protección, que solo la suerte o la casualidad le habían permitido vivir tranquila hasta entonces. Acabará reclutada por los bandidos de Liangshan, donde descubrirá que la vida puede ser muy distinta e igualitaria, si todos ponen de su parte.

Hay bastantes aspectos que me gustan del libro, por ejemplo, el ritmo con el que está narrada es fulgurante, los personajes son creíbles, la magia está bastante presente y puede desequilibrar la balanza de fuerzas en cualquier momento pero también se da valor a la investigación y el método científico. Es una amalgama de ideas que resulta en un obra coherente y cohesionada.

También es muy interesante el hecho de que todos respeten a la máxima figura de poder, ese emperador que se ve lejano, inalcanzable y todopoderoso, pero que cada uno interprete su presencia a su antojo. Y que el favor del emperador alce a los ineptos mientras que destruye a los justos no hace si no hacer más hincapié en el error de los absolutismos.

Es importante también la presencia de un elenco de personajes que apoyan o se enfrentan a Lin Chong y que a veces le roban todo el protagonismo, por lo bien construidos que están. Especialmente atractivos son los dos personajes más inteligentes del libro, cada uno en un lado del tablero, enfrentándose a través de sus peones, con planes, tácticas e hipótesis que asemejan una partida de ajedrez.

No dejéis escapar la oportunidad de leer The Water Outlaws, estoy segura de que no os decepcionará.

Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a lover of Asian Fantasy, that is tied to mythology and legends, which made me super excited to read this book. However, the characters didn’t have as much depth as I would’ve liked, and were almost wooden at times. There was action, and it was capturing, but the plot lagged a bit and occasionally was just a bit boring. Many people loved this, but unfortunately it wasn’t that for me.