Having loved S.L. Huang's previous work I was excited not only to see what came next and how their writing had developed but also to experience something a bit more long-form.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Water Outlaws, the story and world created in these pages is emotive, exciting and extremely readable.
I had no previous context for the story on which this work is based so I thank SL Huang for sending me down a research rabbit hole, I'm excited to learn more about this work and others like it. In a market somewhat oversaturated by fairytale retellings it was good to experience something a little different.
I thought that the overall plot of the book was very interesting, I liked the way the action split between locations and we got to see all different kinds of scenes from more scientific inquiry scenes to combat training sequences. You can feel the breadth of SL Huang's interest alongside the depth of research that must have gone into creating such a book.
I think this book does require you to have a semi-decent memory for names as I found it tricky at times to keep track of who was who - but that is a common issue I have with all fantasy works so your mileage may vary! There is a character guide helpfully placed at the start of the book so those with physical copies should have no issue flicking back and forth.
Overall I would definitely recommend The Water Outlaws, particularly to those feeling burned out on the usual humdrum retellings we've been seeing for a while!
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

The Watee Outlaws is a historical fantasy retelling of the Chinese legend ‘The Water Margin’ detailing the origin of a group of bandits and their motivations for going against the Chinese empire. The prose was stunning and very poetic, the battle descriptions very detailed and made you feel like you were in the middle of a martial arts movie. It had a very classic feel to it and although at almost 500 pages it is a weighty book, you didn’t feel too bogged down with detail. The magic in it was quite clearly explained and I felt from the halfway mark that I had a good grasp of the overall story.

Now for the downsides. This is down to personal taste, but martial fantasy is not one of my usual genre’s so it is to the authors credit that I appreciated the writing and read it through to the end. However, I normally prefer books that are a little more character led, and this was definitely more on the events than the characters. Also there were some pacing issues that meant I felt it dragged a little halfway through, though the last third made up for that. Fantasy readers should be aware that there is little to no romance in this story, it is more found family.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thankyou NetGalley and Rebellion publishing for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

An action packed feminist adventure that I couldn’t put down! This book was paced extremely well, keeping me hooked the entire time and the fighting scenes were amazing (definitely brutal!). Each character had such depth, I loved the found family in this book and it was hard to not feel as if you, as a reader, were also part of the group of bandits and had these connections with each character personally - It was definitely bittersweet parting with them at the end of the book!
The way that Huang smoothly transitions between characters POV’s made it so easy to picture the whole story so vividly and even with a lot of characters to keep track of it, none of it felt confusing or overwhelming.
I cannot recommend this enough, especially if you’re looking for an action packed read full of deep character connections and strong inspiring female/gender fluid lead characters!

Some of my favourite fantasy's to read are Asian fantasy, and this was a fantastic one!
The writing is beautiful, the book was full of culture and real feeling characters, and a lot of action.
I enjoyed this book a lot!

3.75/5

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 other-worldly powers that collide with the more brutal force of the characters' grounded 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.

The Water Outlaws is beautifully written, and packed with action sequences straight out of a martial arts film (standing to reason, as it draws its inspiration from Shi Naian's Water Margin). There's a great deal of almost theatrical violence within, and the reader is warned about this in advance - it builds the atmosphere of the novel even further. I knew little of the historical background going in, but the world-building was mesmerizing enough that I was completely absorbed. I loved the found family aspects, and meeting the many characters at Liangshan.
However, this book is quite a dense reading experience - it is nearly 500 pages long, and not the type of doorstopper where you forget how much you're reading. That said, even if it felt slow going at times, I consistently wanted to keep picking it up and finding out more.

Wuxia is a genre which I hope we get to see more of. Alternative histories are so much fun, and wuxia is a popular genre in Chinese fiction.

This is genre-bent, feminist take on a traditional story that is full of charm, marital arts and tough decisions. Nothing is clear-cut, and people suffer for the side they belong to through no fault of their own. Li Chong's personal journey of her morals adjusting and how people react to her being strong in them was a relatable read as her opinions are challenged and she's forced to adjust to the new world she finds herself in. I enjoyed the martial arts scenes and the magical elements.

And then we see the villains. This book has some excellent villains to hate. They have no compassion or care to. And it's their underlings who suffer for it.

All in all, this has scratched an itch I've had since more Chinese-inspired fiction has entered the English book marker.

I really ended up loving The Water Outlaws!
It was so beautiful both inside and
outside (that cover is stunning!)

I really loved all the characters!
This book also had amazing world building and was really action packed!
I couldn't put the book down!
I highly recommend this book especially if you are looking for a new queer epic fantasy book!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

“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."

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc copy. I enjoyed this book, and I recommend it for those that enjoy Asian inspired fantasy. I really enjoyed the incredibly diverse cast of characters, it was the book's greatest strength. It leads however to one of the books biggest flaws, which was that I felt disappointed that more time was not spent exploring these characters and some of their fascinating stories. All we got was snippets of how they came to join the outlaws and multiple times I found myself reading these and wishing that their stories were more fleshed out. I also thought the book had some pacing issues, I found myself struggling in the mid sections of the book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Rebelion Publishing for a free eARC of "The Water Outlaws" by S. L. Huang.
This is a genderspun retelling of the Chinese classic "Water Margin".
It is an Epic Fantasy blended with Wuxia that portrays a battle against patriarchy and against a corrupt system.
In this adventure a group of women and queer folk are the heroes that rise on behalf of the people to address their suffering and many injustices.
It was a lovely escapist read with bright characters, somne tuches of magic and political undertones.
The novel packed quite a lot of themes and discutions and succeded in being overall balanced.
My only desire was for more character depth and more profound interractions.
I think that is the risk when working with such a large chast of characters in a rellatively short book. The reader does not get the chance to fully grasp their evolution.
Despite this minor observation, I would still recommend this work to plot driven readers or readers that are new to Wuxia and want to have a fun time.