A sweeping book inspired by the Water Margin. This book lives up to the description of epic--it has a large cast of characters, a sprawling plot, and the fight against corruption. Lin Chong's journey from arms instructor to outlaw was wrought with introspection.

Some of the elements I most enjoyed:
-Found family
-Non-stop action
-Historical setting with queer rep
-Emily Woo Zeller, a wonderful narrator

All that being said, this is a book I would love to read in print. While the narrator of the audiobook was amazing, I did find myself lost at times. With so many characters, it was difficult to differentiate them from one another.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for the ARC!

What happens when a rule follower is forced to break the rules? Lin Chong is an arms instructor whose life is upended by a vengeful man. What results is a book that is simultaneously filled with action and adventure while also exploring Lin Chong's internal struggle as she is presented with a new life that is antithetical to her previous beliefs and values.

The Water Outlaws gives readers a strong cast of characters including many woman and queer characters, martial arts, politics, magically enhanced fighting, and found family,

I found the narration to be overall well done. It allowed me to become immersed in the story. My only small complaint would be a few characters voices were fairly similar and Lu Da's voice in particular felt overly emphatic.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an audio ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I got an ARC from NetGalley and I still cannot believe it!!

Inspired by The Water Margin, The Water Outlaws follows Lin Chong, a martial arts instructor training the imperial guard. She spent her life doing her job and staying in her lane, holding strict principles about what is right and wrong. But when her life is ripped apart by an egotistical man in power, she finds herself in a completely new environment where her beliefs about life are not relevant anymore and she has to reevaluate her morals and ideals.

I had a great time reading this and I have only positive things to say! Even though I was not familiar with the source material, that didn't affect my enjoyment of the book, as it was incredibly well crafted and it became its whole thing.

It was serious when it was supposed to be and funny and wholesome when the time was right. The characters were unique, and the pacing was incredible and very engaging (it feels like the books I've been reading lately had huge pacing issues, either having things not progress at all or being all over the place - but it was not the case here). The writing style worked perfectly with the plot and kept me coming back for more.

I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for a bit of an unusual read, and if you love queer representation and found families in fantasy.

"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.

4 - (Audiobook)

LIKES:
- morally gray found family
- rebellion against injustice
- queer identities in a historical setting
- neatly integrated fantasy elements
- martial arts!

DISLIKES:
- some pacing issues

Really enjoyed this one! Inspired by the Water Margin, the Water Outlaws takes a classic of martial arts literature and makes it entirely its own. While maintaining a formal sense of structure that feels like a classic, this reimagining brings modern opinions and an unapologetically feminine and queer cast to the spotlight. There was a nice blend of politics, fantasy, and superhuman feats amidst a rougher, gritty setting that really lended itself to the story that was being told.

As a martial artist with a deep love for martial arts movies, the Wuxia-style action and combat really worked for me, and I felt that it sounded both knowledgeable and well-written. It reads exactly the way I think a novelization of a martial arts movie would, although the lull in pacing between action scenes was a bit noticeable, if only because the energy was so different.

Since I am reviewing the audiobook specifically, I’d like to mention that I think the narrator did a great job. Expressive with good vocal range for different character voices!

All in all, a great read!

Genre: fantasy, wuxia
China

Lin Chong serves in the Imperial Army as a master arms instructor, content to do her job and stay in line. An incident in the monastery condemns her, and when she escapes, she’s recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan, a group of women and queer identifying people who imagine a better world than what they are given: a place for progressive thinking.

Funny, reflective, adventurous and full of bravery. SL Huang said the goal was for an over-the-top cinematic wuxia drama, and Water Outlaws delivers. Huang takes a classic Chinese novel called Water Margin, and creates their own adventure. You don’t need to know the original story to have fun with this, though, as Huang breathes in life for the contemporary reader who may have little to no knowledge of Chinese literature. The wuxia adventure and magical elements make this a bright and fun fantasy. Yes, there are politics, religions, and war, but Huang blows them out of proportion to dramatic effect.

The audiobook is narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, who also narrated He Who Drowned the World, which I read in the same week. I was nervous about confusing storylines with the same narrator, but I shouldn’t have worried - the narrative choices and voices felt entirely different from the darker, grittier fantasy. I particularly enjoyed her narration of the Flower Monk, Lu Da, embodying the “eclectic patchwork of the human condition all by herself” as Huang describes.

The Water Outlaws is long, nearly 20 hours on audiobook, but a worthwhile and fun listen, with deep messaging on embracing your own identity and smashing the patriarchy, all while blowing things up.

Yes, YES, A MILLION TIMES YES 🙌

This book had me cheering from the start. Literally! I whooped all through the first chapter. This is adventurous and exciting, with so much incredible representation! It was impossible for me not to love.

There are very serious topics at the heart of this story. Battling inequality in a patriarchal society is both prominent and integral to the book. There are hard moments in the representation of sexual assault and the difficulties of being a minority. I loved that about this, that honesty. I also loved the power in the action and adventure, this reads like a battle cry and I was hooked from the beginning.

‘The Water Outlaws’ feels utterly triumphant. This is probably one of my favorite books this year.

Audio 5/5: Perfection. The character voices were phenomenal and the narrative perfect for both the gravity and excitement of the plot. Wonderful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

I absolutly loved this book! The setting, the fight against corruption, THE CHARACTERS! They were the absolute highlight for me-so many nuanced women with different motivations and attitudes. I also liked that the author didn't try to hide the horrors of fighting/war.

Also the narrator Emily Woo Zeller was phenomenal. There were several POVs and she was great in conveying different characters.

I will 100% pick a physical copy both for the amazing cover art and to return to this world.

This audiobook is narrated by Emily Woo Zeller and I absolutely love her voice. I have listened to some other audiobooks narrated by her and she does such a phenomenal job at bringing the story and all the characters to life.

The Water Outlaws is a story about a band of outlaws who are ready to make history.
Lin Chong, a master arms instructor in the imperial guard is a woman that follows the rules and keeps her head down. But when a powerful man makes untoward advances at her and she fights back, she ends up being arrested and accused of attempted murder. As she is forced to question her own morals and ideals, she realizes how much corruption there is within the government. She ends up meeting and joining the Lianshan Bandits.

This Asian-inspired fantasy novel has strong themes of politics, feminism, and martial arts. While the book has plenty of violence and heavy topics such as cannibalism and sexual assault, there are plenty of light-hearted and funny moments as well. Lu Da was probably my favorite character, as she was loyal and so incredibly funny.

The book is action-packed and fast-paced, which made it an easy read. There are multiple POVs and lots of names that I was a bit confused with at times. I think having a glossary of names would have definitely helped me a bit. 😂

Favorite things:

⚔️ Found family trope
⚔️ Asian-inspired fantasy
⚔️ Bandits and fun characters
⚔️ Action-packed
⚔️ LGBT+ characters

Thank you, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley, for providing an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexual assault, violence, cannibalism

The Water Outlaws follows Lin Chong, an expert arms instructor who trains soldiers for her Empire. Lin Chong is a rule-follower, unlike some of her closest companions. That all changes when a powerful man makes a move on her and she rejects his advances. In his humiliation, he accuses her of attempted murder and tears her life away from her.

Ling Chong is sent away and goes on the run from the Imperial Marshall, but she is saved by a former student and recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. These bandits are outlaws living in the mountains, and their goal is to stand up for outsiders, but they have their own agenda.

This book is fast-paced and has an interesting cast of characters, though I wish we had a little more time to learn more about the characters and their motivations. I am not familiar with the work this is based on, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment. I recommend this for someone who wants fantasy with less Western influences.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the e-ARC at the same time as listening to the audiobook. It made the experience so much more immersive and engaging! Plus Emily Woo Zeller is one of my all-time favorite narrators, and as always, she did a phenomenal job.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Tordotcom, and Dreamscape Media for providing an e-ARC and digital audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a gender spun retelling of the Chinese classic water margin, in which anti-heroic bandits rise against the tyrannical government on behalf of the common people.

For me there was a lot to love about this book, the anti-patriarchal sentiment was always going to appeal to me. But the complexity of the tale, woven with excellent world building and great characters is what really made it shine. I think my favourite character is Lu Da the flower monk, funny, loyal and sweet, but also a bit of a big oaf. I also like the way in which the LGBT+ characters are introduced is so sweet, wholesome and generally … normal. As it should be. 

The book follows the character of Lin Chong, Master arms instructor to the imperial guard, a woman with a high level of moral values, who is brought to question her own ideals when she sees the corruption of the government and is forced to join the Liangshan Bandits.

Without giving away a whole ton of spoilers it’s hard to say much else. Some people may find it hard to follow, due to the sheer number of characters and I would suggest including a character list as a PDF as some audiobooks do (This number of characters is in keeping, or even cut down from the original Water Margin. I looked up the Water Margin character list which is pretty similar and found it helpful as a reference.)

In some ways it reminds me of Daughter of the Moon Goddess due to the Chinese folklore influences. If you have read and enjoyed that or similar, I am sure you will love this.

Emily Woo Zeller was an excellent narrator, I remember her from Under The Heavens and I would definitely keep an eye out for more audiobooks narrated by her as I think she has a really soothing voice, but also the character voicing and emotion in the reading is fantastic.

4.5 rounded up.

I have quite mixed feelings about this one!

This is a sprawling political fantasy with strong themes of feminism and martial arts. I liked the setting up of this story a lot, and am generally a bit fan of asian inspired fantasy stories. This is quite violent (cannibalism, attempted sexual assault), and I would recommend taking care while reading. Despite some of its heavier themes, this story manages to keep a playful, funny and light heart in a lot of moments. There really is a ton to love.

However, I fear I may have made a mistake in listening to the Audio on its own. There are quite a lot of characters, and while I was VERY impressed with the narrators ability to differentiate many of the characters voiced and personalities, it was a lot to keep up with without having a print copy of some sort to better organize things. I still laughed and found my heart pounding at various moments, but I felt I missed out on a lot of smaller moments as well as more complex ones by having the audio. I would recommend this to listen to if you've also got a print copy to reference, and I did still enjoy the story as it has a ton of fun, comedic, smart, and generally kick butt women. I just think it had a bit too much going on for my tastes in audio.

Thank you to dreamscape media and Netgalley for the audiobook copy!

Hoist your literary sails for The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, where audacious antics and unruly talents flow like a river of entertainment. It's a rambunctious blend of daring escapades, clever schemes, powerful women, and high-stakes political plays that'll steal your breath away.

Huang's storytelling packs a punch, serving up a historical world where good versus evil isn't a simple game, but a rag-tag band of bandits and enemies of the state are the Emperor's most loyal supporters. With twists and turns, and characters as charismatic as a wanted poster, you're in for a lawbreaking good time. Zeller's narration adds dynamite to the mix, turning each sentence into a verbal heist.

From secret heists to explosive showdowns, The Water Outlaws is a wild ride that's worth every second. So, if you're ready to join this gang of literary rogues, grab your imagination and ride the currents of this electrifying adventure.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Dreamscape Lore for the advanced audio copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC

Welcome to an interesting and well traveled word, build on the premise of a retelling of Chinese history into a fantasy epic (Think She Who Became the Sun, but with more character development and fewer large battles). This is a clearly thought out story, with powerful women at its center. Huang plays with the misogyny of the time and layers this with powerful warrior women and female scholars, but when it comes to the day to day, all of these women despite their powers are at the mercy of men for their reputations and livelihoods. To resist is to court death, banishment or worse.

One of the aspects I loved most about this novel was the fact that there is no purely good vs evil, the idea of morally gray that has become a trope in fantasy is flipped on its head as these women (and the outlaw men who join them) carve out a place for themselves in a world that only respects them on a surface level.

My only struggle was with Zeller’s delivery at times. She has a very calm lulling tone to her voice, which at times led me to tune out. I found myself having to rewind to find where my mind had wondered. As I usually multi-task with audiobooks this was a problem for me. Others will probably enjoy her work.

This book is an example of great idea with not so great execution. First of all it could have been redacted and shortened by around 150 pages. Without it the pacing is inconsistent, with interesting start that slows down after couple chapters and never manages to pick up again and grab my interest. The internal monologues of characters were just too long and each of them had a tendency to describe what they see in unnecessarily verbose manner, repeating the same observation three times just in different words. The book seems unsure who the main character is and it starts as if it was telling the story of Lin Chong, only to completely forget about her around 50% and scatter between numerous other characters that don’t get enough time or space to win the reader. Because of that I didn’t really connect with any of them.

Maybe I would enjoy it more if I knew the original tale of Water Margin, but I believe that a book needs to defend itself without comparison to the work that inspired it. After reading some synopsises however, I noticed that The Water Outlaws reflects the Water Margin plot and structure quite faithfully. Now I wonder if it would have worked better if Huang introduced more changes to the plot, so the original idea of bandits fighting corrupted government translated better to the XXI century. Unfortunately that’s not the case of this book.

I liked the language though, with it’s maturity and spectacular descriptions of fight sequences.

Tl;dr: It was too long and I got bored pretty quickly, probably would have DNF-ed it around 30% if it wasn’t for my need to have a full image.

An extra star for audiobook version: Emily Woo Zeller is putting great effort into playing each character with distinguished voice, so it sounds more like an acting audio production and not a simple audiobook. Also I really appreciate Chinese accented name pronunciation.

A novel based in China —with women warriors —there is a disclaimer/ content warning at the beginning of the audiobook—this immediately gives the reader an idea of what will come and that they should proceed knowing what the book contains and that it may cause some people distress. I thought this was good idea.

This book has a lot of action and adventure — the narrator does a good job voicing and distinguishing the characters . I think the problem for me with this book was that I couldn’t get deeply invested in any of the characters or the plot following the main character — maybe I am just not into fighting fantasy —although the God`s Teeth was interesting part of the story for me — as they were working on it as a power to harness— and it was interesting how they were trying to make synthetic version of them- I enjoyed when the story went back to this aspect of the story more then the fighting or outlaws relationships and interactions.

This book is a great way to learn about other cultures famous stories — even if it is a retelling — and the author pulls off this story full of fantasy in an authentic way and I liked it cause it gave me exposure to another culture. Overall the story was really entertaining and interesting way to learn another cultures stories.

It would be a great addition to any library for this same reason. I did like the book and it is a solid 3 /5 for me.

A vast,, wide ranging tale- reimaging the 14th century classic Water Margin - Stays true to the original "Eat the Rich" theme but with a cast of female, queer and transgender folx. Delightful!
The Water outlaws is a creative and largely masterful read based on the 14th century classic The Water Margin. (I have not read the Water Margin, so I cannot say how closely it follows the original, or if the original was simply a jumping off point for the author. - It is now on my list of TBR)
We begin with an introduction to our heroine- Master Arms instructor Lin Chong. She believes she has advanced to her position purely on skill and merit, and fully subscribes to the hard work creates success motto. In her case, this had been true, so any time an anomaly pops up- she works hard to justify it and ignore any perceived injustice. She's practiced, cautious and protective of her position- until a brief moment turns her from a respected official to a branded criminal headed to a work camp. That moment reveals that the rules of the empire are far more capricious and that merit does not protect when someone in power has a desire for revenge.
As she trudges along with her guards Lin Chong learns that she isn't headed to a camp but to a swift death in the forest. While in the depths of despair and exhaustion- she is freed by a monk who introduces her to the water bandits- a crew of outcasts working - Robin Hood style- to bring about a better empire. She hesitantly joins this wild group- and ultimately leads them (via a series of incredible events, battles and experiments) to - if not full victory- a truce between the outlaws and the government.
It was fascinating (and maybe a little disheartening) to see the themes of injustice and class inequity played out in almost eerie familiarity almost identical to some modern day situations. I found myself holding my breath during some parts of the novel- actively involved at the distress created by several encounters that risked characters lives and limbs. I also found myself cheering the outlaws on in moments of victory!
I really would give this book 4.5 stars but that isn't a Goodreads option. Backing doen to 4 because the book was long 496 pages and there were some odd little transitional moments that didn't provide good backstory or further understanding of either characters or situation, that made me less inclined to complete the book- but clearly I did finish, so were manageable for me.
Many Thanks to Net Galley and the Tor publishing group for an advance copy. Definitely recommend!

The Water Outlaws is an excellent read for those who love wuxia fantasy and action adventure-type books. The narrator did a great job at portraying the characters, but I wished there was more than one while listening to the book. With the multiple povs the book lost some of its charm while listening to it. It was difficult to follow along at times, but eventually, it all made sense. I will definitely be recommending my library to purchase a copy because there aren't many books out there that can pull off an effective wuxia fantasy in an authentic way, even if it's a retelling of a famous Chinese story.

If you like:
- Chinese inspired epic fantasy
- Bandits rebelling against injustice
- Women with swords
- Found family of morally questionable people

Then you have to read The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang!!

Lin Chong is such a stellar main character. Her corruption but also growth arc is masterfully done. She maintains a lawful alignment but her perception of the world and what is right changes.

There is a large cast of side characters or people who are mentioned only a couple times but their connections need to be remembered. It was a lot to try and keep track of but there is a dramatis personae to help. Lu Junyi and Wo Yung were two of the side characters that really stuck out to me and I enjoyed their POVs a lot!

Huang has an incredibly engaging writing style that transports you into the world. It has that feeling of a classic story but with expertly added queer representation and modern opinions. The book starts fast but then slows a fair bit for the 20-40% bit but then really picks up at a steady pace for the rest of the book to the point where I was on the edge of my seat by the end.

The magic system, thought clearly very important to the plot, was not the focus of my attention in a really good way. Like it didn’t feel out of place or forced in any way. The gods teeth were presented in a very scientific way and it made them feel really natural.

This is absolutely a must read for all fantasy lovers and the audiobook is narrated perfectly by Emily Woo Zeller!!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

I had a really fantastic time reading this book! At points I was so very infuriated, at the way that women were treated, but this book is about fighting back, so that was really fantastic to read! That this starts off with a sexual assault by the guy that she reports to, and when she defends herself, he uses his power to get her arrested, argh, it was so aggravating!

I had this book as an audio arc, and I had a dilemma. For most of the text, I could listen in on 3.0 speed. But on the names? Yeah, I had a tough time hearing those clearly enough. So I could either listen to the whole thing slower to know which character was which, or listen to it all quicker, but be in a state of confusion. Which is a me problem, because while my hearing leading to understanding of what I head has much improved, this is one area where I'm still shaky.

On one hand, i loved the bandits, that it's a group of outcasts, mainly women, looking for justice that the can't and won't receive from the Empire because of corruption. But the fact aht when Lin Chong joins, she's met with a lot of the same attitudes as what was at court...that's not great.

A decent part of this book is dedicated to the remnants of god powers. Because there's some specific rules on passing them down, which combined with their rarity, well, it's become a mission to make some of their own, and I loved seeing that storyline progress with the one of the bandits, as things got more intense and came together! And oh, that ending was so good!

Loved reading this book, this was absolutely an incredible read!