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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
wowee there is a LOT going on in this book. the premise is fantastic and the prose is gorgeous. it's clear that this story has been painstakingly researched. but be warned: the violence and cannibalism trigger warnings are no joke.
i can totally see how this could be someone's jam, but i just don't think it's mine. for starters, i wanted to understand the politics a lot better than i actually did. the liangshan bandits justified their actions by claiming they were serving the emperor, and by extension, the empire. they targeted officials of the empire (like cai jing and gao qiu), claiming it was their corruption that needed to be excised. this sort of naive, inconsistent idealism is baffling to me; of course, cai jing and gao qiu had their own motives, but they also served as extensions of the emperor's will. they represented the empire that liangshan claimed to be fighting for. if the bandits were referring to the people of the empire, that wasn't entirely clear to me.
for all the time we spent with the bandits of liangshan, i also never really felt like lin chong became one of them. in her quest to explore the fraught politics in this world, s.l. huang gave us many fascinating scenes where lin chong is unsettled by the other bandits, but there weren't many where she seemed to trust them. intellectually, i know why she would (these people saved her so many times), but it would have been nice to see lin chong come to this realization on page, earlier than the final battle.
overall, this book was unlike anything i have read in recent memory. would recommend picking it up if you're a wordbuilding or political fantasy stan.
i can totally see how this could be someone's jam, but i just don't think it's mine. for starters, i wanted to understand the politics a lot better than i actually did. the liangshan bandits justified their actions by claiming they were serving the emperor, and by extension, the empire. they targeted officials of the empire (like cai jing and gao qiu), claiming it was their corruption that needed to be excised. this sort of naive, inconsistent idealism is baffling to me; of course, cai jing and gao qiu had their own motives, but they also served as extensions of the emperor's will. they represented the empire that liangshan claimed to be fighting for. if the bandits were referring to the people of the empire, that wasn't entirely clear to me.
for all the time we spent with the bandits of liangshan, i also never really felt like lin chong became one of them. in her quest to explore the fraught politics in this world, s.l. huang gave us many fascinating scenes where lin chong is unsettled by the other bandits, but there weren't many where she seemed to trust them. intellectually, i know why she would (these people saved her so many times), but it would have been nice to see lin chong come to this realization on page, earlier than the final battle.
overall, this book was unlike anything i have read in recent memory. would recommend picking it up if you're a wordbuilding or political fantasy stan.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I decided to read the Water Outlaw on vacation, where I'll be sitting by a pool all week. But despite the word Water in the title.. this was no beach read!
In the Water Outlaw, corruption and misogyny run wild. Lin Chong is branded a criminal and accused of Treason when she denies a powerful man what he wants to take. She finds herself on the run, and taken in by the bandits of Lianshan, unprepared for the way her life will change.
Gotta say, the cannabilism trigger warning wasn't kidding. There are violent things in this book, that people do for revenge and to survive. This book showcases the brutal nature of the Empire. The violence wasn't undeserved, but it was brutal. Lin Chong has an internal journey to figure out where here moral lie.
I really enjoyed this book. The bandits are women and others who their society pushes down on and abuses. They will take power where they can - from small raids, to big power moves.
The plot of this book starts slow moving. It takes about 200 pages for the pieces to be in play, and the climax of the story to begin. Even though ther first half of this book starts slow - it is intriguing. I couldn't put the book down.
I highly recommend this book!
In the Water Outlaw, corruption and misogyny run wild. Lin Chong is branded a criminal and accused of Treason when she denies a powerful man what he wants to take. She finds herself on the run, and taken in by the bandits of Lianshan, unprepared for the way her life will change.
Gotta say, the cannabilism trigger warning wasn't kidding. There are violent things in this book, that people do for revenge and to survive. This book showcases the brutal nature of the Empire. The violence wasn't undeserved, but it was brutal. Lin Chong has an internal journey to figure out where here moral lie.
I really enjoyed this book. The bandits are women and others who their society pushes down on and abuses. They will take power where they can - from small raids, to big power moves.
The plot of this book starts slow moving. It takes about 200 pages for the pieces to be in play, and the climax of the story to begin. Even though ther first half of this book starts slow - it is intriguing. I couldn't put the book down.
I highly recommend this book!
adventurous
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Glad I picked this one up. A genre I don’t typically read but it was good. Would love to see a movie/tv adaptation. Fun historical fantasy romp, not too much martial arts, some supernatural abilities, and an oppressive regime that a group of bandits are trying to forge a greater resistance against by becoming outlaw heroes for the people to rally around. I can’t put my finger on exactly what this reminds me of, but if you’re a fan of the monkey king (specifically the forbidden kingdom adaptation), Kill Bill, or the ninja turtles (1990, 91 & 93) you might enjoy this.