Reviews

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

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ollie77777's review

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had to return :(( SO LONG of an audiobook also.

maggie6832's review

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-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

4.0

A bit more violent than I had expected, but great characters and a fun story. I haven’t read the original story that this book is based on, but I could see some of the aspects of it shining through (which I think is a good thing!) like the bandits insisting the emperor is still good, that they do this for the empire, and also some word choices like women shouting “lustily” - as in, with great cheer and enthusiasm. I enjoyed the mostly women bandits and how it was inclusive of gender and sexual identities but didn’t insist on modern terminology for them. Lu Junyi’s storyline was too dark for me, but I am a sucker for a good pitched battle surprise. And Wu Yong! The Tactician without pronouns! Obsessed. And Lin Chong and Lu Da’s friendship! And the fact that the book doesn’t shy away from the fact that a lot of the bandits have done genuinely horrifying things (really truly) and they’re not perfect, but this bandithood acts almost like the knights did in Arthurian legend/courtly romances, where it’s a way of curtailing the violence into an acceptable/beneficial form, where the outlaws can become heroes and inspire others! And a very satisfying ending.

Also, how often do we get to see women like Lu Da, who are fat and strong and a little dumb but with a huge heart??

lanid's review

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adventurous dark

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

linguisticali's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

3.5

This is one where I would rate quality higher than enjoyment - I think it was good but the torture stuff was rough (although I appreciated the clear content warning up front) and I was rooting for the characters but wasn't fully invested in the story.

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chioma_a's review

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adventurous medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

i'd never heard of the the water margins before reading this and it was a really cool introduction to the story and to the wuxia genre as a whole. loved the evolving motives of lin and the bandits, it felt like a perfectly lined up domino effect. and huang didn't pull any punches in the fight scenes, i could really see the cinematic over-the-top style in their movements. really enjoyed it!

Content Warnings

fernz's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

rylee44's review

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challenging hopeful inspiring medium-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

4.0

turrean's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An epic fantasy set in ancient China, with reluctant heroes, righteous monks, outlaws, and villains battling it out over the soul of the empire. The audiobook narrator was fantastic.

Content Warnings

rushda's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

instahgrump's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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