Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Water Outlaws

"The Water Outlaws" by S.L. Huang is an action packed fantasy story that centers a group of bandits looking to bring about justice.
Lin Chong is one of the Empire's arms instructors until the day she rejects an advance from a powerful man. When the man says that Lin Chong tried to kill him to cover her rejection, she must escape from those who seek to kill her. She finds a group of bandits, many criminals or who were branded as such, who have created their own society. The group hopes to fight back against the unfair men that have harmed them and they could use Lin Chong's expertise.
Huang does a great job of adapting a martial arts text into an engaging story with fully fledged characters and great action. There were many moments in this story that I wished I could see on screen because Huang has clearly well choreographed them. This story is rooted in its characters, who are easy to care for. Lin Chong is a good protagonist though my personal favorite character was Lu Da.
I also really appreciate a standalone fantasy with a strong plot in a world where so much fantasy is written as a series. Huang does a great job of containing the story while having it fully fill the pages. I will be interested in what Huang writes next as they clearly have a way with characters and action scenes.

Content Warnings

badgersallthewaydown's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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rundells's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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waywardbookshelf's review

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adventurous dark hopeful slow-paced

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

5.0

This book has some great themes that sold me on wanting to read it. Lin Chong is an arms instructor who gets targeted when a powerful man decides she'd be better off dead. Her options are to die, or to run from the law and its corruption. As an outcast herself, she reluctantly begins to understand what drives the bandits who live at the margins of the Empire. She is recruited by them, and a story of stubbornly trying to right injustice and claw their way to a more equal society unfolds. It's a tale of anti-heroes becoming legends.

I've always had words. Always... I have no right words tonight. I have no poetry for our kindred.

Some elements that I particularly enjoyed were the alchemy and the scholar's skills that explored super-human capabilities in fighting and channeling power. I also found the camaraderie and intense loyalty between the bandits to be compelling, as well as all the detail in their governance and operation. The characters surrounding Lin Chong were vibrant and complicated, and there was a good amount of growth and change through the tale for many of the central characters.

Violence was never the way. Anyone skilled enough in the fighting arts to be a master arms instructor knew that to her bones.

I also found the author's note at the beginning to be really helpful, both to understand the origin of what I was reading (especially as someone who has seen a few wuxia films, but isn't terribly familiar with the genre beyond that). And I would also say to take the content warnings about potentially disturbing content to heart. This is a violent read, and it took me a while to make my way through it. Part of this was because the beginning of the book is a lot of character development and set up, and the action picks up in the final third. And the other part was because I am pretty sensitive to violence. I knew this wasn't going to be my usual fare going in, and I expected to take my time with it. That said, I am very glad I finished it. You can feel the care and detail that went into writing it, and the result is a really well written, moving, and adventurous read.

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jwilkey's review

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Water Outlaws tells the story of Lin Chong, who works for the Jianghu government as an Arms Instructor, training the imperial guard in all forms of weaponry. However, a petty Marshall turns her world completely on its head, brandishing her as a criminal and forcing her down the path to the bandits of Liangshan. What follows is an epic tale of heroism, family ties, duty and justice - for women, for the down trodden and for progressive thinkers that the Empire would otherwise destroy.
I really liked this book. At first I was a little unsure of the narrator as she sounded like an AI, especially when saying "scholars skills" but over time I got used to it. I was so invested in Lin Chong's story, captivated by some of the other characters that played major parts in the story and the ending had me hooked! I do wish the ending hadn't been left so open but I understand why it was done that way and it certainly helped to make the whole thing feel a lot more believable. Even if it is definitely fantasy. The fantasy elements were well considered and grounded, built in with a collection of believable grounded characters, to create a fun but substantial story.

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haleykuuleilani's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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