Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - The Water Outlaws

For fans of Game of Thrones who just heartily wished to find another, better take on the high fantasy genre, boy do I have the book for you. Set in imperial China with light fantasy elements, Huang's "The Water Outlaws" focuses on well-written characters in impossible situations from all walks of life. I particularly liked the complexity of the characters and how Huang explores morality throughout her characters' decisions. Special note goes to the villains of the novel, who are some of the biggest bastards I've seen in fiction in a while and yet completely understandable from their point of view. They really contribute to Huang's theme development about feminism and corruption along, and they're very satisfying to watch defeated.

I really want to say this was the best book I've read in 2023, because from a craft perspective, it's immaculately done and deserves a lot of recognition. I really wanted to like it more than I did. I loved the themes the author was exploring, some of the characters really caught my attention (Lu Da is a DELIGHT let me tell you), the writing and world building was showed so much care. It was just obvious from the beginning that this was structured in the vain of a high fantasy novel a la Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones, and I am clearly not in this book's intended audience. Due to the books medium, bordering on slower pacing (which is typical of the genre, and in fact much faster paced than most books of this nature) and incorporation of a very large cast of characters, I had difficulty many times tracking exactly what was happening. Prospective readers should be warned that the book contains dark themes and multiple scenes that, if the reader struggles with dark themes or depictions of gender-based violence, have the potential to be highly triggering (I do want to commend the author on the fact that these triggers are clearly reported at the beginning of the book itself). The book is very, very good; and it carries on its' intended message well. I still find it a little too dark and complex to read as an escapist fantasy. But again, and I cannot stress this enough; I am still clearly not in this book's intended audience. If you like Game of Thrones or other high fantasy series and wanted a book that better navigated issues of privilege, power structures, feminism, and representation of marginalized groups, pick up this book immediately and have fun.

Readers excited by the LGBTQ+ representation, also be aware: there isn't a strong LGBTQ+ romance in the book. There are many, many strong LGBTQ+ characters (including trans characters, which is delightful). But this is a dark, intense book, and I think the issue is it's hard to explore lighter relationships with such an intense tone. Not blaming the author at all because I think she was trying to balance things and she does a really good job at exploring the non-romantic aspects of the queer undertones (i.e. the huge community of women/trans bandits, the friendships between the women and queer characters given spotlight), but to be clear, do not read this book because you're excited about the lesbian romance. To avoid spoilers I will stop there, but let's just say you will be disappointed.

Content Warnings

More...