Book Review: The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1/Stand Alone

Publisher: Tordotcom (August 22, 2023)

Length: 488 pages

Author Information: Website

Inspired by what is considered one of the greatest classic novels of Chinese literature, The Water Outlaws is a gender-flipped reimagining of Water Margin, a story about 108 rebels who come together to form a rebel force against a corrupt government during the Song Dynasty. It introduces Lin Chong, a master arms instructor for the emperor’s soldiers—and one of only a few women in the imperial service. However, after running afoul of a high-ranking official abusing his power, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death, and only after a friend begs for clemency is our protagonist saved from execution.

Branded a criminal and exiled to a penal colony on the far reaches of the empire, Lin Chong manages to escape death a second time when she foils a plot by the official, Gao Qiu, to have her killed on the way. With the help of Lu Da, the Flower Monk, she finds her way to the Liangshan bandits, a group of women and other societal outcasts who have made their home in the swamp.

After a lifetime of working hard, following the rules, and generally doing what was expected of her, Lin Chong initially has a hard time settling into this new world. In this cutthroat society where ferocity is a measure of strength and provocative philosophies are not only allowed but encouraged, nothing you were or did before matters. The past is dead. Lin Chong has no choice now but to pluck up the courage and determination to face the future and move on. No longer will she have the option to go quietly on her own way into obscurity and solitude, as she must learn to embrace her new family and fight together as a single force against their common foe.

In Chinese culture, Water Margin, also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, is as ubiquitous as the legend of Robin Hood. It is everywhere, adapted into movies, TV shows, stage plays, graphic novels—you name it, it’s been done. As such, I have been familiar with its story since childhood and was very excited when I learned about this retelling by S.L. Huang. Again like Robin Hood, the original story of Water Margin contains themes of rebellion against oppressive rulers for the benefit and protection of the common people. It also features martial arts in the wuxia tradition and other elements of ancient Chinese history. In other words, it’s pretty damn epic.

So, you can imagine my surprise and frustration, given the epicness of the inspiration behind The Water Outlaws, I felt that much of this retelling was quite a slog. If I hadn’t been so curious to see how the whole “reimagined” aspect of it would pan out, I might even have been tempted to set this one aside. The real kicker is that the first quarter of the book was actually very good, as I was completely captivated by Lin Chong as a protagonist. Here was a woman who has always kept her head down, taking comfort and pride in doing the right thing, yet powerful men were still able to seize her freedom and dignity through no fault of her own. Even as her entire worldview was crumbling around her, Lin Chong’s will to survive made me admire her resilience and strength.

Unfortunately, it’s the middle section that drags, weighed down by exposition and uneven pacing. Any momentum that was built up during the intro runs right smack into a brick wall soon after Lin Chong meets up with the bandits—ironic, seeing as one of the main themes of both Water Margin and The Water Outlaws is comradeship. But to tell the truth, I preferred the book so much more when we were mainly following Lin Chong. The narrative loses its focus once the cast list expands, trying to spread the attention between multiple characters, ultimately struggling to provide any deep or meaningful exploration of any single one.

The result is a scattered storyline that lacks the depth and emotion of the earlier chapters, not to mention it simply much too long. Instead of rehashing the same thing over and over again via multiple perspectives, I would have preferred to see more development into the fantasy element, which was disappointingly light. The magic system, based on artifacts that can grant its wielders supernatural abilities, was an overly simplistic one which felt tacked on as an afterthought.

In the end, I liked the overall concept of The Water Outlaws as a genderbent Water Margin retelling, a unique take which led to an exploration of more resonant themes like justice and rebellion through the lens of feminism. And yet, this novel could also have benefited greatly from rigorous editing, as I think huge chunks of its narrative could have been tossed out or condensed and nothing too much would have been lost. As it is now, certain sections of it are way too drawn out and tedious, and considering the original inspiration, there is just no excuse for any part of this book to be boring.