What I'm Reading: The Water Outlaws

I'd heard a lot of good things about The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang. It was the last book I started in 2023 and the first book I finished in 2024.

I'm not always the biggest fan of action-packed books, but Huang manages to write fight scenes that don't bore me. There are women warriors and a crass monk with a heart of gold and bandits trying to right the wrongs of the ruling empire.

There are some dark moments, and readers should pay attention to the trigger warnings before picking up this book, though these moments are treated with the weight they deserve. The Water Outlaws explores the ideas of found family, abuse of power, resistance, the intersection between science and magic, gender roles, and queer issues.

The Water Outlaws is based on the Chinese classic Water Margin. There are epic battles. Corrupt rulers. Loyal public servants who are betrayed and fall to the wrong side of the law.

Even with so much going on, everything fit together like a masterfully designed puzzle. It was a very engrossing read.