The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang

[mrissa]

 Review copy provided by the publisher.

 

This is a retelling of the Chinese classic Water Margin, and if you think you know antiheroes, you don't know antiheroes until you know classic Chinese lit antiheroes. These people do not let up on the antihero. The author's note warns you in the front: "gloriously violent," it says, and that is true. Torture, one attempted sexual assault, cannibalism: yep. It's all here, and Huang does not look away. If that's not something you're up for, this is not the book for you. Take the content warnings seriously here, people.

 

It's martial arts fantasy. It's got a big cast of--not brothers, not quite that, this is sisters mostly, siblings but mostly sisters. It's queer and female and full of people who aren't fitting the mold, going off and becoming bandits and challenging the oppressive empire, and some of them would really like to tell themselves that they're doing it in an honorable, upright way, but they're not, they're bandits, they do bandit things, they steal and they maim and they kill, they fight among themselves, they politic and they lie. They mess with alchemical forces beyond their ken, or at least that should have been beyond people's ken. They mess up a lot, and sometimes they mess each other up. They mess up the work that their healer does, much to her annoyance.

They make themselves heroes. They make the wrong people gods. They make an immense amount of trouble, not least for each other. And there's nothing quite like them, but you know, there probably should be.

Comments

[tarasacon]

It sounds really interesting for something I’m likely never going to read. (I adore your content warnings!)

[larryhammer]

I've been considering trying this one. I noped out of the original exactly one-third of the way through because the misogyny ground too hard into my face. It was fascinating until then, seeing just how many wuxia tropes were being created on the page -- including most of the antihero tropes.

[thistleingrey]

This one is already on my TBR. Good to know about the content warnings, in a proceed-with-caution way.

[davidgillon]

"S L Huang does the Water Margin" is an elevator pitch guaranteed to get my attention!

[sartorias]

I've read a translation of the original, all four volumes. That was enough for me; having women swapped out, doing those things, is not really a lure. Glad it's out there, though, for those who are interested.