Paperback edition includes a Locus-Award Finalist Novelette! A Best-Of Pick for Vulture
The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Men's Health
IGN
Polygon
Goodreads
Amazon
Nerd Daily
WeAreBookish
Paste
Books, Bones & Buffy
The Escapist
Paste Magazine
SciFixFantasy
Distractify
Gizmodo
Ms. Magazine
Booklist
Popsugar
Book Riot
Autostraddle
The Mary Sue & others Finalist for the American Library Association Carnegie Medal
British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Ignyte Award
Dragon Award
Locus Award Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang's The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history―or tear it apart. "This wuxia eat-the-rich tale is a knockout."― Publishers Weekly , starred review In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own. Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job. Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away. Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice―for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats. Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire. A Best-Of Pick for Vulture
The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Men's Health
IGN
Polygon
Goodreads
Nerd Daily
WeAreBookish
Paste
Books, Bones & Buffy
The Escapist
Paste Magazine
SciFixFantasy
Distractify
Gizmodo
Ms. Magazine
Booklist
Popsugar
Book Riot
Autostraddle
The Mary Sue & others In the jianghu, you must break the law to make your own. "S.L. Huang’s new epic fantasy is a battle cry of a book . . . . A glorious, wuxia-inspired saga of femme and queer resistance in the face of oppression."― BookPage , starred review " Adrenaline-filled, twisty fantasy about justified anger ."―Booklist, Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2023 "In this addictive queer, feminist epic fantasy, Huang ( Burning Roses ) brilliantly retells the 14th-century Chinese classic Water Margin for a 21st-century audience. . . . The author’s background as a Hollywood stunt performer enriches the kinetic action sequences, which are both easy to follow and thrilling to read. This wuxia eat-the-rich tale is a knockout. "― Publishers Weekly, starred review "Huang's new epic fantasy moves at a breakneck, adrenaline-filled pace that makes it difficult to put down, and the convincing, broad cast of characters powers the plot forward amidst cunning turns of strategy and shocking, dark twists. . . . Fans of Iron Widow , by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021) and She Who Became the Sun , by Shelley Parker-Chan (2021) will eat up this new adventure about justified anger and fierce female warriors."― Booklist , starred review " Delightfully queer and furiously feminist eat-the-rich historical fantasy about a band of marginalized thieves with magical powers who set out to protect the disenfranchised from imperial forces. It’s rollicking good fun with a blade-sharp edge ."― Publishers Weekly , Best Books of 2023 " Non-stop action that will thrill you with its feminist heart. This tale’s legendary gathering is the birth of true heroes: those with the imagination to understand how the world could be different for the downtrodden, and the courage to make it so. What skill it takes to turn a cornerstone of the canon upside down and yet have it feel so convincingly classic! S. L. Huang doesn’t put a foot wrong in this magisterial epic.”―Shelley Parker-Chan, Sunday Times bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun "This queer retelling of a Chinese classic is a fantastic and entertaining blend of action, humor, profanity, social justice, delightfully larger-than-life characters, and so many magnificent fight scenes! "―Kate Elliott, bestselling author of Unconquerable Sun "At once a boisterous martial-arts epic, an intricate heist story, and an all too timely tale of resistance against tyrannical institutions, The Water Outlaws is also unusually engrossing. . . . In addition to being a Hugo Award winner, polymath Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer and armorer, able to write scenes of intricate combat with effortless clarity and breathless pacing.
The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Men's Health
IGN
Polygon
Goodreads
Amazon
Nerd Daily
WeAreBookish
Paste
Books, Bones & Buffy
The Escapist
Paste Magazine
SciFixFantasy
Distractify
Gizmodo
Ms. Magazine
Booklist
Popsugar
Book Riot
Autostraddle
The Mary Sue & others Finalist for the American Library Association Carnegie Medal
British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Ignyte Award
Dragon Award
Locus Award Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang's The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history―or tear it apart. "This wuxia eat-the-rich tale is a knockout."― Publishers Weekly , starred review In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own. Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job. Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away. Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice―for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats. Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire. A Best-Of Pick for Vulture
The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Men's Health
IGN
Polygon
Goodreads
Nerd Daily
WeAreBookish
Paste
Books, Bones & Buffy
The Escapist
Paste Magazine
SciFixFantasy
Distractify
Gizmodo
Ms. Magazine
Booklist
Popsugar
Book Riot
Autostraddle
The Mary Sue & others In the jianghu, you must break the law to make your own. "S.L. Huang’s new epic fantasy is a battle cry of a book . . . . A glorious, wuxia-inspired saga of femme and queer resistance in the face of oppression."― BookPage , starred review " Adrenaline-filled, twisty fantasy about justified anger ."―Booklist, Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2023 "In this addictive queer, feminist epic fantasy, Huang ( Burning Roses ) brilliantly retells the 14th-century Chinese classic Water Margin for a 21st-century audience. . . . The author’s background as a Hollywood stunt performer enriches the kinetic action sequences, which are both easy to follow and thrilling to read. This wuxia eat-the-rich tale is a knockout. "― Publishers Weekly, starred review "Huang's new epic fantasy moves at a breakneck, adrenaline-filled pace that makes it difficult to put down, and the convincing, broad cast of characters powers the plot forward amidst cunning turns of strategy and shocking, dark twists. . . . Fans of Iron Widow , by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021) and She Who Became the Sun , by Shelley Parker-Chan (2021) will eat up this new adventure about justified anger and fierce female warriors."― Booklist , starred review " Delightfully queer and furiously feminist eat-the-rich historical fantasy about a band of marginalized thieves with magical powers who set out to protect the disenfranchised from imperial forces. It’s rollicking good fun with a blade-sharp edge ."― Publishers Weekly , Best Books of 2023 " Non-stop action that will thrill you with its feminist heart. This tale’s legendary gathering is the birth of true heroes: those with the imagination to understand how the world could be different for the downtrodden, and the courage to make it so. What skill it takes to turn a cornerstone of the canon upside down and yet have it feel so convincingly classic! S. L. Huang doesn’t put a foot wrong in this magisterial epic.”―Shelley Parker-Chan, Sunday Times bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun "This queer retelling of a Chinese classic is a fantastic and entertaining blend of action, humor, profanity, social justice, delightfully larger-than-life characters, and so many magnificent fight scenes! "―Kate Elliott, bestselling author of Unconquerable Sun "At once a boisterous martial-arts epic, an intricate heist story, and an all too timely tale of resistance against tyrannical institutions, The Water Outlaws is also unusually engrossing. . . . In addition to being a Hugo Award winner, polymath Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer and armorer, able to write scenes of intricate combat with effortless clarity and breathless pacing.