The Water Outlaws

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 300 ratings

Price: 33.91

Last update: 12-20-2024


About this item

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.

But then 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.


Top reviews from the United States

  • John Ballinger
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book and Author, a good read.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2024
    I was very pleased with this book. I had trouble putting it down. I am always looking for new authors that have won that Hugo and nebula awards for science fiction.
  • Diane Patterson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Really fun!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2024
    Women-centric wuxia romp in fantasy China. A lot of fun. (Although the epilogue went on for longer than I was expecting.)
  • Seattle shopper
    5.0 out of 5 stars a lively retelling of the Chinese classic Water Margin
    Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2024
    This book tells the story of how independent strong women, when pushed to the breaking point by greedy entitled men, can draw strength from fellow women to not only fight back, but dictate new rules.
    Kindle version also includes the full text of the prequel short story, The River Judge. The River Judge provides the origin story of two minor characters from the main text.
  • Kindle Reader
    3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of average everything
    Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024
    This turned out to be a DNF for me. There was nothing bad about it, but there was nothing great either. The characters were fine, but very formal and not very deep, which to be fair may be due to the cultural setting but still didn't really draw me in. The setting was good, but again wasn't richly described or compellingly made part of the story. It was kind of just there. Finally, the narrative is not really anything we haven't seen many times before with an evil person in power wielding his power in evil ways and then the victim escaping.

    The thief outpost has the promise of being interesting but even a third of the way into the book and nothing really is happening. Everything feels like a slow laborious set-up that drags the narrative to an asbolute crawl.

    I think I would have finished this if there was something--anything--that would have made me really invested in the story--characters, setting, plot points--but really it's all kind of just meh.

    The writing is similar in that it is mostly quite good, with flashes of poetic moments, and then back to quite good but not mind-blowing.

    And I think that sums up the book for me: Just kind of decent but not much beyond that to get me to finish it.
  • Mamabotanica
    5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
    This book was non-stop action. A bit gory but also a triumph of women’s revenge at injustice and serious badassery. I enjoyed it.
  • Ted
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good romp
    Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
    This was an enjoyable read and a good romp. Kind of like a book version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Water Outlaws
    Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2024
    It was a captivating story, focusing on oppression of people with no voice. The story demonstrated how a secure life could be ripped away and force change upon you, even if you are an unwilling participant.
  • A RobertsKindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Words Cannot Express ....
    Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2023
    How does a law abiding, every rule following Arms Instructor for the Imperial Military Guard end up a bandit? Easy. Took 10 minutes to go from honored to traitor. Took two days to be sentenced to a penal colony, and one day to be rescued from certain death. Why, is the more complicated and just as easy question. Greed. Power. Misogyny. The evil trifecta.
    History has shown time and time again, that power corrupts. That those who have near unlimited power and only proforma morals will abuse that power and the citizens will suffer. When too many suffer, what happens? Revolution. Simple. Agonizing, heartrending, excruciating but simple.
    This is such a tale. Its a really, really good one too. Highly recommend!

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