The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one was a pleasant surprise. I expected a Wuxia-type fantasy, complete with some magical weapons, ancient Chinese-type martial arts, and that was what I got. Kung-Fu.

The quality is undeniable, too.

I was pleasantly reminded of Guy Gavriel Kay's fantasies and Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty as I read this, but if I am to be entirely honest, it didn't have quite the vastness or depth of worldbuilding of either. It DID, however, have a good, classical story of a scorned loyal warrior forced into exile and the safe arms of bandits, only to have to defend her new home against corrupt officials.

This kind of thing is an old, comfortable story, and this novel did it very, very well.

Fun stuff!

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