The Water Outlaws
#7383.73 adjusted 3.78 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2023 Reading commitment Low S. L. Huang Last reviewed 2026-09-04
Overview
The Water Outlaws is a 2023 gender-flipped reimagining of the Chinese classic Water Margin, written by S. L. Huang and set in the city of Bianliang during the Song Dynasty. It follows Lin Chong, a martial arts instructor who is falsely imprisoned after resisting assault from a corrupt marshal, and who escapes to join the Liangshan bandits, a company of outlaws, rebels, and warriors resisting government corruption in an alternate imperial China where magic and martial-arts prowess are real. Standalone wuxia fantasy, the novel follows the bandits' growing conflict with Chancellor Cai Jing, who seeks to weaponize mystical "god's teeth" artifacts, weaving in themes of patriarchy, loyalty, and the tension between what is lawful and what is just. It was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2023, and was also shortlisted for the Ignyte and Locus Awards and longlisted for the BSFA Award.
Mythic fantasy, Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Water Outlaws (2023) core · 3.73 (3,496 ratings)
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Water Outlaws? The Water Outlaws's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Water Outlaws finished? Complete (2023).
- How much reading does The Water Outlaws take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~496 pages).
- How is The Water Outlaws ranked? #738 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,496 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #738?
Ranked #738 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.73 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (3,496 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #737, The Chronicles of Tornor (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #738 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.73 across 3,496 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Water Outlaws (S. L. Huang) accepted 2026-09-03
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Rating-platform listing: The Water Outlaws Tier 1
- Rating-platform listing: The Water Outlaws Tier 2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Water_Outlaws
Last reviewed: 2026-09-04
Rule: Core Canon: the single 2023 novel.