If you loved how Lin Chong falls in with the Liangshan band and navigates a maze of loyalties against Gao Qiu’s corruption, you’ll sink right into the Kaul family’s world in Jade City. The No Peak and Mountain clans field a deep bench of power players—Hilo, Shae, Anden—whose bonds and betrayals feel as taut as any oath sworn at Liangshan Marsh. The street duels over bioenergetic jade echo the brutal, up‑close fights in The Water Outlaws, while the ensemble’s interwoven arcs deliver that same rush of factional politics and ride‑or‑die camaraderie.

Enjoyed cheering for Lin Chong and the outlaws even as they bend every rule? The Gentleman Bastards of The Lies of Locke Lamora—Locke, Jean, and crew—pull audacious cons across Camorr’s canals, targeting the same kind of untouchable nobles who hounded Lin Chong from the capital. As the Grey King’s plot tightens, their choices get as morally murky as any raid from Liangshan, delivering that intoxicating mix of gallows humor, swaggering derring‑do, and moments of loyalty that hit as hard as a polearm strike.

If the crackdown by Gao Qiu and the rot in the imperial bureaucracy had you burning, The City of Brass channels that same fury into Daevabad’s gilded halls. Nahri’s sudden elevation throws her into deadly court games where the shafit underclass are squeezed much like the commoners the Liangshan outlaws defend. Dara’s and Ali’s competing loyalties echo the wrenching choices faced by Huang’s bandits, blending sumptuous worldbuilding with knife‑point debates over who deserves power—and what the oppressed must risk to seize it.

If watching Lin Chong find fierce loyalty among the Liangshan bandits was your favorite thread, Six of Crows offers that same found‑family spark. Kaz Brekker recruits Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan for an Ice Court heist that demands trust forged under fire—the kind of ride‑or‑die unity you saw on the marsh, when a botched raid or a split‑second save could mean life or death. The witty banter, bruised hearts, and high‑stakes teamwork mirror the camaraderie that made the outlaws’ camp feel like home.

If the queer camaraderie and gender‑subversive spins on figures like Lin Chong drew you in, She Who Became the Sun doubles down on that resonance. Zhu Chongba seizes a fate the world said she couldn’t claim, scheming through monasteries and battlefields with the same iron will the Liangshan outlaws wield against the state. Her deadly dance with General Ouyang—another queer, tormented rival—hits that blend of intimacy, brutality, and political hunger that powered the marches, duels, and betrayals along Liangshan’s waters.