The Sword of Kaigen

M. L. Wang is a Chinese American author and martial artist who lives a secluded life in Wisconsin. She has self-published several works, including a young-adult fantasy series called The Volta Academy Chronicles (2023). The Sword of Kaigen (2019) is associated with her Theonite series, and it gave rise to several special edition reprints. Wang’s background in martial arts is integral to the plots of both Sword of Kaigen and The Volta Academy Chronicles.

In a 2019 interview, M. L. Wang discusses drawing upon her Chinese heritage in the creation of The Sword of Kaigen, as her family originated from the region of China that Japanese military forces conquered during World War II. Thus, her family history conflicts with her love for modern Japanese culture. Additionally, her experiences as a biracial child in white-dominated spaces inspired her to flip the pattern of history in her Theonite series, in which “‘Europeans’ (Hadeans) have been colonized by ‘West Africans’ (Yammankalu). (Stewart, David. “Interview with M. L. Wang.” Fantasy Book Critic, 11 Dec. 2019). She also explains that “[i]n The Sword of Kaigen, the ‘Chinese’ (Ranganese) do some genocide in a ‘Japan’ (Shirojima, Kaigen) ruled by an Imperial ‘Korea’ (Jungsan, Kaigen)” (“Interview with M.