American
M.L. Wang is an American fantasy author best known for The Sword of Kaigen, a self-published epic released in 2019. The novel follows a mother, her son and a clifftop village of elemental swordsmen as an industrial empire invades their coast. It combines martial-arts fantasy, family drama and war, and it built a large following through reader recommendations and online communities rather than traditional publishing. It placed highly in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off and has been praised for its emotional weight and its critique of honor-bound cultures. Wang also wrote the earlier Theonite novels, The Sword of Kaigen's companion works in the same world, including The Blood of Four and The Sword of Kaigen's prequel material. Wang holds a background in science, and has a strong online presence among indie fantasy readers. Wang's work has helped show that a self-published fantasy can reach a wide audience and critical respect without a major publisher.