"Mae's beloved older sister, Abbie, has been missing for years. Mae has her theories about where Abbie might be. But nowhere in her wildest imagination do those theories encompass a fantasy world full of terrifying monsters, power-hungry nobles, and nefarious scientists. That is, until Abbie suddenly reappears in Mae's world. And not alone.”

So, the first volume reunites the sisters. Abbie’s been gone for around seven years, and Mae’s been wondering where Abbie has gone off to. Well, she does find out, and she’s in for a huge surprise. Apparently, Mae Vol. 1 is part of a speculative subgenre called “portal fiction,” a phrase I’d never heard of until I started reading more about this kind of work. One of the most popular “portal fictions” is none other than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The titular wardrobe is the path through which children can travel to the magical land of Narnia. In a similar fashion, folx in the fictional world that Ha has created can travel to another world via secret monoliths that only a few people know about. Abbie, once known as Queen Ani, is one of those who has been able to use these monoliths. She eventually arrives back on Earth, but when Abbie is attacked by denizens of this other world and Abbie and Mae’s father seems to have been kidnapped, the two must team up to travel to this other world. The first volume ends with Abbie and Mae on the run where they encounter an old acquaintance of Abbie’s.

The second installment is equally if not more exciting than the first. The official marketing description gives us more context but also some spoilers, so do not read forward unless you don’t mind learning a little bit more about this series:

"Mae has followed her long-lost sister Abbie through a gate and into another world: Cimrterén, a world full of dangerous creatures, strange science, and warring nobles. Their father has gone missing at the hands of these malicious dukes, and Mae and Abbie must fight their way to the heart of Ebenhrad to find their father. Along their journey, they come across old friends, plus some new adversaries determined to stand in their way. In the second volume of the series, Mae and Abbie face some of their biggest challenges yet. Even fantasy-locked sisters can have their differences. After a big blow-up fight, Mae sets out on her own, leaving Abbie behind. When Mae learns that navigating her own way through Cimrterén isn’t as easy as she thought, she calls on her old friend Dahlia for backup. Together they begin to uncover sinister secrets and piece together a much darker history to the Fortell family than they’d ever thought possible."

Whereas the first volume operates to unite the two sisters and see them working together, the second throws a huge wrench into the equation when Mae strikes out on her own. It eventually becomes apparent that they must work together if they are going to take down the “big bad” of Cimrterén. Dahlia’s inclusion is a great one, as Ha excels at depicting strong women who can take care of themselves.

One of the series’ best aspects is Ha’s incredible artistic talent. There is a photorealistic quality to Ha’s figurations, melded somehow with a bit of anime, that makes each character truly unique. The included author’s notes allow us to understand Ha’s process, which sometimes includes friends sending pictures of themselves for Ha to use as character inspiration. This methodology makes a lot of sense because his characters have so many striking particularities. In any case, the second volume really does end on a kind of cliffhanger, but a third volume has yet to be listed. A dorkaholics article reveals that Ha does have plans to release a Vol. 3, but he’s also working on other projects in the meantime.

This Asian American literature fan hopes Ha comes back to the world of Mae soon so we can see what happens next! A great series with fantastic worldbuilding and some exceptional art!

Buy the books HERE.