[CoraBuhlert]

Seconding the N.K. Jemisin recommendation. She's a fairly new author and writes epic fantasy with non-pseudo-European settings.

Maria V. Snyder might fit the bill as well. Her newer books (the Glass series and whatever the latest one is called) are being marketed as YA fantasy, but the Study trilogy (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study) was adult epic fantasy with a female protagonist.

Phillippa Ballantine's Book of the Order trilogy is another newish fantasy series with a female protagonist. Ballantine also has a new book called Hunter and Fox out, which appears to have a female protagonist.

The Rogue Agent series by K.E. Mills is a bit schizophrenic. It starts out as a sort of adult Harry Potter and suddenly takes an extremely dark turn midway through the first book. The protagonist is male, but there are several strong female characters. Not the traditional sexy arsekickers either. K.E. Mills also writes more traditional epic fantasy as Karen Miller. Her Godspeaker series has a female protagonist as well.

If YA is okay, there's always Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore.

But in general, epic fantasy seems to have become something of a boys club of late, while all the women migrate to urban fantasy, Steampunk or YA, where the money is better and the fandom less testosterone laden.

 

[Colin Taber]

Sara Douglass' Battleaxe Trilogy (The first three books of what is a six book series in the US called The Wayfarer Redemption) has Azhure, a tough character (not so much in a sword swinging way), from an abusive past. The series is formula epic fantasy, not wildly groundbreaking, but an enjoyable enough read if you like that kind of thing. Battleaxe has sole squentillions of copies (or so the publishers keep telling us). The title was the first Australian fantasy novel released locally to really break records, get picked up internationally, and see the late Sara Douglass held up as Australia's bestselling local fantasy author for many, many years.

While I haven't read the series in years, what I remember about Azhure is her strength of purpose and leadership. She's quite the contrast to Faraday, a female character set to make you queasy with her helplessness and plummet into victimhood, JR.

 

[Anjasa]

I love Lisa Smeadman and Elaine Cunningham's drow series (Forgotten Realms) for strong female characters.

The Lady Penitent and Starlight & Shadows series respectively. My partner is reading the House of Serpents series by Lisa Smeadman right now and said he's enjoying it a lot.

He's also reading Depths of Madness by Erik Scott de Bie and he's enjoying the female characters in that as well.

 

[Winter9]

In Her Name is definitely some of the best! Michael R. Hicks is very talented!! Recommend it to every fan of Fantasy!

 

[Nicholas Andrews]

The Eolyn Chronicles by Karin Rita Gastreich:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BEIGZG
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JDZIO5Q

The publishing company, Hadley-Rille, publishes a lot of fantasy books with strong female protagonists from what I understand.

 

[Chad Winters]

I think Brust's Jhaereg books have some pretty strong female characters, the main character is male, but the females are bad*ss
Sethra Lavode is the epitome of bad*ss and Aliera e'Kieron is is on my secret crush list



start with

 

[MariaESchneider]

Interesting.  I see a lot of recs that don't really have the female as the main.  Although they may (or may not) have strong female characters (I didn't find the women in Mistborn to be badass at all.  I thought--well never mind.  This isn't the thread for that.  Ditto Terry Goodkind.  )

So let's see.  I do like Patricia Briggs and her When Demon's Walk is more traditional fantasy than her current UF. Excellent read.

I'd also rec Stained Glass Monsters -- two female leads.  Andrea Host is the author.

Ugly cover and more UF than Fantasy, but "Demon Hunter and Baby" had a very strong lead.  There are things I don't like about the book, but I wanted to mention it because I think the lead fits.

More of a cozy fantasy, but definitely strong female lead Unicorn on Speed Dial.  Great humor, wonderful book.

Lindsay Buroker has the Torrent Series as well as more traditional fantasy (I've only read Torrent--and it's more UF than trad fantasy).  Nice, high-powered, fast paced thriller type reads.  Fun.  I suspect her fantasy has strong female leads based on Torrent.

The Hounds of Ardagh by Laura Underwood -- pretty traditional fantasy with a strong female lead.


I don't particularly like her POV changing writing style except in When Dragons Finish Last (UF) but Rachel Aaron PROBABLY has some female leads.  Not positive because I have only read the Dragon one--her others didn't grab me.  Too many POV, but if she writes a female character, I'd expect them to be strong based on Dragons Last.

There's probably a few more, but those come to mind. 

 

[MariaESchneider]

Okay, some more authors come to mind:

Mercedes Lackey -  She has more than one series out with strong female mains...the Arrows of the Queen is probably the best series.
Holly Lisle - She has some contemporary setting books and some epic fantasy.  Both are good, although her most modern chick-lit kind of thing isn't her best work.  I liked the work she did while published with Baen the best.  Fire in the Mist, Sympathy for the Devil, The Devil and Dan Cooley were all very good.  Dancing at Midnight was a good romance/suspense. 

 

[Chad Winters]

Elizabeth Bear is pretty good at badass females, I think the Valkryie book is a mix of fantasy and Sci-fi

 

[Krista D. Ball]

I really like Diana Pharaoh Francis's CROSSPOINTE series, with The Cipher being my favourite. They aren't badass women. They aren't kickass. They are regular women with jobs and positions, and stand up for what's right. In a weird way, they are stronger than a lot of "strong" women characters because they are more normal. 

 

[Jim Johnson]

In some of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books (Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber, Camber the Heretic, The Harrowing of Gwynedd), one of the characters, Lady Evaine, becomes a hugely key character.

 

[martyns]

I love strong female characters. Reading about and writing about.

I know it's not your common or garden fantasy, but Terry Pratchett's Discworld has some awesome strong characters. Like Conina from Sourcery, or Susan from the Death Novels!

 

[thewitt]

I have strong female characters in all my books so far. The latest, Prophecy's Queen, has three of them   I think strong female characters are very powerful story elements.  I'll be introducing even more strong female characters in future books.

 

[JeanetteRaleigh]

Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan have a strong female lead.  It's kind of a cross between old fantasy and the new urban fantasy genre.  (Deed of Paksennarion is still my all-time favorite for strong female character, but that's been mentioned)

 

[Debbie Bennett]

Barbara Hambly springs to mind for strong females. Strong males as well.