15 Badass Fantasy Characters Who Aren’t Cis Men

By Mado, Lawrence, Kerrie and Anna

The fantasy genre is rife with cis-male characters. Over the course of the genre’s history, fantasy has amassed plenty of Dude—capital “D”—badass heroes. In our opinion, that’s quite enough, thank you very much. Here are 15 badass characters we love who are not Dudes.

Ronica Vestrit

Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Whereas her daughter Althea braves countless dangers at sea, Ronica Vestrit proves her mettle by skillfully navigating a rapidly shifting political environment back on land. She makes mistakes, but she admits to them and learns from them: a rare and badass trait.

Maggie Hoskie

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Oh, Maggie. I couldn’t help but admire this surly Dinétah monster-hunter with a heart of gold. She might be unstable at times, but you know you want her on your team. She is fearless and confident, but also self-aware. Throughout The Sixth World series she takes opportunities to improve upon her negative qualities, striking a balance between independence and openness.

Nona Grey

Book of the Ancestor Trilogy by Mark Lawrence

At a tender age, Nona kills the equivalent of a UFC champion with her bare hands before her training as a child-gladiator even begins. Eventually, Nona is brought to a convent of assassins where she hones her killer instincts with arcane mastery, and, after cutting off her own shadow, she becomes the coldest murder-nun of them all.

Rider

The Red Threads of Fortune by Jy Yang

So. Rider is hot. Very hot. So hot that I tweeted at the author about it (something I admit I’ve never done before or since).

And…They’re also nonbinary.

This read was such an important one for me…because it was the first time that I got to have a book crush on a character who shared (at least a portion of) my gender. They’re also just…very human. Gender certainly plays an important role in Yang’s work, and the process of transition and identity are important aspects of these books. But what made this book (and series) so magical for me was that it managed to have those conversations while featuring full, beautiful characters. It is the epitome of why we need more #ownvoices books published—balancing that character work against explanation work is extremely difficult, even when you also identify as the character you’re writing. I am grateful to Yang for offering up such a skilled contribution to the conversation. These books are a happy place for me, and I couldn’t recommend them more.

Agnieszka

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Agnieszka is a fantastic female character. She starts off as a stumbling, awkward village girl and gradually builds up momentum as a self-possessed woman. I loved that there was this romantic element in the story, but Agnieszka never falls into it. She allows herself to be loved or to love others, but she is completely fine with doing her own thing, too. She is guided by her own intuition. I loved how unyielding she was in her decisions. I loved that she was kind, and sought to understand people who have wronged her. A really refreshing personality for a fantasy character. Also important was the way she came to interact with the magic of the world. She didn’t understand the magic that came to her—Novik wrote her with gentle human vulnerability—but she kept trying to learn, and ended up overcoming all the odds to save the day.

Serafina Pekkala

His Dark Materials Series by Philip Pullman

Not only is Queen Serafina Pekkala a fair and admirable leader, but she’s also a skilled warrior and a fierce friend. The act that cemented her as a badass in my mind occurs during a scene near the beginning of The Subtle Knife, in the bowels of an enemy ship. (No spoilers.)

Coraline Jones

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I really can’t believe I was allowed to read this book when I was around the same age as Coraline. Not only does she face countless dangers ranging from creepy to truly horrific, but she also has a decidedly difficult emotional terrain to navigate. And she handles it all beautifully.

Tenar

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

Once the high priestess of an empire, Tenar rejects the life she was born into to start a life of her own choosing. Finding fulfillment as a farmer and mother of an abandoned child, Tenar’s strength is her willingness to defy the role her society has forced upon her, and to protect those she loves from the cruelty of powerful men.

Amber

Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb [SPOILERS]

I read through all the Robin Hobb books in university, and just shortly after. They hold a very special place for me as the first sword & sorcery series that was not…just dudes. A very large part of that Not Dudism (although there are of course elements of it throughout the series—it did start in the 90s) is Amber.

Amber is a recurring character throughout many of Hobb’s series, although she takes on many different identities. Often male-presenting, in Liveship she is high femme—beautiful, fierce, petty and strong. But what I love about her ultimately is her consistent feeling throughout each series, across genders and performances and identities. She is one of the driving forces of Liveship, and not always right—but also not always wrong. And while her gender, or the shifting of her gender, is a potentially-problematic focus in some of the other trilogies in this series, in Liveship she is simply herself.

Not to mention, Liveship itself is full of fierce, complex women and female-presenting characters. I’d never been attached to a nautical story before—but the way the women rise up to take it over is orchestrated carefully and gorgeously. It is one of my favourite series of all time.

Jasnah

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I knew Jasnah was going to be a favourite badass character as soon as she was described as “an eminent scholar and notorious heretic.” Arguably, she is not a main character in The Way of Kings, but for me, she outshines everyone else. She has such a presence! I love that she subverts the gender expectations of Roshar and that she values knowledge above all else. And who says you need to be a sword-wielding warrior to be intimidating? Jasnah is an example of a badass character that is badass not for her physical strength, but for her intelligence. Her dogged commitment to reading every book on history in the library and cracking a millenium-old mystery is infinitely admirable. She becomes a strong, supportive mentor to the naive, good-girl Shallan, and their dynamic is amazing to follow. Let’s have more women supporting women in fantasy. Basically, I want to be Jasnah when I grow up.

Miryem

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Miryem is by no means perfect, but that makes her one of my absolute favourite characters. She’s the definition of resourcefulness, which is an important trait to have when you’ve been stolen away to an enchanted winter kingdom. I admire her cool nerves, her quick thinking, and her capacity to learn.

Tonkee

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin

I loved Tonkee from the moment she showed up, filthy and unbothered and undeniably brilliant. Tonkee’s insatiable curiosity mirrored my own desire to know everything about the universe that Jemisin had created. She’s one of many badass characters in this series, but she holds a very special place in my heart.

Nahri

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

Nahri carries this series. Sure, she’s the protagonist. But her incisive, quick-witted, hot-headed and (beautifully) self-serving voice is a force. What I love about Nahri most is that she takes care of herself first. Even when you think she’s about to let a man make decisions for her, when you dread her making a choice that compromises her values, she pulls back and reconsiders what works for her. And then she goes after it regardless of the consequences. Basically, she’s a badass. A badass that takes on tropes and destroys them.

The series itself? Vivid, gorgeous, and immersive. Chakraborty handles the depth of her worlds in a way that seems (but definitely isn’t) easy, balancing personal investment against political intrigue. The third book has yet to come out, but when it does I’ll have it on pre-order.

Syenite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin

Out of all of the women in the Broken Earth Trilogy, Syenite is not immediately admirable. She has a bit of an attitude and is proud to a fault. As she reluctantly discovers the deeper injustices of the society that had once given her a sense of self-worth, she becomes one of the most ferocious opponents of the status quo. She makes difficult and unexpected choices in the books. She is badass because in the face harrowing experiences, she doesn’t give in to the life she is supposed to lead, but carves out room to make her own choices.

Binti

Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor

Despite countless dangers and challenges, Binti holds on to her own beliefs and values. Her own family doesn’t understand her ambitions; her peers don’t understand the importance of her culture. Yet, she insists on keeping both parts of her identity. She is also admirable in her commitment to mediate peace between people who are in conflict—she literally stops a war (multiple times). Her attempt to understand both sides is impressive, as is her ability to wield a mysterious math-magic to solve her problems.

Who are your favourite fantasy characters who break the mould? Let us know!