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True, because if written to be male first, they aren’t written with dumb stereotypes in mind or unconscious bias. Many people often write women as women and not as people first, if that makes sense. This is a great response, your shelf made me think of how many men refuse to read female main characters because they “can’t relate” which is bizarre considering they usually aren’t cursed medieval warriors, for example lol. Epic fantasy and sci-fi are by far my fantasy subgenre, yet in some of its most popular works I find the characterization of women disappointing, as despite progress many writers still play the "distressed damsel" or “strong bitch” card with regrettable frequency. I like female protagonists as they often have to use their wits or are underestimated and it’s something different. Ursula Le Guin is a MUST. Octavia Butler. Everything. Dawn by Octavia Butler. Written in the mid 80s it draws a lot of inspiration from Arthur C Clarke and Clifford Simak books about humanity rediscovering itself. Lilith is the protagonist; her family perished with the rest of humanity in a nuclear apocalypse. She and a handful of others are saved and kept asleep by aliens for hundreds of years. They return to a wild Earth to start a new life. But of course the alien saviors are not what they seem. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and I consider it the best scifi book I've ever read. A Crown For Cold Silver by Alex Marshall is one of the best examples of a strong female protagonist I've ever seen. Not only does she have agency and a voice in her own story, but she is a kickass general and leader. She is still a flawed human being with a compelling history though and overall is an interesting character. Check out the Warlord Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon. It's in an era in which women garner little respect and are essentially are considered property but the females leads are forced to out maneuver and out think their male counterparts. A non-human strong female protagonist I would recommend a gem I read recently - Between the Shade and the Shadow by Coleman Alexander. There's no romance, just person vs world. Godspeaker trilogy. I would also say Vorkosigan Saga for epic space opera and awesome military bend. I adore A Practical Guide to Evil. I thought How to Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying was fun, like Groundhog Day meets Deadpool. Love this probably Mongolian-based fantasy featuring a band of female raiders who wear the bones of their enemies and are trying to ride the giant fire-breathing lizards that roam the grasslands to avoid being wiped out by a lord, called The Bone Raiders Can’t forget Poppy War. Try N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy. The Tainted Cup by Robert Bennett Jackson is insanely good. The Empire Trilogy by Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist is an oldy but a goody. Mara is still one of the most intelligent, grounded and compelling characters I've encountered in a story. Rook and the the sequel Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley is all of that. Think X-Men mixed with Men In Black/James Bond. Long Live Evil- a woman ends up in the body of a villainess. Amazing. How about Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone? Tough, smart corporate-law necromancer trying to resurrect a dead god. Almost everything by Elizabeth Moon other than Speed of Dark. Remnant Population for having a retirement age woman protagonist! The Ancillary Trilogy by Ann Leckie. A Capital ship AI trying to solve its own betrayal and destruction in the body of a human. It rule Also some of my favorite female leads in epic fantasy appear in works that don't get as much attention as they should: Michelle West's "Sun Sword" series (starting with "The Broken Crown") -- although there is a very rough scene at the beginning; I almost put it away, but I ended up being thrilled I didn't Sharon Shinn's "Twelve Houses" series (starting with "Mystic and Rider") The Winternight series, His Dark Materials, Sabriel, Book of the Ancestor, Court of Broken Knives Sarah Beth Durst's "The Queen of Blood" Kate Elliott's "Black Wolves" and "Spiritwalker Trilogy" (starting with "Cold Magic") Elizabeth Bear's "Eternal Sky Trilogy" (starting with "Range of Ghosts") Kate Forsyth's "Witches of Elileanan" and "Rhiannon's Ride" series Curtis Craddock's "An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors" Django Wexler's "Shadow Campaigns" series (starting with "The Thousand Names") Michael J. Sullivan's "Legends of the First Empire" (starting with "Age of Myth") Barbara Hambly's "Sun Wolf and Starhawk" series (starting with "The Ladies of Mandrigyn") Also y recommend Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells. It's very well written and interesting and Maskelle is a really great MC. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. Prunella is kick arse protagonist I am about check out Jacqueline Carey's Starless. It just dropped, and features a female protagonist raised as a boy and trained to be a bodyguard. Much less overt sexuality than Kushiel's Dart, since Khai is a warrior and not a courtesan.