Older female leads in SFF
Books featuring older women as protagonists (age 30 and up) in science fiction and fantasy. Feedback and recs welcome!
created by cetra
last updated November, 2025
Comments
ooh fun, mara from nettle & bone is 30! in fact, i think a lot of t. kingfisher’s books could fit here hahaha
ah i figured! i think i'm going to limit her books to just a few picks. that being said, i've added Nettle & Bone! thank you :)
haha i was gonna mention t. kingfisher as well!
oh yes, love older women MCs! Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne would fit!
yess Orka is amazing!
Awesome idea for a list!!
love seeing the adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi on here :)
Love this, no notes! I’m not sure if this counts, but Voyne (one of the three leads) is over 30 in the starving saints. The other 2 leads are both under 30 though, so wasn’t sure if that was ok!
as long as one of the protagonists is an older woman, then yes it counts! thank you 🙏
Follow up question hehe, do protags who are immortal or just have lotr elf type lifespans count?
ahhh good question! i'm open to suggestions if you have any and if you think that the character embodies an older woman. my concern is that i don't want to add immortal characters or characters with similar lifespans (like the elves in lotr) that are youthful in appearance and personality, since i think that would defeat the purpose. on a side note, a list about immortal characters would be pretty neat!
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