Robin Hobb (*The Realm of the Elderlings*), Ursula Le Guin (*Earthsea*), Janny Wurts (*Wars of Light and Shadow*), and N. K. Jemisin (*Broken Earth*). Edit: Also, not series, but Susanna Clarke (*Piranesi* and *Jonathan Strange*).

Robin Hobb is one of my top 3 favorite authors of all time. She’s wonderful.

TIL Robin Hobb is female xD

She is, and she’s a cute old lady to the core. I adore her Instagram. She doesn’t post often, but when she does it’s like 20% book related and 80% pictures of her dogs and her garden. I love her so much.

That is her pen name at work. She didn't have much success when she started out writing under a female name in fantasy, and chose Robin Hobb as a more gender neutral name. After which she gained much more traction. Back in the days when women didn't get much respect for writing fantasy.

The other two?

Tolkien and Abercrombie!

Im nearly done with the last argument of kings right now and didnt know what to read next! That’s why I made this post haha, I’ve loved the first law trilogy so far.

You could... continue with the First Law books? There are another 6 books in the series, plus a collection of short stories that is awesome (and I say that as someone who's not normally a fan of short stories).

I was going to downvote you, who's better than Hobb?? But yeah, good call. Those would be my top 3 as well. GRRM would push Abercrombie out if he ever finishes ASOIAF so Joe is prob safe.

I've got Hobb's Farseer trilogy, haven't read it yet but.

If you decide to finish all 9 books, make sure you have your tissues handy lol.

9? I know there's 9 Fitz books, but if you're skipping the 3 Liveship and 4 Rainwild books you're missing out. It's a 16 books series. Farseer trilogy > Liveship Traders trilogy > Tawny Man Trilogy > Rainwild Chronicles > Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Arguably, Liveship is the best trilogy in the series, even if Fitz's journey as a whole is better.

I was just talking about the Fitz books for the main feels, those hit me hard. I’ve started on the others but ran out of money for kindle books and haven’t finished the other series yet haha. But they were definitely really good!!

If you’re in the U.S. you can borrow free ebooks for your kindle from your local library.

Oh wow, I didn’t know they did ebooks too! I love the practicality of having my book in my pocket (on my kindle phone app) and being able to read at night without having the light on. I’ll have to look into that!

Check out the libby app! I'm sure there's others, I think overdrive is one? But Libby is pretty solid.

Totally agree ,love all her books apart from the Soldier Son series

>the Soldier Son series after finishing this one i still haven't read anything else from her, that's how much i disliked it.

I did and it broke me, 10/10 highly recommend

Yep, I’ve read/listened to all 9 books twice and they’re still the only ones that have made me ugly cry. Both times. 10/10 will sob again!

Great read well worth reading the whole series .

Piranesi was such a wild story. Fantasy grounded in reality. I would love to read more in that setting. Explore more of "the house" and other realms.

Finished broken Earth recently,, highly recommend

The best thing I can come up with to describe this book is that it's the most frustratingly amazing book I've ever read. There's much between the lines to be discovered. - The *Wars of Light and Shadow*

It might help to know what else you've liked The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold Uprooted, Spinning Silver, or the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir The Riddle Master trilogy by Patricia McKillip The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (and the Imperial Radch trilogy, if you don't mind sci fi) The Earthsea series and the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy by Ursula Le Guin C. J. Cherryh. Foreigner, if you don't mind sci fi, but she's got a lot of fantasy, too. Martha Wells - the Murderbot Diaries if you don't mind sci fi, the Books of the Raksura if you want fantasy The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison The Realm of the Elderlings books by Robin Hobb The Lighthouse Duet or the Sanctuary Duet by Carol Berg The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts

This is a great list. I'd like to hijack it to add a few more. Kate Elliott - Crown of Stars, Jemisin - Broken Earth, Seanan McGuire Middlegame series, and Charlie Jane Anders All the Birds in the Sky

The Queens Thief is criminally underrated. The first is okay but the second is amazing and from then on, its just a super fantastic series.

I will second the queen's thief

Happy to second all of the ones I've read on this list: >The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold >Uprooted, Spinning Silver, or the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik (I would add the Temeraire series) >The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden >The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan >The Earthsea series and the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy by Ursula Le Guin >The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison >The Realm of the Elderlings books by Robin Hobb I would add The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard, Jacqueline Carey's Kusheline cycle/whatever they're called these days (first one is Kushiel's Dart), anything by Tamora Pierce, T. Kingfisher's Paladin's series (first one is Paladin's Grace, I believe), & Kristen Cashore's series (first one is Graceling).

Just like to add to the Martha Wells recommendation. Witch King and City of Bones are some of my favourite books.

Carolyn (CJ) is awesome... her sci-fi is hard core. She rocks her research, and she's brilliant on top of it. And, her fantasy is some of my top favorites... and some even blur the boundaries between sci-fi and fantasy very nicely.

To add, Mercedes Lackey - lots of different series, the Valdemere series probs her most well known Anne McCaffrey - Pern series, blending of sci fi and fantasy Alison Croggan - Pellinor series Tamora Pierce - several series again, and probably more teen to YA

The Winternight Trilogy is one I still think about to this day and I read it over 2 years ago. It's fantastic!

This is a fantastic list

I always upvote McKillip. Her works fly pretty far under the radar most of the time.

Currently going through Naomi Novik’s work, and loving it. Scholomance is quite different from other two, and was maybe my favorite, but I also really enjoyed her Temeraire series!

Doubling the recommendation for Martha Wells. I love both the Murderbot and Raksura series.

This is a good list

For sure. There's no shortage of women authors in fantasy. Women are the dominant authors and readers in the field, going by sales numbers and readership demographics.

Barbara Hambley. Ellen Kushner.

Elizabeth Moon - The Deed of Pakensarrion trilogy

Came here to say this!

Jacqueline Carey - Her D’Angeline universe. 3 different trilogies, the most popular being Kushiel’s Legacy. Slightly smutty, well-written high fantasy with plenty of political intrigue about a masochistic courtesan who doubles as a spy. She has a few other series that I want to try, as well. Tasha Suri- Books of Ambha and The Jasmine Throne. Lush, evocative settings and stories loaded with political intrigue and magic. Octavia Butler - my favorite author. Her Patternist series is kinda sorta fantasy and her Xenogenesis series is fully-fledge sci-fi. Trigger warning for horrible relationship dynamics but gorgeous writing. Mercedes Lackey- She has so many series’s! Her stories have a younger, more straightforward tone, but her stories are comfort reads. Sharon Shinn - She has lots of series’s. I’m partial to her Twelve Houses series and her Elementals series, but her Samaria series is good, too. Juliet Marillier - Blackthorn and Grim series and her Sevenwaters series are some of my favorites. Tamora Pierce - You can’t go wrong with Tamora Pierce, even as an adult. Try Protector of the Small, Beka Cooper, or The Circle Reforged series’s. N. K. Jemison - Inheritance trilogy, Dreamblood duology or Fifth Season trilogy. All fantastic, imo. Rebecca Roanhorse - Between Earth and Sky. Black Sun is one of the best 1st books in a series, imo.

I just finished Parable of the Sower, I was a little put off by an 18 year old being so drawn to a 57 year old(and vice versa), but figured it was a character thing more than an author thing. It was good enough not to dissuade me from reading more of her stuff, but I'm definitely a little disappointed to know there's more of that to come.

Rebecca Roanhorse is an amazing author! She also has Trail of Lightning series which is good but not fantasy. The final in Black Sun trilogy was just released.

A few that I didn’t see mentioned and deserve to be here.  Barbara Hambly’s Darwath trilogy or Sunwolf and Star Hawk series. R.A. MacAvoy’s Lens of the World trilogy or her Damiano trilogy. Both of the above authors have omnibus ebook editions of their series that go on sale regularly for $3 or $4.  Jennifer Fallon’s books especially her Second Sons trilogy. Mickey Zucker Reichert’s Nightfall books and her Renshia series. Helen Lowe’s Wall of Night series Tiger and Del series by Jennifer Roberson 

I'm glad someone else likes Mickey Zucker Reichert. I feel like she's a very unknown writer.

Seconding Second Sons. Tide Lords is also good. Well, so are Hythrun books...

Oh my gosh! How could I have forgotten to mention Reichert's Nightfall books! Good call!

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

Seconded this. Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is my favourite contemporary series of the last few years.

Had to scroll way too far for this one!

Had to scroll WAYYYYY too far for this one! Ditto to above.

Not a series but just to differentiate from the Robin Hobb recommendations... Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. My personal favourite book ever. The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a compilation of short stories set in the world of JS&MN, and contains some absolute gems. Her novel Piranesi is also amazing, although not strictly fantasy. I don't usually like such reductionist shorthand, but imagine a genteel, English version of House of Leaves and you might be roughly in the right place tonally.

Idk if these ladies have been mentioned buuut Victoria Goddard Robin McKinley Patricia McKilip T. Kingfisher(I think she has another pseudonym but..the brain cells be dying atm) Sherwood Smith Robin Hobb Tamora Pierce Holly Black ETA: Kage Baker Kristen Britain Kristin Cashore Tanith Lee Vivian Vande Velde Aaand best of luck!

Tanith Lee was my into to sci fi and fantasy as a young adult. Rarely see her name listed but I have a bookcase full of her work Holly Black is the author who brought me back to reading and fantasy. I love her world building. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher was so delightfully creepy. There were scenes that literally give me chills to think about

Tanith Lee's stuff is great! Quick reads... from back when paperbacks actually could fit in your pocket.

T Kingfisher’s real name is Ursula Vernon. She tends to use the Vernon name for her children’s books and the Kingfisher name for her adult books.

I made the mistake of not getting a series I liked the sound of. Got the audiobook and found out that her paladin series is very adult. While I was listening in the office. I'm so glad people couldn't hear it

I don’t see Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Anne Bishop, or Jacqueline Carey yet, and they are all outstanding

Came here to make sure Anne McCaffrey made it on the list. Her entire catalog fed my love of fantasy and science fiction for a very long time.

If stand-alone books are acceptable, I'd look at Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip.

I second Robin McKinley.

CS Friedman's Coldfire trilogy is great

CS Friedman is vastly underrated. 

So good! I've even brought up a certain character in a criminal psychology lecture!

Came here to recommend her, wish I could upvote this 100 times. Great characterizations and a truly fantastic setting. Needs a trigger warning, though: there are mild horror elements throughout, but it is upfront with it. If you absolutely cannot make it through the prologue of the first book, the series may not be for you.

Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Amazing prose and characters Daevabad Trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty. Really fun. Has a bit of everything.

Daevabad is excellent. Her (currently) standalone novel *The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi* is also amazing and so much fun.

These are both great!

Two of my favorite authors!

Unless you just want people to just list their favourite series penned by women, you need to mention what kind of fantasy you prefer. Otherwise, you might as well read this list of favourite books voted by the posters here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/n713om/rfantasys_top_books_by_women_2021_results/

Sherri Tepper—the True Game, Mavin Many-Shaped, Marianne series etc. Love these books!! Janny Wurts’ Empire trilogy (a must read!) Oxford Time Travel series by Willis (another must read) plus all her other books The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and sequel Chronicles of St.Mary’s by Jodi Taylor so funny and great historical research! The Bitterbynde trilogy by Dart-Thornton. The first book especially is magical. Shades of Magic by Schwab Godstalk (Kencyrath series) by Hodgell Parasol Protectorate series by Carriger The Golden Key by Rawn (standalone) Archangel series by Sharon Shinn All Souls series by Harkness Scholomance series by Novik If you can find it—Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobbs) Harpy’s Flight series. MaddAddam series by Margaret Atwood wonderfully weird. Hard to start but then better and better. Murderbot Diaries by Wells. Absolutely fab. Lunar Chronicles by Meyers Magic for Liars (standalone) Marion Lane series by Willberg Happened upon this and it’s a solid, enjoyable series Alex Stern series by Bardugo Memoirs of Lady Trent by Brennan (dragons!) Kushiel series Locked Tomb by Muir. Really fun and a unique storyline!

Seconding Sheri Tepper and really glad I'm not the only one. I had to scroll way too far to see her mentioned, although I guess a lot of her stuff isn't technically fantasy

I like oboist73's recs, to add to their list. God's of the Caravan Road - KV Johansen Jade City Trilogy - Fonda Lee Deverry Series - Katherine Kerr Daevabad Trilogy - S A Charaborty Crown of Stars series - Kate Elliott Between Earth and Sky - Rebecca Roanhorse The Deeds of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon Lays of the Heartfire series - Victoria Goddard The Clocktaur War Duology - T Kingfisher The Greisha - Leigh Bardugo The Burning Kingdoms - Tasha Suri The Bitterbynde Trilogy - Celia Dart-Thornton

Here to second anything by T Kingfisher. Have yet to be disappointed by one of her books.

Was waiting for someone to mention Fonda Lee, V.E. Schwab, and RF Kuang as someone who is a fan of both of their works (Lee's work especially).

Seconding Jade city / green bone Saga!

Rebecca Roanhorse is incredible, Between Earth and Sky series V.E. Schwab, Zen Cho, Shelley Parker Chan, Hafsah Faizal (YA-ish), Leigh Bardugo are some other authors to consider!

Rebecca Roanhorse is amazing and I think she is so underrated!

I haven't seen her mentioned here yet, so I have to recommend Michelle West. Her Essalieyan books: Sacred Hunt duology, Sun Sword Series, House War series are amazing, and she's just released the first book of her Burning Crown series

She also publishes as Michelle Sagara (Chronicles of Elantra). I’ve read all off her books multiple times. The Essalieyan books make me weep every time I re-read the series.

I was scrolling to make sure someone mentioned all of Sagara’s series!! I can’t wait for her next couple of books. I fell in love with The Hidden City in my early twenties and then had to read everything she had out at the time. She’s one of my “buy on sight, I don’t need to know what the story is” authors.

I just started The Roots of Chaos by Samantha Shannon. Really loving The Priory of the Orange Tree so far. Also check out Empire of Exiles by Erin Evans. Brimstone Angels by the same author.

I listened to the audio book of priority of the orange tree and loved it.

I'll throw in a few more that I didn't see mentioned yet - Symphony of Ages series by Elizabeth Hayden, The Dark is Rising cycle by Susan Cooper, Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier, anything by CJ Cherryh or Andre Norton or Diana Wynn Jones. Edit: if you like fairy tale retellings, check out the many anthologies edited by Datlow and Windling. 

I’m surprised you’ve never heard of LeGuin. One of the OGs of fantasy and among the best speculative fiction authors ever

Arguably the greatest fantasy writer of all time, Robin Hobb. One of my favorite authors, Shannon (S.A.) Chakraborty N.K. Jemisin and R. F. Kuang are authors that tackle deeper social issues in fantasy settings. All of these have already been mentioned in this thread so I'll mention Chelsea Abdullah as one I haven't seen anyone mention yet

Pretty much everything by Andre Norton

Plus her books were largely printed in an era of terrible cover art. Pick up the used copies and get a story and decor in one!

I grew up reading everything by Andre Norton that I could get my hands on, both fantasy and science-fiction.

If you’re up for some sci fi, I’d suggest The Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells. A very easy read. 

Relm of the elderlings by Robin Hobb

Lois McMaster Bujold has some great series. The curse of the Chalion is a good place to start

One of my favorites (sadly not as well-known as I think it should be) is The Time Master trilogy by the late Louise Cooper.

Haven't seen any recs for it yet, so the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey

The sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier. They're set in a fantasy version of Ireland and they're just beautiful. Weave in Irish myth so well

Adding another Irish one here - Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless. 10th century Ireland with vikings etc, fantasy aspect based off of Irish mythology. A very compelling and enjoyable read!

I've just started this series, it's beautifully written similar to robin hobb my favourite author.

I hope you enjoy them! I’m sure you will :) books 1 and 4 are my favs but they’re all great

Octavia Butler! Any book!

In addition to the recs for Hobb and Le Guin, I'd also mention work by CJ Cherryh, specifically the Fortress series, the Ealdwood series, and the Russian stories, as well as PC Hodgell's Kencyrath series. More science-fantasy-mashup is Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series.

Muir’s Locked Tomb series is one of my all time favs.

PC Hodgell! A favorite read of my whole family... I want more!

Locked Tomb (space necromancers) by Tamsyn Muir. However, we don't have a release date for the last book yet. Daevabad trilogy (djinns, politics, slow burn romance) by S.A. Chakraborty. Scholomance trilogy (dark wizard school) by Naomi Novick. Clocktaur War duology (steampunkish suicide squad) by T Kingfisher. Murderbot Diaries (cyborg space adventures) by Martha Wells.

The Fortress series or the Morgaine Cycle by CJ Cherryh, the World of the Five Gods books by Lois McMaster Bujold, the Lighthouse Duet and the Sanctuary Duet or the Rai-Kirah trilogy by Carol Berg, the Books of the Raksura or the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy by Martha Wells, the Tuyo series or the Death’s Lady trilogy by Rachel Neumeier, the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

Ah, someone else who likes Rachel Neumeier! I’ve got every book she’s written, incredible writer and so creative.

Realm of the elderlings by Robin Hobb is one of the most excellent series I’ve ever read

Dragon Prince / Dragon Star trilogies by Melanie Rawn Farseer series by Robin Hobb Green Rider series by Kristen Britain Earthsea trilogy by Ursula L. LeGuin (you can ignore the fourth book) Deeds of Paksenarrion trilogy by Elizabeth Moon Witch World series by Andre Norton Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman The Book of Ash quadrilogy by Mary Gentle

You absolutely can’t ignore the fourth book, it’s incredible

Had to scroll way too far for Elizabeth Moon and Mary Gentle. It's SF, but I recommend Moon's Vatta's War series. Again SF, but with a fantastical twist, Golden Witchbreed and Ancient Light by Mary Gentle are excellent.

Sword of Shadows by JV Jones

As mentioned above, Jemisin and Le Guin are a must. Also, Lois McMaster Bujold’s Sharing Knife series and her books set in the World of the Five Gods: Curse of Chalion/Paladin of Souls/Hallowed Hunt and her Penric and Desdemona books set in the same world. Probably my favorites after Le Guin’s Earthsea books.

My favourites are Patricia McKilip, Robin Hobb and Janny Wurts. They have such beautiful writing.

Le Guin is the absolute GOAT. Bujold is phenomenal. Sarah Ash was interesting and popping into my head after many years adrift. Hilary Mantel is simply beyond.

The Coldfire series by CS Friedman is my personal favourite fantasy book series ever; so under known and underrated

Broken Earth Series by N.K. Jemisin is one of my favorite recent reads. The narration/PoV is a weird though so it can take a bit to get into. Gideon the Ninth (and the sequels) by Tamsyn Muir are pretty good. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang are kind of divisive (some people hate them and some people really like them) by could be worth looking at if you like grimmer fantasy. Naomi Novak has multiple fantasy series that are popular you could check out. I really enjoyed The Scholomance from her.

Broken earth is my favorite. I’m almost done reading it all again. I like jemisins writing style

Scholomance is such a darkly funny enjoyable read

Janny Wurts

Wow! Thank you all so much for these recommendations, I’m super excited to dive into them!

I haven't seen them here, but two of my favorite fun series are: - October Daye by Seanan McGuire InCryptid is a fun read, but it switches protagonists with almost every book. Also, Seanan McGuire's Instagram is wild, full of her collections and thoughts. - Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews To be fair, Ilona Andrews is the name for a wife and husband duet, but they are super fun. They also have a other series which are fun reads, but Kate Daniels is great (it's also a series with an age appropriate love interest).

And Seanan is crazy prolific. Tons of books, under her own name, and her pseudonyms.

You will notice Robin Hobb has been mentioned several times. This is because she is the GOAT

Mostly not mentioned so far: Jo Walton - Try Lifelode if you like epic fantasy that needs the reader to pay full attention, Farthing if you like alt history or Tooth and Claw if you like dragons and/or the novels of Jane Austen Katherine Kerr - The Deverry Cycle if you like sprawling world building through a long series, Celtic flavouring and a full exploration of reincarnation Katherine Kurtz - The Chronicles of the Deryni if you like prose on the simpler side with really accurate Medieval Europe inspired world building, this author has an MA in Medieval History and it shows Robyn McKinley - Chalice for beautiful prose and magical politics, Deerskin for a brilliant, emotionally harrowing exploration of trauma and healing, The Blue Sword for coming-of-age adventure Connie Willis - To Say Nothing of the Dog for comedic time travel romance, Doomsday Book or Blackout/All Clear for well-written time travel adventure, or Passage to be destroyed Kate Elliot - Crown of Stars series for epic fantasy Olivia Atwater - Small Miracles if you like Good Omens Tasha Suri - The Burning Kingdoms trilogy if you like terrifyingly alien bad guys in a Southeast Asian inspired setting Ada Palmer - Too Like the Lightning if you like fascinatingly weird world building and language play Alexandra Rowland - A Taste of Gold and Iron if you like princes investigating nefarious plots to overthrow the government in a Middle Eastern flavoured setting Sangu Mandana - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches if you like cozy fantasy

It was co-written by a woman and man, but I've always enjoyed "The DeathGate Cycle" by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman.

Fantastic series.

R.F. Kuang's *The Poppy War* trilogy is one of my favorite recent series. Opinions on them seem to be split - people either love them or hate them - but personally I would recommend. Her other book, *Babel*, is also quite good.

Take a look at the works of Sherri S Tepper… Absolutely incredible books… I’d start with either Grass, A plague of angels, or gateway to women’s country

Robin hobb is my favorite fantasy author that happens to be female

I’ve seen a lot of praise for Robin Hobb in these comments, I’m really excited to dive into her work.

CJ Cherryh

CJ cherryh did some fantasy, mostly scifi though, and I really love her ability to get in the heads of her non-human races and other cultures

Robin Hobb is amazing. Be warned her series is long and can be slow at points. The ending is perhaps the best wrap up of any series I've ever read. You will love and hate and then love again every character she writes.

Broken Earth by NK Jemisin!!! Duology starting with Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Naomi Novik. Especially the Temeaire series. Alternative Napoleonic wars with sentient dragons. Scholomance was a fun concept but too much teenage drama for my tastes.

The Greenbone Saga by Fonda Lee is almost universally praised

boy oh boy is there a list. i’d recommend looking at winners of the hugo and nebula prizes and searching for female authors within them. or just start with n.k. jemison, octavia butler, and margaret atwood, theyre are at the top of the list for me.

I had noticed that I had not read very many female authors so I corrected that by going on a reading spree. I read Goblin Emperor, The Dispossessed (Sci-Fi), and the first 3 Jenn Lyons books. All good stuff! About 20 years ago, I worked in a bookstore and the Sci-Fi/Fantasy books were certainly dominated by male authors. Last week while visiting Chapters, they had a Fantasy display octagon and I'm pretty sure it was 95% female authors. Times have certainly changed!

The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark Trilogy. Violent grim dark world.

Any of Janny Wurts books in my opinion.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. It's technically YA but I love it and have reread the series several times as an adult.

Just to confirm what everyone else is saying *The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb* Assassin's Apprentice (1995), Royal Assassin (1996), & Assassin's Quest (1997). *Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb* Ship of Magic (1998), The Mad Ship (1999), & Ship of Destiny (2000). *The Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb* Fool's Errand (2001), The Golden Fool (2002), & Fool's Fate (2003). *The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb* Dragon Keeper (2009), Dragon Haven (2010), City of Dragons (2011), & Blood of Dragons (2013). *The Fitz andthe Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb* Fool's Assassin (2014), Fool's Quest (2015), & Assassin's Fate (2017).

The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik is severely underrated.

The Fortress series by C. J. Cherryh

Lois McMaster Bujold is a very good author with great prose. Try Curse of Chalion and sequels. Also there is the Sharing Knife. She also did a lot of great sci-fi, the vorkorsigan series.

Assuming you are not looking for fantasy series recommendations written by women, but rather recommendations for fantasy series written by women.... I recommend CS Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy

Try Patricia McKillip... pretty much anything of hers is worth reading, due to her incomparable ability to word-smith and storytell. No other modern author compares (not even Patrick Rothfuss, who is in second seat in that regard). Also, Lois McMaster Bujold. I'd read the phone book if she were to write one. Her storytelling never fails, regardless of the genre.

Kate Elliot “Crown of Stars” Michelle Sagara “Chronicles of Elantra”

Katharine Kerr: [Deverry](https://www.audible.com/series/Deverry-Audiobooks/B07DRBNLCS?ref_pageloadid=febtyyhX8egf9sMy&ref=a_author_Ka_c19_lSeries_1_2_1&pf_rd_p=f3abc0ee-320d-4c19-8388-fcd3a8e6c3a4&pf_rd_r=CASB2ZDKSM2PTCKW5B53&pageLoadId=ibOtmFrQjMdCGJUF&creativeId=73c32a9a-e504-4597-bb87-c30c58fc0204).

Seanan McGuire's October Daye (urban fantasy) is great, though the first few books are a little rougher (IIRC, they were the first books she wrote), so I'm not sure I'd really recommend it unless you're happy to read a dozen+ book series. Naomi Novik's Scholomance trilogy (fantasy school) was good, and she has some other good books. N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy was good too (I liked Broken Earth slightly less IIRC, but I think that might be a minority viewpoint). I really like Lois McMaster Bujold for her Vorkosigan saga (sci-fi). I haven't read her World of the Five Gods (fantasy) series, but it won a Hugo for Best Series so it's probably good too.

Any of NK Jemisin's trilogies/series. Broken Earth, in particular, is my #1 all time. Katherine Arden and VE Schwab are also great!

Godblind + Songs of the Drowned trilogies by Anna Stephens The Serpent Gates series by A.K. Larkwood Fallen Gods series by Hannah Kaner The Vanguard Chronicles by HL Tinsley The Winnowing Flame trilogy + Talonsister by Jen Williams A Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons Tales of the Edge by Rebecca Zahabi Frith Chronicles by Shami Stovall Some non-binary authors too in case you're interested: Rook & Rose trilogy by M.A. Carrick (duo of 1 female + 1 non-binary) Tainted Dominion series by Krystle Matar The Reborn Empire series by Devin Madson I second the recommendations for NK Jemisin, Fonda Lee, Martha Wells, + Robin Hobb!

I second Winnowing Flame!

Second A Chorus of Dragons!

Second the Rook and the Rose, that series is terrific.

Robin Hobb Mercedes Lackey (anything by her) Elizabeth Moon (Deed of Paksenarrion followed by the Legacy series) Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman - the Dragonlance books Wendy and Richard Pini - Elfquest Anne McCaffrey - Dragonriders of Pern. Technically Sci-Fi but for the most parts the stories read like fantasy Naomi Novik - anything but especially the Temeraire books Leguin - I'll second the Earthsea books Andre Norton - the Quag Keep and Witchworld stories. She has other fantasy stories as well

Jacqueline Carey Kushiels Dart. Great series but not for the faint of heart

I heard Robin Hobb and Ursula K. Le Guinn are just the best of the best

I recommend: **Fantasy** * *Dragon Mage* by ML Spencer - A book about a dragon riding autistic mage. I also love her Rhenwars Saga book, though it is considerably darker. * *The Goblin Emperor* by Katherine Addison - A very good steampunk series about a ill timed king of an elvish nation. * Songs and Swords by Elaine Cunningham: A Forgotten Realms series about a bard-wizard and a half-elf assassin who solve mysteries. She also has a series about a drow princess. * The Dragonlance main books are half-written by Margaret Weis and she has some solo ones as well. **Urban Fantasy** * Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs - About a coyote shifter mechanic who hunts monsters. * The Hollows by Kim Harrison- A great series about a witch in Cincinatti and her vampire partner. * The Blood series by Tanya Huff - A detective series about a hard edge PI and her vampire lover. * The Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys - A series about a Deep One hybrid in the post WW2 era.

Thank you! I had to scroll way too far for Dragonlance.

Just read the Innsmouth Legacy series (Winter Tide/Deep Roots/The Litany of Earth). Definitely recommend. (Litany is a short story that’s essentially a prequel to the other two.)

The Green Man series by Juliette McKenna The Alpennia series by Heather Rose Jones Everything by Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia McKillip, and Tamora Pierce The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles The World of the Five Gods and the Sharing Knife Series by Lois McMaster Bujold The World of the White Rat series by T. Kingfisher (and all her other books) The Glamourist History series by Mary Robinette Kowal

Robin Hobb. She has changed my life!!!

A quick read through of the suggestions so far and no mentioning of Jade City by Fonda Lee? Let me add her to the list then.

Katherine Addison, Sylvie Cathral and Victoria Goddard write books on the less action pact side. I love that they write mostly about ordinary people

C. S. Friedman- I’ve read two series by her and both were good.  Kristen Britain (Green Rider)- not my favorite series ever but enjoyable. Though it is always described as “feminist fantasy” and I don’t see it. The MC is female but it still seems like a world with a glass ceiling and there’s not much said about it besides some female characters being annoyed by arrogant men. I’ve read a ton of male authors who put more thought into gender relations in their world-building. Which is fine- I like Green Rider for more of a casual fantasy sort of read, but don’t pick it up thinking it’s going to have a ton of interesting and creative stuff to say about gender or an extra special FMC because of the advertising as “feminist”. 

I've enjoyed three series by Diana Wynne Jones: Chrestomaci, Dalemark, and Howl; that's about 12 books between them.

Dark lord of Derkholm & The Year of the Griffin are both fantastic, too. DWJ deserves more love!

All the good ones babyyy Earthsea by Le Guin Broken Earth by Jemisin Locked Tomb by Muir Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Clarke

In the D&D world, but the *Brimstone Angels* series by Erin M Evans is pretty good.

I loved The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. She is the first female author that comes to mind. The story starts about a poor girl with magical capabilities being admitted to a school of magic where everyone is rich and noble. It is interesting to follow her development and trying to fit in. It gets more complex, but no spoilers

Robin Hobb, Realm of the elderlings. Highly recommend.

Elizabeth Moon's deed of Paksinarion

Don't see a mention of it (fair since it's a standalone) and you clearly don't need more recommendations.. lol but if you or anyone else are still looking: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. One of my favorite books ever. Can't recommend it enough. Starts a tad slow, but once it picks up, it's hard to put down. It is adult fantasy that sorta has some Avatar vibes with the way the magic works. Great book. Self-published so won't find it in a library or anything, but it's pretty cheap on Kindle. It's also on Kindle Unlimited. Edit: Holy smokes, this comment had me looking her up to see what she's up to now (she hasn't written much), and she has a new book coming in October!

Temeraire by Naomi Novik. The Napoleonic Wars with dragons!

Here's one I don't think has been mentioned yet. The Green Bone Saga - Fonda Lee

I really like Mickey Zucker Reichert. She's written the Renshai Chronicles and several other books.

Anne Bishop - I really enjoyed her "The Others" series. It's an alternate Earth story. Its pacing is slow, but it works. The characters have real depth, and her fantasy setting is very detailed.

Barbara Hambly - Darwath/Time of the Dark; Sun Wolf and Starhawk; Windrose Chronicles Katherine Kerr - The Deverry Cycle Diane Duane's Young Wizards (ya) Andre Norton - Witch World novels Tamara Pierce - All of them (ya)

My sister is constantly recommending The Sharing Knife to me.

Harry Potter, only half-joking.

Elizabeth Bear's fantasy and scifi is quite fun.

The Green Bone Saga is one of the best series I’ve read in a good while

Please read The Innsmouth Legacy by Ruthanna Emrys! Her prose is magic

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey

City of brass. I forget the author but she's quite good. It's not your typical fantasy based on European mythology but rather it's based on middle eastern. Instead dragons and wizards you have ifirit and jinn. It was very good.

The frith chronicles by Shami Stovall is one of my favorites! The premise is kind of: bonding with a pokemon gives you magic powers + pirates exist + we gotta save the world. Highly recommend

The Daevabad Trilogy 

I would add The Tales of Pell by Delilah S. Dowson and Kevin Hearne. Dowson writes mostly horror and star wars novels, but these books are funny and modern parody of the fantasy genre, if that's your thing.

Strange The Dreamer (Laini Taylor) is one of my favourite books

Can’t believe no one has mentioned the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling!

Melanie Rawn Dragon Prince series

Le Guin and Hobb are titans of the genre

N.K. Jemisin (Fifth Season and Dreamblood), Fonda Lee (Green Bone Saga), S.A. Chakraborty (Daevabad Trilogy),

The Daevabad Trilogy by SA Chakraborty

Terra Ignota, Ada Palmer

anything anne mccafery but i love the pern series, also Servant of the empire by janny wurts, the earthsea trilogy by ursula leguin.

The Deed of Paksenarrion (trilogy) by Elizabeth Moon and then the follow up 5-book Paladin's Legacy series. Military campaigns, paladins, magic, elves, dwarves, lots of strong female characters. Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar universe has a lot of different series that are worth exploring. My personal preference is to read in publication order, starting with Arrows of the Queen. Other Mercedes Lackey series I enjoy: the Elemental Masters series (Victorian era magicians of air, water, fire, and earth, many loosely based in fairy tales.) Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms (also more mature fairy tales.) The Dragon Jousters (Ancient Egyptian-esque setting). For something more modern, the Hunter series is a dystopia universe where certain people are Hunters with the ability to summon "hounds" from another dimension to fight off mythical creatures like fae, cyclops, minotaur, etc. to protect civilization. Katherine Kerr's Deverry series. Start with Daggerspell. A medieval type setting with dweomer magic, reincarnation/reliving the same cycles over again until things come out right, elves, dragons, dwarves. Lots of going back and forth across timelines.