Best "epic moments of awesome" involving heroines

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Best "epic moments of awesome" involving heroines

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1kceccato
Bearbeitet: Dez. 4, 2016, 9:44 am

I've been lurking on Reddit Fantasy, though at this point I haven't joined. Some of the discussions are interesting, but at times I find them a little depressing even when they're hardly meant to be. Case in point: this discussion thread in which posters name their favorite "epic moments of awesome" in the fantasy genre.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/5g7efu/best_epic_moments_of_awesome/

So many posts, and every single example involves a guy. Not one mention of any awesome deed performed by a female character. Even Eowyn's killing of the Witch King in Return of the King, probably the most famous instance, goes unmentioned. Two examples from Sanderson's Mistborn are given, and both involve male character Kelsier rather than the supposedly active and heroic female protagonist Vin. (It makes me wonder whether Vin, despite the hype, is really much of a hero; it's been years since I read the first book and I haven't read the two that follow.) Granted, I can't say the examples mentioned here don't deserve it -- the ones involving Kaladin and Dalinar from The Stormlight Archive certainly do -- but is it really so hard to think of examples of breathtaking badass moments in which the badass is female?

This list put me in the mood to start a counter-list, and I'm not quite brave enough yet to use Reddit as my forum. (I've heard stories.) What are some of the best "Crowning Moments of Awesome" (TV Tropes) involving heroines? Heroines, not villainesses.

I'll start.
The Thousand Names: Winter Ihernglass incapacitating Jen Alhundt and saving Marcus D'Ivoire's life.

Sorcerer to the Crown: Just about any moment involving Prunella.

Six of Crows: Nina Zenik taking the dangerous drug to empower herself and save her friends, knowing very well this choice could cost her mind. "They're out of ideas. But I'm not."

Dreamsnake: Snake saving Melissa from her abuser.

Feet of Clay: Cheery Littlebottom's rushing into the fray with axe upraised -- "Today is a good day for someone else to die!" -- and Angua's subsequent rescue of her. Friendship overcomes fear and prejudice.

2zjakkelien
Dez. 4, 2016, 10:16 am

Nice idea! I'm not sure in can name every awesome moment, though, because if I haven't reread a book to the point of boredom, I tend to forget details... But let me do my best.

Santa Olivia - when Loupe defeats the boxer who killed her brother
Saints astray - when Pilar shoots a guy who tries to kidnap a girl
Kushiel's dart - when Ysandre de la Courcel rides through an army, counting on people recognizing her from the coins her people have shot across them
Kushiel's avatar -when Phedre willingly goes into the Mahrkagir's harem to find Melisandre's son
I think it was Visions, in which Olivia shoots her attacker, but I might be mixing up the books in the series...
In By the sword, Kerowyn saves her sister-in-law's life. And I thought she was pretty awesome when she walks out on the company, knowing it most likely means the end of her career.

I'm not sure if you can call her female, but in my mind she is: Breq from Ancillary justice. I thought she was awesome when she saved Seivarden's life when he jumped of that bridge.

3BruceCoulson
Dez. 4, 2016, 10:30 am

Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner. (Don't know how to add spoilers.)

4zjakkelien
Bearbeitet: Dez. 4, 2016, 11:03 am

>3 BruceCoulson: Put <spoiler>spoilery text </spoiler>

5Narilka
Dez. 4, 2016, 5:22 pm

Regarding Mistborn and Vin since it's still fresh in my mind she single handedly takes out the Lord Ruler in a magical showdown. She's the one who put the puzzle pieces together to figured out who he really was, the secret behind his power and how to finally defeat him. Then there's also when Vin has a show down with a fully trained Mistborn after she's only been training for a few months. It's a close fight and Vin wins in the end. I thought it was pretty awesome since she ended up winning by stabbing her opponent in the heart with an arrow shaft.

Abhorsen - When Lirael and the dog have gone into death to the ninth precinct in order to look into the past for a clue on how to combat the Destroyer. She manages to resist the 9th gate and also defeats the necromancer Hedge.

Tiffany's trip into fairy land in The Wee Free Men may apply. Sure, she has the Nac Mac Feegle with her but she's the one with the First Sight and Second Thoughts that manages to puzzle her way through to rescue her brother.

6Marissa_Doyle
Dez. 4, 2016, 11:11 pm

Cordelia and her epic shopping bag scene at the end of Lois McMaster Bujold's second Vorkosigan book Barrayar. I still grin whenever I think of that!

72wonderY
Bearbeitet: Dez. 5, 2016, 11:33 am

>6 Marissa_Doyle: Cordelia is epic always!

But that reminds me of Ekaterin, when she is captured and held in Diplomatic Immunity. Poor Miles is driven to distraction at what her captors might be doing to her. *snicker*

Or was that in Komarr? I'll have to go back and read both again.

8Sakerfalcon
Dez. 5, 2016, 9:47 am

The blue sword - Harry sneaks away from the king and his army because he's too stubborn to listen to her theory that the enemy might come through a smaller pass in the mountains and catch them from behind, then ends up defeating pretty much the entire invading force with her ragtag band of followers, skill at arms, magic, and pure grit.

Full fathom five - FOUR female characters forming a rescue party together.

9Jarandel
Dez. 5, 2016, 3:34 pm

Tavore Paran toward the end of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, when you start realizing just what she was up to and what she knew she was getting into.
Some earlier moments as well, but for most of the story her thoughts and motives are VERY well hidden which may make her a blander character than others, though the Bonehunters' unswerving following of her lead does give a hint.
Many of the other women also have their moments at some point or other.

10Cecrow
Dez. 6, 2016, 7:17 am

>9 Jarandel:, when all was said and done, I voted for her as THE hero of the story. Which is a very hard title to earn in that series.

11Carnophile
Bearbeitet: Jan. 10, 2017, 10:53 pm

The thing that occurs between Lyra and Will near the end of The Amber Spyglass. God. That moment is transcendent.

In case this isn't clear, it's when Lyra feeds him the piece of fruit. And the result of that is that Dust starts flowing back into the world instead of out of it. That scene is sublime even if you don't catch the religious reference (to Adam and Eve in Genesis), which I didn't the first time I read it.

12kceccato
Jan. 23, 2017, 9:05 am

9, 10: Other than Tavore, which female characters in the series can be called "heroine" with little reservation, and how many books does it take for them to appear? I'm still hesitant to start this series because when I read about the first book, Gardens of the Moon, the only female names I see mentioned are villains (Laseen, Lorn, Sorry) and one decent woman who is quickly killed off (Tattersail). I have been known to skip over books in a series in order to get straight to the characters I'd like to meet (Korlat, Tavore)...

13Cecrow
Bearbeitet: Jan. 23, 2017, 9:41 am

>12 kceccato:, my memory isn't up to the challenge of addressing your question, but I'd agree the first book isn't where the women shine. I wouldn't count Sorry as a villain, although circumstances commit her to some villainous acts. But she is weak in the first book for other reasons, improves later. Tavore is definitely the most interesting, she has an early cameo but doesn't really come to the foreground until the fourth book, and in which her primary opposition is also a woman. There's a lot of good women characters throughout (e.g. Korlat), but not very many that I would call primary.

14kceccato
Jan. 23, 2017, 11:12 am

13: I understand that some pretty cool/fun female soldiers -- Hellian; Picker & Blend -- show up at some point. They, also, would count as characters I'd enjoy reading about.

15Jarandel
Bearbeitet: Jan. 23, 2017, 1:22 pm

>12 kceccato: In some cases death tends to be less fatal to later plot contributions than one might expect. Tattersail is one of them.

Those are some female characters I found interesting :

Queen Abrastal of the Bolkando (Crippled God ?), strong and independent
Apt the Aptorian (Deadhouse Gates), a she though also very definitely non-human
Aranatha, one of the Tiste Andii of Anomander's brood (House of Chains)
Badalle (Dust of Dreams), child, poet
Felash & her handmaiden (Dust of Dreams)
Krughava (Dust of Dreams), fifty-something, kicks rear ends and takes names
Kilava Onass (Memories of Ice)
Korlat (Gardens of the Moon)
Masan Gilani (The Bonehunters)
Mogora (Deadhouse Gates), Iskaral Pust's wife, both quite memorable
Shurq Elalle (Midnight Tides)

16justjukka
Bearbeitet: Jan. 23, 2017, 2:51 pm

Tehanu when Tenar speaks to a dragon (kind of a big deal in this universe) and when we learn that Therru is a dragon child.

When Women Were Warriors is a light fantasy, and, as the title might suggest, most of the awesome stuff is done by women, in a not patronizingly gender-flipped sort of way.

17kceccato
Bearbeitet: Jan. 24, 2017, 8:46 am

A couple from The Bands of Mourning, which I just finished:

Marasi refusing to be a distressed damsel, using her keen detective senses to figure out the location of the titular Bands of Mourning, using the artifact to bring Wax back from the dead, and having the self-awareness to walk away from the absolute power it represents.

Steris putting a stop to the escalating hostilities caused by Wax's thoughtless treatment of a newly discovered race, and single-handedly opening up diplomatic relations and trade with said race. It's no wonder that at this very moment, Wax realizes he really does want to marry her.

18Cecrow
Bearbeitet: Jan. 24, 2017, 9:39 am

I'm glad there's so many positive examples to cite! Briony of Shadowmarch impressed me, when she unexpectedly found herself on the throne and rose to the occasion magnificently, recognizing and contending with the men around her who believed she wasn't up to the challenge. I wish the sequel Shadowplay had given her an equal chance to shine before her final scene; maybe things will improve for her again in the last two books. Actually there's several other women in this series who shine too, come to think of it.

19kceccato
Mrz. 17, 2017, 6:14 pm

Need to feed this thread. Want to see more examples.

Witches Abroad has several. My favorites:
1) Granny Weatherwax plays poker.
2) Magrat is terrified of snakes, but as the serpent shapeshifters learn to their sorrow, witches don't run away from things that frighten them.
3) Granny faces off against her sister.

In The Cursed Towers, Iseult takes command of an army when her husband is incapacitated by a curse. She has to put up with some jerkface sexist grumbling, but she gets the job done.

20TFleet
Dez. 28, 2017, 9:02 pm

I'm not sure if this counts as an "epic moment of awesome," but the moment in Grossman's The Magicians when they're fighting the Very Dire Threat and Alice turns herself into a niffin and pops his head off like a champagne cork.