Looking for fantasy books with a major female character who is just so angry. I want to see rage and scorched earth, maybe some revenge?
Came here to make sure it was mentioned.
Ferro Mahjin from the original triologi is even angrier.
Fucking pinks
I LOVED the pinks lines. As a "pink" it made me crack up everytime. It's such a silly term and she says it with such full blown hatred lol
You could just feel the venom drip from Steven Pacey's lips every time he said it. It was great.
My first ever relationship ended because of this term. She swore it was racist, making fun of the suffering of black people, and that white people could not be discriminated against. Yeah, that was not a fight I was gonna have
Ferro is one of my favourite characters in the book based purely on how hostile she is to literally everything lmao
I was coming here to recommend the original trilogy for Ferro, but OP it is important to note she is not the only main character and is actually absent from the first half of the first book.
Yeah she is.
And she has such a way with words xD
Just read this and can confirm there's plenty of female rage.
Just read the whole damn thing (First Law Series). You're going to get what you're looking for and much more. First Trilogy has Ferro, and the next book has Monza.
Dammit I can’t wait for the movie!!
Oh and Red Country is great too
It is but I highly recommend reading First Law trilogy first because there are some things in this book that are better if built up to.
I always saw her as more cold and calculating. She is too psychopathic to have rage.
There was a character in the 3rd book of the original trilogy who was really angry. I can't remember her name.
Both Ardee and Ferro are very angry women
Your lack of capitalization almost made me miss the fact that you were talking about a book titled Best Served Cold. I thought that you were just making a general comment about how you prefer to see the trope approached and it took me several rereads of your comment to pick up your actual meaning.
haha sorry, i am a bit lazy on reddit
Moderator removed comment
18d
This comment has been removed as per Rule 1. r/Fantasy is dedicated to being a warm, welcoming, and inclusive community. Please take time to review our mission, values, and vision to ensure that your future conduct supports this at all times. Thank you.
Please contact us via modmail with any follow-up questions.
who is the author? many books are coming up with this title
Joe Abercrombie.
Franchise in order: First Law Trilogy, Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country, Sharp Ends, Age of Madness Trilogy.
For best experience, read in order, but it's technically fine to skip around as they are self-contained. If looking for female POVs in particular, the First Law Trilogy is quite lacking (though still excellent books), but the rest are fantastic.
Don't forget sharp ends!
I forgot Sharp Ends
thank you!!
Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence
Perfect choice. Basically all female cast as well. First book is called Red Sister.
How is Red Sister? I read Prince of Thorns and wasn’t impressed at all.
Haven't read Prince of Thorns, but I loved the entire Red Sister trilogy.
idk, I didn't like the last one as much as the others. felt like the series was not right for a trilogy, and it needed more time between the second and third books
It looks like there’s a couple of short stories between books 1 and 2, and a short between 2 and 3.
I agree. Loved the first two, the third fell a bit short for some reason.
I’ve read most Mark Lawrence has put out and Prince of Thorns is his weakest. Although I did love King of Thorns. I’d say Red Sister is one of his best, and Nona as a protagonist is very different in style to Jorg, as is the rest of the story.
Hmm. Thank you. I think I’ll add it back to my tbr list and go from there. And maybe give the rest of the Thorns books a chance.
I much preferred Red Sister to Prince of Thorns. Prince of Thorns was just too gratuitously violent for me and I DNF it. Red Sister was still dark and violent but felt like it had more purpose - I loved it and finished the whole series.
Only the first book is really that violent. Jorg is not a nice boy, but he grows out of the random acts of violence and learns to be more selective. It's the darkest of all of Mark Lawrence's books, and has been heavily criticized in some quarters.
I enjoyed the first trilogy overall, and I've loved quite a few of his books. Not all though, some have flat spots that I didn't enjoy so much.
That’s good to know if I ever do go back to it
I recently finished the Red Queens War trilogy. It was fine. But I was a bit disappointed because it pales in comparison next to Red Sister.
It could just be that I favour the tropes in Red Sister far more, but I also feel it has a much tighter and better plot, way more fun setting and magic system and really enthralling characters.
I second this! Nona is so (deservedly) angry and also so incredibly competent at beating the shit out of her enemies
I just started a reread of Red Sister and I forgot how incredibly good it is
Absolutely love the series but man Mark Lawrence (in my opinion) always misses on the last book. It's not horrible by any means, but it felt so rushed. The whole story builds to something great, but the last book is just "alright." With that said I've read the first two books twice.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Baru is so angry at the people who destroyed her culture and family that she resolves to take down their entire government from the inside, and damn the consequences.
Seconded. Baru is one of the greatest "manipulator" characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading. This is a book that manges to make forensic accounting thrilling.
I found the Baru books so wonderfully cathartic to read in that sense. She's my gold standard for angry, vengeful lesbians.
Not one person recommended The Bloodsworn Saga/Trilogy!?
Orka is a ball of female rage in 2 books, soon to be 3. Then in book 2, Elvar becomes one too...
Seriously, Orka is a fucking badass. Please read the Bloodsworn Saga
Yes yes yes!
Absolutely recommend Bloodsworn Saga as well, it's been a long time since I've had a new book I really looked forward to.
Came here in hopes it would be recommended! Book 1 was good, took a bit to learn the characters and get into it. But book 2.. absolutely phenomenal, I still think about the ending to this day. Can't wait for book 3.
I literally had to stop myself from cheering at certain points in Book 2.
Moderator removed comment
18d
Hi there! Unfortunately, there is a mistake in your spoiler tags. You've gotten the order of the spoiler tags incorrect. Remember:
- Angled brackets go outside; exclamation points go inside.
>!Like this!<
After you have corrected the spoiler tags, please message the mods. Once we have verified the spoiler has been fixed, your comment will be approved.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Took me quite a bit of book 1 to really get into it but then it clicked. Orka is really cool. I'm paraphrasing here but there's this point where here companions go "wtf was your plan? Start killing people until someone talks?" and she's just like "Yes".
The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
I bought this years ago and put it in my To Be Read pile. Then I moved house a bunch of times and it is somewhere in a box. Time to dig it out!
Very highly recommend it. And I think it fits what you're looking for to a t! Definitely sounds like it's time to search through some old boxes :)
It’s an amazing series, as someone who also seeks books about female rage, this one is exactly what you’re looking for. Bonus that you don’t even have to buy it as you already have it :)
It's fantastic. Quite depressing at times but soo good.
OP, this is the answer.
In my list for sure. Bought the first one for a friends birthday and he loved it so I’m looking forward.
Definitely fits the bill. I'm somewhere in the middle of the online love/hate dichotomy with these books overall, but if you're in the mood for anger and destruction from a female POV (and well written overall) these books will do the job.
I came here to recommend this! A modern classic and a great introduction to the works of Jemisin.
One of the best series of the modern era.
Circe - Madeline Miller
The poppy war - RF Kuang
The power- Naomi Alderman
The grace year - Kim Liggett
When women were dragons - Kelly Barnhill
less angry but still relevant:
I who have never known men - Jacqueline Harpman
The women could fly - Megan Giddings
When Women Were Dragons is a great recommendation.
I literally just read that last week and this post had me like "boy howdy do I have THE book for this ask!". It was so good, so powerful and thought-provoking.
Poppy war has female rage... But the rage never made sense to me or felt real
It's obviously popular but I personally didn't enjoy it
Yeah, I’m honestly shocked It keeps getting recommended. Like halfway through the book she becomes the most frustratingly incompetent main character I’ve ever seen. Especially after the first half paints her as this brilliant military school prodigy. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
yah the idea of her being a strategist prodigy was interesting, but she basically just became a frontline grunt who could catch fire.
The Alanna books by Tamora Pierce are great! Daine is pretty pissed of on occasion as well.
Oh those are some of my favourites. I’ve ready them a million times. Tamora Piece is one of my top two YA authors!!
Omg, remember Daine's dinosaur bones scene in Emperor Mage?
That scene lives rent free in my head to this day! So good!!!
One of my top faves of all time!!! Oooh she was BIG MAD.
Also the whole second half of Lady Knight when Kel is white hot with rage about her people being kidnapped and no one letting her go get them, so she just gives less than zero fucks about orders and goes to rescue them on her own.
Or that scene in Will of the Empress when Sandry confronts the empress about the widespread kidnapping problem her country has right after she was just kidnapped?
Pierce is like the OG queen of righteous female rage and I fucking love her for it.
Aghhh ❤️❤️❤️ there’s a scene I’m thinking of where Briar intentionally pisses off Tris, possibly the part with the pirates. LOVE Tris, love all of them.
I might get some of these names a little off but these hold a place dear to my heart
Broken earth series by nk jemisin Poppy war series by RF Kwong The traitor (Baru Cormorant) series by Seth Dickinson Gideon the ninth series by Tamsyn Muir
And I want to give a special shoutout to mark Lawrence, who is a full time caregiver of a disabled daughter and has a different sort of insight into the indignation and righteous fury of female rage. It’s rare for a male author to have in a way that isn’t condescending. This isn’t really present in the Prince of thorns stuff, but more of the later stuff he writes!
Have your read Iron window by Xiran Jay Zhao? It has excellent raging. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill is good too, takes burn them all very literally
Seconding Iron Widow. The entire book is full of rage. So much so that I thought the mc needed to just chill a little at times!
I also recommend Poppy war.
Oooh these sound great, I’m adding them to the list.
Im going to hop in and say keep it on your TBR. The language is simple, but the story is great. I love her rage. I loved not knowing what wild thing she'd do next. I loved the MCs commentary on how disposal women become to serve the "great good" or advancement of men. The MC has tons of personal problems with her family and how she wants to connect with other women, which makes her narrative more rich. The twist on the love triangle was also refreshing. It may not be for everyone, but it's definitely still worth checking out.
In terms of Iron Widow, I would not. It is, in no uncertain terms, the worst professionally published book I have ever read. By a country mile. 5 editors are credited on the book and they weren't nearly enough. It's irredeemably bad and people are afraid to criticize it because the author is some big youtuber. From the god-awful prose to the absolutely eye-rolling cringe dialogue. I would say it's a barely a step above fanfic but honestly it isn't.
It's touted as some kind of feminist standard but the book itself doesn't even pass the Bechdel test, women are disposable characters at best. The main character is certainly angry, but presented in a way that makes absolutely no sense given the context of the world she lives in.
It sucks because the premise could have been interesting, but it's an outright lie. It is not a sci-fi retelling of China's first female emperor. They share the name and nothing more.
My gf and I both hate read it in a day just to see if there was even a scrap of validity to any of the positive reviews. There was not. It's obvious the author wanted to write a manga/webtoon but couldn't draw so we ended up with this instead.
Just horrendous. Worst book I've read in years, don't waste your money on it.
Just wondering why you think the MC rage doesnt make sense? Considering how the mecha suits work and what happened to her sister?
Alex from Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
(Omg her revenge on a rapist asshole is .... Something. Utterly disgusting and horrifying but like good for her.)
Actually now that I think of it, this is the major theme that stuck out to me in her newest work The Familiar. There different women in different positions but all helpless against the powerful men.
The Worm And His Kings and sequels by Hailey Piper. Turns out to be a bad idea to make someone so angry they feel like blowing up the world and then handing her the power to do it.
That sounds fantastic.
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins is an excellent example, as long as you are okay with some graphic descriptions of intense violence. I read constantly, and this book sticks out in my memory as special.
I’m only halfway through reading the blurb and I had to come back and say it looks perfect.
It really is excellent! I hope you enjoy it.
That book is so damn weird. Not bad at all, kinda good, but just strange. I had no problems getting through it, but I'm still not entirely sure what to think about it, haha.
An amazing book, it's plot and tone are... So much weirder and more unique than you can describe in a blurb or a recommendation. Fully back this recommendation.
Great recommendation!! I loved this book. I just read a few weeks ago and was very pleasantly surprised.
The Poppy War. Personally I didn’t care for it, but the MC is so full of destructive rage that she might be worse than the actual villains. I will say I actually prefer that to stories where the MC is “full of rage but don’t worry it’s justified and they’re a good person so their unbridled fury is always somehow a net positive.”
A Crown for Cold Silver
Zosia lives!
Heeeeeeey, somebody else cited it so I don't have to!
who fears death and the book of phoenix by nnedi okarafor! a young woman who is the result of sexual violence against her mother goes on a magical quest to defeat her sorcerous rapist father. the other book is a prequel, but is also about a woman incredibly full of rage.
Queens Of Innis Lear
This sounds beautiful and I will be diving in.
Thank you to everyone for suggestions, I am furiously googling and reading blurbs.
I take it the fury with which you're googling is also female?
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots.
This looks FANTASTIC, thank you!
Blood Over Bright Haven
The War Eternal series by Rob J. Hayes.
The main character is one of her countries strongest warriors, but her side has lost and she’s preparing to go out in a blaze of glory. Until she is betrayed by a friend. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a horrific prison and stripped of all her power. Needless to say, she’s pissed.
She’s filled with rage from the first page of the prologue. I think this series is exactly what you’re looking for.
Seven Blades in Black. You want someone filled with rage?
Meet Sal the Cacophony. She big mad with a magic sentient gun.
Loved that trilogy, still need to get the short stories. Sam Sykes is an author that rarely disappoints.
Naomi Novik's Scholomance series fits your description pretty well despite having a significantly lighter tone in general. If you need a break from the hardcore rage and want a bit of comedy and exasperation with the teenage female lead's general misanthropy, it might be a good palate cleanser.
Was looking for this rec! I’d also add that the FMC’s anger was actually quite beautifully centered and examined despite some of the lightness you’re describing. One of my favorite reads in a minute :)
Best Served Cold
This!
A Pocketful of Crows and Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Both are beautifully written and about angry women getting bloody revenge at any cost.
You might like Kameron Hurley's Bel Dame Apocrypha series; the first is God's War.
All her work to some level, but Bel Dame is the most filled with rage.
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon is chock full of powerful and nuanced female MCs. And one in particular has a lot of reasons to be angry!
The Death’s Lady trilogy by Rachel Neumeier.
And I Darken by Kiersten White is genderbent Ivan the Terrible. Rage aplenty!
Shadow of the gods by John Gwynne has a main character who goes mama bear when anyone messes with her son.
Mix in some John Wick and your description is on point. Retired badass killer woman trying to live the quiet life then is forced back into action when the baddies came for her family.
If you are up for a regular thriller rather than a fantasy novel, I suggest “Jane Doe” by Victoria Helen Stone.
Her majesty's royal coven and Clytemnestra?
The Poppy War
Seconding all the comments for The Poppy War! Probably the best example I’ve read.
Monstress is also amazing and fits this exactly. I don’t usually read graphic novels/comics/etc but the art, story, and characters are so good!
Baru from The Traitor Baru Cormorant is full of rage, but is more calculating and less scorched earth. Carolyn from The Library at Mount Char is insane but not necessarily full of rage iirc, but she is definitely scorched earth. Both books are amazing.
Also agree with people mentioning the Broken Earth trilogy.
Orka from The Shadow of the Gods is a great female warrior with clear internal turmoil, but the rage portion of her story doesn’t come out until nearer the end of the first book imo. Another POV in the book, Elvar, is also a great female warrior and has more angst than rage. Great read regardless!
If you are open to non-fantasy horror, Maeve Fly fits this perfectly.
The Sun Sword by Michelle West. It has a wide variety of characters, mostly female and several of them have a lot of rage. One is an aristocrat hiding her revenge designs behind her supposedly serene facade. Another is the daughter of the Lord of Hell who is trying so hard to be good but not always successfully.
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. It's a part of the Witches series which has a trio of witches. One is usually the meek one but in this book she reaches her breaking point and it is glorious. The other two also have some "I have had enough of this shit" moments because the enemy is really vicious and cunning.
Not quite rage, but rage adjacent. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
all 3 of the female POVs deal differently with their shitty situations but all are strong and very much female viewpoints, yet so so so diffrent. really refreshing :D
I’m reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir at the moment, MC is pretty filled with rage! It comes across very sarcastic though so maybe not quite the right vibe.
Lot's of rage in Harrow the Ninth as well (although most of it is inside of Ianthe and Mercymorn - Harrow tends to just be unwell).
Harrow herself has her fair share of rage, though it usually comes out as a dark, methodical and simmering rage than an explosive one (spoilers for the book)
Possibly the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson (though it's more sci-fi). Protagonist who definitely gets her revenge. Note that she doesn't start angry... just (really) bad things happen to her to make her very angry.
Still think Donaldson invented the best karmic revenge for a rapist I’ve ever read.
Agreed. The Gap Cycle is fantastic.
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho features prominently what arguably ends up being a Goddess of female rage.
It’s the second book of the series, but Vengeance by VE Schwab has a pissed off woman who was almost killed by her mob husband, got superpowers from it, and goes absolutely psycho rage on the system after it. It’s delightful when she constantly gets underestimated by men and is like “seriously?” before killing them.
Both books are excellent and good fun.
Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynn. She’s a big ass berserker who has part wolf in her and someone just stole her baby.
The Poppy War & Best Served Cold. The Traitor Cormorant Maru perhaps?
Baru Cormorant
Thank you ;-)
More genre or sci-fi than straight fantasy, but The Power by Naomi Alderman is perfect for this, and a great read.
The Power is a 2016 science fiction novel by the British writer Naomi Alderman. Its central premise is of women developing the ability to release electrical jolts from their fingers, which allows them to become the dominant sex. In 2017, it won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.
Sam Sykes,Grave of Empires.
Sal the Cacophony is pure rage with a sword and a glorious magic boom gun.
The seraphim trilogy.
This Too Shall Burn by Cat Rector. The feminine rage is in the title, in the characters, in the plot. Period pain is one of the key topics of this books. You *will* get angry reading this book.
If you don't mind her being the villain, I don't think there's a more horrific example than Cathy in "East of Eden". When your opener is you know she ain't playin.
Emma Spades from Five Warrior Angels IMMEDIATELY comes to mind. Mind you, she’s not the focus of the series but man does she steal the show. Unfortunately she doesn’t get going until about a third of the way through.
Seven Blades in Black - sort of. It’s not so much a violent, hot rage as much as it is a cold, collected one.
The change
Path of the Fury/In Fury Born by Weber is science fiction with fantasy elements. A retired commando has her whole settlement/family wiped out by pirates and she goes on a mission of revenge. In the process her rage draws the spirit of one of the Greek mythology Furies (the last of her kind) and they bond along with an experimental ship AI and form a new trio of furies as she goes on her mission of revenge. There's a lot of rage and revenge, but also healing.
The original book is, I think, superior to the expansion.
I've only read the original, but that wouldn't surprise me.
I recently read The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood and it was pretty spot-on for that.
Slewfoot by Brom
So satisfying.
First thing I thought of was the Witcher series but some books are better than others for what you are looking for
The Poppy War by RF Kuang is the biggest example of this
The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (but a lot of tw)
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
Winter Gods and Serpents by Wendy Heiss
Tw?
Trigger warning(s)
Oh thanks. And yea.. the beginning of book 1 was brutal.
Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao, has a lot of it. It's a si-fi retelling of the rise of China's only female emperor, and she's very angry with the world (with reason).
I just recommended this series on another topic with a similar request, but the Kate Daniels books, by Ilona Andrews, are pretty great. Badass protagonist in a perpetual state of pissed off. Very fun.
The Indexing books by Seanan McGuire might fit the description, though they're less obvious about it. They're about an agency controlling fairytales. The main character and her closest friend (sort of) are both pretty angry ladies.
User deleted comment
18d
Thank you. Seeing it recommended in any context always blows my mind. Dodgy is being far too polite. It's just god-awful writing.
Poppy Wars come to mind. Terribly depressing, though. But tons of anger!
The Poppy War
I got sucked into Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, (Not quite a bet, but I was cajoled into reading it). It's not my usual faire and is popular with the 'spicy' novel crowds, but the entire book is basically a fantasy/magic series about an assasin/magical girl getting revenge
I would genuinely love to know why this garnered downvotes? Isn't this sub all about sharing our opinions and thoughts about the books we read? Seriously :(
OMG not sex. My fragile masculinity is threatened by the thought of even reading about a dude who can actually satisfy a woman. Or just get one into bed in the first place?
Shadows of Otherside series by Whitney Hill. The first book is Elemental (and she’s publishing the 10th and final book in a couple weeks!)
Mixed-race protagonist who takes control of her power after a lifetime of lies. Rage and literal scorched earth follow suit 😈🌪️
Spicy but the MC’s story is never overtaken by the romance.
The main antagonist in the 3rd chapter of The Domination (it's basically a book in 3 parts) by SM Stirling is basically driven by anger, hate and twisted revenge.
I feel it fits your literal request, but at the same time, it's a very dark book that I'm not sure has aged well. I'd hesitate to actualy recommend it.
Modern superhero fantasy: Wraith, which is set in the author’s Full Metal Superhero setting. Self-published. Basically a woman is attacked and becomes something between Spawn and Ghost Rider.
Fantasy Fantasy:
Vows & Honor, a mostly disconnected sub-series of Valdemar, is all about revenge, hot and cold. TW: SA. . The second book is all about their vengeance for the mercenary Captain they started working for. And the semi-sequel that ties it to the main series starts with the only healthy, surviving member of a household that went through a Red Wedding-like attack Avenging herself on the attackers.
Queen of the Corpsepickers. A Norse v Greek myth slugfest, the 21st Century version of Fielding's Tom Jones if he was an amoral space pirate - a sociopathic wannabe-Valkyrie space pirate suffering a bad break-up and engaging in the most unlikely heist ever!
Slewfoot fits the bill, and I’ve read most of the other upvoted suggestions.
Carrie
Bloodsworn saga by John Gwynne. Lots of angry women
Go greek mythology. Or nordic mythologys. Or ... any mythology.
Seven Blades in Black is the first book in the Grave of Empires trilogy about a wizard hunting gunslinger. She is all about rage, scorched earth and vengeance.
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is the first book in the Zoe Ashe series, written by the same guy that wrote the John Dies at the End books. They are very enjoyable.
Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes.
I didn’t even realize that female rage is one of my reading wheelhouses until I read this thread. So many of my favorite books have been listed here and the ones I haven’t read will put on my TBR list - thanks!
Just read all the Nynaeve pov back to back. You'll be tugging your braid in no time.
Jay Kristoff's Nevernight trilogy. Mia sacrifices everything and trains to become an assassin to dismantle the oligarchy which ruined her family.
I can't believe neither of these has been mentioned before this (from what I could see).
Shadowdance series by David Dalglish
The Nevernight Chronicle by Jay Kristoff
The Sarah Beauhall series by J.A. Pitts features a young lady that flies into true viking berserker rage. Its urban fantasy. First book is "Black Blade Blues".
Vin in Mistborn comes to mind.
As does Yennifer in The Witcher series. I've read so much fanfiction in this series since I've read the books, everything is blurring together though. Does anyone else have this problem (forgetting what's actually cannon 😅)?
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, some excellent earth scorching and a satisfying romance to boot!
For some major webnovel suggestions -
Worm, by Wildbow
A Practical Guide to Evil, by ErraticErrata
Worm is a dark take on the Superhero genre, with a protagonist who wants to be a hero but is essentially forced to become a villain. So much anger and scorched earth at times, especially when things she loves are threatened.
Practical Guide is a D&D setting where tropes are real and embraced by the inhabitants as Roles which bring their own powers - the Black Knight, the Dread Empress, the Wandering Bard and so on.
The protag is a girl from an orphanage of a nation that has been a battleground between Good and Evil for generations and is currently thoroughly ruled by Evil. She has had enough, and is determined to stop it happening again, this time by joining the Evil side... Plenty of serious rage involved along the way.
Some of my other recommendations are posted aleady so im gonna say Gideon the Ninth.
She doesnt rage super often but she does get pissed. Shes also a badass.
CS Friedman: Feast of Souls trilogy. Main character is trafficked and becomes an antihero.
LE Modesitt: Arms-Commander (TBF FMC is less angry than exasperated but lack of hate doesn’t stop her from killing them all). The Towers of Sunset has female major character who is very ragey and relatable though MMC gets more “screen time”. Also lots of LE Modesitt books with female characters who are badasses/ not gonna swoon/ emotionally intelligent/ don’t take men’s shit. I can never not snort tea through my nose when re-reading one of his sci-fis where the major female character tells the male main character that maybe she will let him formally court her if he proves to her that he doesn’t see him as a stand-in for his mother to provide him validation 🤣🤣
Stephen Donaldson: Into the Gap has a FMC who is maybe not ragey but beyond impressive and other strong female characters become very important later in the series. TW on Into the Gap for extreme sexual violence. Very mild plot spoiler: one of the few series where the graphic sexual violence actually seems necessary to the plot and totally worth it by the end of the series which is very female empowerment. FMC is assumed by the end to be powerful enough to annihilate her rapist but dude has already gotten the best karmic rape retribution ever- not one of those wishy-washy, pathetic “forgiveness/ moving on” tropes. I suspect the Mordant’s Need series is also going to go down the extremely strong female lead path, but I am not there yet so I could be wrong.
Glenn Cook: Darkwar. FMC is not so much ragey as ruthless but very interesting. I found it to be a much better-written series than Black Company, but YMMV.
On the romantasy end, The Serpent and the Wings of Night has a female main character who is a vigilante. And the MMC actually has a shred of character as opposed to being a walking stereotype of toxic masculinity, so an improvement on a lot of romantasy.
Best served cold by Joe Abercrombie
Codex Alera- it has some fairly horrifying stuff, mainly in the first book, but it also has some fairly good rage- mainly cold rather than like frothing berserker though?
Maybe the A Song of Ice and Fire series (game of thrones). There are lots of characters and most are not angry women but there are a few stand out characters that match your requirements
Cersei is a POV and definitely fits this. Arya and maybe Arianne Martell too.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Honeslty from Blood and Ash and the prequel series Flesh and Fire are decent on this front
Also Gideon the Ninth
It occurs to me all my fantasy has female rage.
ACOTAR particularly the second book in the series.
I can offer you some Romantasy. It takes a book or so to start feeling the full breadth of the FMC’s wrath, but good god is she angry.
The plot and world is really fantastic. Many people scoff at Romantasy but this one put its hooks in me. From Blood and Ash, by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The writing can be a little trite… I think it improves the deeper into the series she wrote, however.
best served cold
its got multiple PoV's, revenge is driving the plot though
can be read as a standalone, other books from the first law universe do feature angry women also