History ActionGirl / Literature

** In ''Literature/SinisterSixTrilogy'', Pity is able to roll with the rest of the Sinister Six and go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man all by herself.

* Most of the main female characters in ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' qualify. Jez because she's a bad-ass space cop, Ashlenn because she's a bad-ass [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Gal]] and Mizal (even though she's dead) because she's a bad-ass secret agent.

** Pity from the ''Literature/SinisterSixTrilogy'' is able to roll with the rest of the Sinister Six and go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man all by herself.

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Quite a few. Each dragoness serving in the legions of Argonath counts as one, and they also have a women's brigade. When it comes to humans, Lessis of Valmes, Ribela of Defwode, Lagdalen Tarcho and Eilsa Ranardaughter are the most prominent examples, skilled fighters with mundane weapons or magic.

* ''Literature/ShatterTheSky'': Maren is competent with a knife or her bare arms. She uses [[GuileHero trickery]] and evasion however far more, or dragons [[BondCreatures she's bonded to]] fight on her behalf.

* ''Literature/TheQueenOfIeflaria'':
** Esofi it turns out is quite skilled with magic, and easily beats Theodoar using it during their duel.
** Lisette, Esofi's bodyguard, is a fierce petite woman whom no one doubts is extremely dangerous.

** It's strongly implied the Knight of the Laughing Tree (the knight who kicked the asses of some best knights in the land) [[SamusIsAGirl was none other than Lyanna Stark]] (Eddard Stark's sister) who disappeared mysteriously shortly before the jousting tournament began. Also the aforementioned Ayra who is Lyanna's niece gets frequently compared to her aunt, which gives credence to the suggestion Lyanna was a Action Girl herself.
** Since ASOFAI is in many ways built upon [[DeconstructedTrope/ASongofIceandfire Deconstruction]] of fantasy literature, Martin makes quick work of subverting this trope for all its worth, as it is now so much of an obligation for a fantasy series to include it. Some {{Action Girl}}s, like Asha, Brienne and Arya, have to fight their cultures to show their strength in battle... hitting WarIsHell hard and using so many {{Determinator}} points up that it leads them to near-trauma and de-humanization. Asha is particularly jaded, as she comes from a ''very'' chauvinist culture and has to work ''a lot'' to pull it off--and, still hasn't managed to cement her Ironborn cred, despite her record of battles and reeving. Other {{Action Girl}}s come from more permissive cultures, like Osha, the Mormont girls and the Sand Snakes, and thus are more natural about it and play the trope straighter, but can only do so ''because'' of their wider cultural background. Take them out of their home turf, and they can face issues: Osha and those Sand Snakes doing covert ops outside Dorne show this.

** Female assassins sent for Tasia are taken down by Joslyn. One, named Ty'Tsana, proves a very tough opponent for her.

* Showing that the concept of an Action Girl is OlderThanTheyThink, both Christiana and Mercy from ''Literature/ThePilgrimsProgress'' (specifically the second part) were brave and valiant fighters, used by Bunyan to illustrate that virtue knows know gender.
* Princess Eilonwy from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' actively participated in several battles, and is just as badass as Taran.

* ''Literature/TheQueenOfIeflaria'': Esofi it turns out is quite skilled with magic, and easily beats Theodoar using it during their duel.

** Salvatore's other leading original ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' female, Danica Maupoissant, is also a warrior. In her case, she's a fighting monk, trained from her youth both in unarmed combat and the use of some ''very'' fine knives, and by the second book of Literature/TheClericQuintet the foremost student of a long-dead grandmaster's teachings. She's skilled enough to fight alongside and impress centuries-old elven warriors before she's even thirty. She's skilled enough that she's capable of briefly holding her own against ''Artemis Entreri'', top it off with the fact that he had his weapons and she had none.

*** Guri is a deadly female cyborg in Xizor's employ who can easily kill most people (only Luke ever beats her).

*** Mrrov is a female Togorian. On her rescue, she immediately operates the guns of the ship while Han flies off. Later, she goes on a commando road alongside her mate Muurgh to liberate Ylesia and is gravely wounded.

* Sionna is a skilled female fighter with a sword in Arek's party.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** If Katniss Everdeen wasn't this before the title event, she is by the end of them.
** Johanna Mason. Also, any female Careers.

* ''Literature/AMasterOfDjinn'': Fatma is a female OccultDetective with a ministry which investigates the supernatural who shows keen skill with magic or mundane weapons. Siti, her lover, is a good fighter as well, along with Haidi, a young woman who's partnered with her.