What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

What a broad category! But personally, one of my favorites. :) I define these kinds of characters as 'realistic,' 'flawed,' or just 'not-mary/gary-sue/stu" characters. But I'm weird - when I think of strong characters I automatically go to the Tarzan books, Conan, Red Sonja - warrior books. Some of these books I read a while ago, so sorry if I'm remembering incorrectly, but I believe they meet all of the qualifications (no further than kissing at least 'on-screen,' no gross violence, limited/no language) So, from all genres but fantasy listed first:

The Last Unicorn
Something Rich and Strange
Castle Waiting, Vol. 1
Green Angel

Housekeeping and/or Gilead
The Remains of the Day
To the Lighthouse
Farmer's Almanac: A Work of Fiction
and pretty much any and every Jane Austen.

Have you read The Others series by Anne Bishop? The first is Written in Red

The Thief and its sequels?

Everything written by this author Lois McMaster Bujold

The Vorkosigan Saga is a well loved SF series that focuses so much on the characters and their development is slides into different subgenres as the characters mature and change.

Vows and Honor by Mercedes Lackey. It contains volumes 1-3 of the Vows and Honor series. It does read as if there are prequels to the book that bear reading if you want to understand why these two extraordinary but very different women wound up with each other. However, the collection is so very well crafted that you can easily understand it without reading any of Ms. Lackey's previous works in the Valdemar series.

The characters of Kethry and Tarma are very different but they have the inner and outer strengths that you would crave. They are sworn to each other, however, there is no sex between them. Tarma is asexual by choice; it is a tenet of the oath she has sworn to her goddess. Kethry prefers men. There is sexual content in what I've read; the sex was undertaken by a demon who used sexual activity combined with pain in order to gain strength for itself. There are no detailed descriptions of his activities, thank goodness, so you're spared that.

The two women are frequently called upon to aid others, both for honor and pay, and there is bloodshed, as you would expect in a story involving two hired swordswomen. There is also warfare along with the attendant casualties and fatalities. Again, there's nothing really graphic. Ms. Lackey's descriptions about war lean more heavily on preparations and strategy than the actual fighting. Thus, you'll get lengthy descriptions of traveling through rough countryside to sneak up on an enemy, the various different horses that soldiers, patrols, bowmen might ride, the usage of leather and wood on patrol gear so there is no bright metal to catch the light and draw enemy fire, etc., etc. In fact, if you ever wanted to read a fantasy novel that includes practical advice about waging war or fighting against armed warriors and assassins, this is one of the most convincing I've ever read.

There is detail involving certain duels that Tarma must fight. This is necessary. Otherwise, there would be short, frustrating and puzzling paragraphs about how she defeated 12 men, e.g., without our knowing exactly how it was done. Again, there's nothing needlessly bloody in these passages.

The "colorful" language takes place in a fabricated landscape, therefore much of the swearing involves oaths that have little to do with urban 21st-century language. This may not be a book to read aloud to children but there's nothing so harsh that adults will turn up their noses at it.