Im looking for a book with a black female protagonist that isn't romance I need her doing cool shit. Im looking for a fictional story it can have magical elements or not if there are any other books you know of that have a black female protagonist thats are good i would love to hear about them as well
by HawkOk7093
31 Comments
“Chain Gang All Stars” might be a good choice for you. I’ve been trying to read exclusively black authors for 2026 and this is on my list.
The story centers around women in a prison fighting for freedom in a dystopian reality. The fights are national sporting events. Think broadcasted like Sunday night football.
American Spy by Wilkinson
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor! Very fun afro-futuristic sci-fi. I believe most of her books are about black women, but this is the one I’ve read.
A lot of Octavia Butler novel, as well. Kindred is my favourite of hers, but tonally a lot heavier.
Kindred, The Book of Negroes or Purple Hibiscus
THE GOOD HOUSE by Tananarive Due
Ms Butler has you covered:
* Parable of the Sower (and Parable of the Talents)
* Fledgling
* Kindred
* The Lilith’s Brood trilogy
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin
Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark. Protagonist does some seriously badass stuff.
Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemison. (This trilogy is the best things I’ve read in a really long time. She won the Hugo award 3 years in a row for each book in the series.)
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler.
Dawn by Octavia Butler.
The Women Could Fly by Megan Gibbons
Fear Not Death by Nnedi Okafor (Excellent book, but all the trigger warnings for this one.)
Redemptor (2 books)- Jordan Ifueko,
Skin of the Sea (3 books)- Natasha Bowen,
The Final Strife (3 books) – Saraa El-Arifi, Broken Earth – NK Jemison
There is some romance in each but it is not the central driver the character or plot
Immortal Dark by Tigest Germa. Its labeled as YA and has some romance, but its not. I don’t want to give too much away though. There are also vampires. The FMC is tough as nails and is pretty bad ass in a morally gray type way. She is looking for her sister and will do whatever it takes to find her.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland – Black girls in the Civil War era fight zombies. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn – Black Girl fights demons in a world that incorporates the legend of King Arthur and African American root craft. Minor romantic subplot. Both books are young adult.
The Shadowshaper Cypher by Daniel José Older (YA) is about an Afro-Nuyorican girl learning her family’s magical heritage.
*Arctic Rising* by Tobias Buckell is a near-future thriller starring a Nigerian woman working to prevent illegal waste dumping in the Northwest Passage.
Layla Lawlor’s Gatekeeper trilogy is a modern fantasy about an art student who gets a magic sword that comes with a non-optional faerie mentor and sacred cause
The *Legendborn* series by Tracy Deonn involves the Inheritance of Arthurian personas and powers, and what happens when the heir is a black woman
The *Edinburgh Nights* series (I would define this as YA also, but apparently many people believe that not all books starring people under 20 are appropriate for people under 20, or something)
by TL Huchu takes place in a magical and somewhat dystopian Edinburgh, where a young medium has to choose between continuing to learn her grandmother’s magics or apprenticing in the Scottish tradition.
*Novis* by Rachel Tonks Hill: A badass space mercenary and her crew fight an alien monster
The *Heris Serrano* books by Elizabeth Moon: A badass space captain gets drummed out of the Navy on trumped-up charges, gets a job flying a rich woman’s yacht, then gets involved in espionage.
The *Infomocracy* series by Malka Older are Near-future political thrillers ser in a unique political system
*A Dead Djinn in Cairo* & *A Master of Djinn*:
Dapper lesbian investigates supernatural crimes in an early-20th Century Cairo where the return of Djinni and magic some decades previous drove out the colonizers and made Egypt a world power
Lone Women – Victor Lavelle
Lone Women – Victor Laval
Danielle evens has short stories that are great.
American War by Omar El Akkad
The intuitionist
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Legendborn
Beloved by Toni Morrison
You’ve got a wealth of great suggestions already, but one I don’t see yet is
The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekatrina Sedia.
Perfect book for you, Those Who Walk in Darkness by John Ridley, a gritty, near-future thriller where an elite LAPD squad, M-Tac, hunts down superpowered individuals (metahumans) with genetic enhancements, exploring themes of heroism, villainy, and the blurry lines between good and evil in a world with real-life superheroes and villains, starring tough female cop Soledad “Bullet” O’Roark.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
The Raven Scholar — my favorite book from 2025. Neema Kraa is unforgettable.
CHAIN GANG ALL STARS
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The City We Became by NK Jemisin
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
[Rust in the Root](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947670-rust-in-the-root) (historical magic!)
Or
[Dread Nation & Deathless Divide](https://www.goodreads.com/series/225260-dread-nation) (alternate history with zombies) all by Justine Ireland