One entry on the list:The Kushiel Saga by Jacqueline CareyRead about another entry on the list.
Plenty of fantasy epics involve feuding nobles and endless betrayals and scheming -- but few of them take place in a land where sexuality is celebrated, sacred sex workers are central to the political structure and a super-masochist turns out to be the main savior of the realm. The central concern of the first Kushiel trilogy is who's going to rule over Terre D'Ange, a version of medieval France where everybody worships the groovier son of Jesus, instead of Jesus himself. And as nobles wheel and deal and betray each other, the villainous Melisande Shahrizai plays them off against each other, while getting other, far-off nations involved in her schemes. The politics of the series slowly become more and more global and the scheming more byzantine, as more players get involved. Basically, imagine A Song of Ice and Fire with safewords and happier sex workers.
--Marshal Zeringue
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