So far I have liked nearly all the characters, except the obviously vicious ones. I was surprised to find I like the king, and I found the description of Miranda Belmonte d'Alveda as a "frail woman" hilarious, just as I was clearly supposed to. I find I am invested in the story, all the more so for finding connections to historical events and wanting to see how these play out.

A question: is Rodrigo based on El Cid? I cannot help noticing similarities.

I also like Miranda a lot. I do not think I will be able to forgive Belmonte if he he ever cheats on her. Perhaps I should stop including all my fears and worries in these posts -- it is not as if anyone will be able to comment on them and reassure me without littering a reply with spoilers.

De Reda got what was coming to him, quite obviously. I am a little disappointed that the bad guy has no shading: there is no moral grey: he is evil, defending evil and planning evil. Then again, that sort of writing works well in some types of books, and here it seems to be a counterpoint to a more balanced description of opposing sides in a conflict where (I assume) each side will portray the other as evil.. And it is not as if psychopaths do not exist.

On that note: I will be somewhat more bothered if Almalik of Cartada does not turn out shaded in some way. I don't think ibn Khairan would have served a psycopath. I look forward to finding out what happened there.