Sailing to Sarantium - Guy Gavriel Kay

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Guy Gavriel Kay (particularly 'The Lions of Al-Rassan' and 'Tigana') but for some reason I have put off reading the Sarantine Mosaic. On the glowing recommendation of another fan, I finally picked them up.

Initially I was put off by the lengthy prologue (which is not acually called a prologue, but it should have been). I spent the first book and most of the second wondering why it was included.

I realize that the character names are meant to be historically accurate but I found most of the characters difficult to distinguish since their names all sounded so similar. I suspect re-reading would solve this problem as I've now figured out who most of them are. I felt like I needed a chart.

By the end of the book I was not particularly involved but I gave him the benefit of the doubt and went on to the next. (I did enjoy the relationship between the Emperor and Empress though.)