Guy Kay gives us big doses of all three. Religious and political intrigues always have the potential to be deadly dull, but Kay keeps them interesting through his skillful handling of characters. The wicked sometimes behave well, the good sometimes behave wickedly, and Crispin must tread a delicate path in order to survive. For me the ultimate gauge of a book are the characters. These books are filled with vividly drawn characters, characters with depth and passion.
Equal care is given to the many secondary characters.
Not only do we become intimately familiar with the leading charioteer of the era, but we're given insight into the minds and temperaments of his chief rival and of a young charioteer whose skill is not yet recognized. We understand what drives them, the mad intensity of the hippodrome as a race is about to begin, the pulsating adoration of the crowds. It is not a perfect work. Some of the more interesting characters of the first book are allowed to fade to obscurity in the second. Some characters are introduced, it seems, for no other purpose than to set the stage for Kay's next novel.