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Guy Gavriel Kay is best known as a fantasy author. However, as far as I'm concerned, he is at his best when he's writing semi-historical novels -- novels in which he re-imagines some historical event or place with just a little recourse to fantasy elements. The Lions of Al-Rassan is such a novel. In it, Kay tells the story of the Spanish Reconquista, a thrilling time during which the Christians drove the Muslims (who had by then ruled the southern half of their peninsula for several centuries) from their country and took back what was theirs. Rather than telling the story from a purely European perspective, Kay uses characters from all the major groups involved (fanatic Christians, less fanatic Christians, fundamentalist Muslims, less fundamentalist Muslims, Jews) and lets them find their own ways towards the inevitable ending -- a holy war. As it happens, the war is dealt with rather perfunctorily in the book; the story mainly deals with the different players' motivations and the decisions leading up to the momentous events which take place later.

Kay's depiction of a polarised society gearing towards war is excellent, and quite topical, given recent history. He ably demonstrates what happens when three hostile cultures have to co-exist in one country and fundamentalists stir up feelings of hatred. Yet it's not all about cultural differences and mutual dislike. A large part of the book deals with friendship and with the romance between a female Jewish doctor and a charismatic Muslim poet/strategist. And lest that get boring, too, there is an amount of intrigue and political skullduggery of which many a thriller writer would be proud. It's a testament to Kay's skill as an author that he combines all these ingredients into a seamless, tightly plotted whole, which is both epic in scope and intensely personal.

As always, Kay's greatest strength is his characterisation, which is superb. Nearly all the main characters of the book (even the ones whose morals are compromised) are remarkable, intelligent and likeable people, which makes it a joy to follow them through their lives. Kay makes the most of their friendships and shared fates. He also makes the most of their divided loyalties, sense of duty and sense of fate, which give the book its tragic quality. For make no mistake: The Lions of Al-Rassan is a tragedy. A country may be regained in the end, but an era is lost, and the loss is made quite tangible. The book has a melancholy end-of-an-era atmosphere which stays with you long after you turn the last page.

If I have any complaints about The Lions of Al-Rassan, they concern the way in which Kay sometimes withholds information from the reader. At several points in the book (but mostly at the end), the reader is led to believe that a certain character has died, only to find out later that it was actually someone else who died. I don't particularly care for this kind of cheating, which feels manipulative to me. However, this is only one minor blemish on an otherwise fine book which shows Kay at the top of his powers, or very near it.