I see what you mean. Maybe even agree to some extent - apart from Dianora and I would say Sandre, the best characters in Tigana are arguably the villains. The basic premise is brilliant, though, whereas the basic premise of Lions of al-Rassan is just taken straight from real history - except with a different ending that makes little sense. I think that's definitely one of the things bothering me most about Lions. I might have appreciated it more if he had limited himself to borrowing the setting while leaving El Cid well enough alone and writing his own story.