Character List

There's a character list and brief descriptions in the front of this book. I usually find these things really helpful, and I will probably refer back to it  on a regular basis (as in every time a person's name is mentioned...). I'm not quite sure if it's a bad omen though. Maybe the publisher is just being really helpful, which is my hope. My fear, however, is that the publisher thought a reader would need it to understand the book. I've seen the movie, so I know there are quite a few characters in it, but I'm hoping the book won't get too confusing in terms of who's who. Oh well, I guess I will just have to wait and see.