Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

If you only ever read one book... , 08 Oct 2008
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's and my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it and all they all felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled and realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind and King Rat, all are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I really did wonder how all the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.

First Englishman in Feudal Japan, 05 Oct 2007
One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.

What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai and Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.

Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him and his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, and only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.

You simply must buy it., 18 Jun 2007

I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - and makes us care about it and want to understand it.

Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country and it's history and it's people.

It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world and has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century

My favourite book of all time, 15 Dec 2006
I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters and the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personally it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.

shogun, 27 Jul 2006
I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" and "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 and "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more and then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

If you only ever read one book... , 08 Oct 2008
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's and my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it and all they all felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled and realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind and King Rat, all are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I really did wonder how all the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.

First Englishman in Feudal Japan, 05 Oct 2007
One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.

What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai and Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.

Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him and his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, and only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.

You simply must buy it., 18 Jun 2007

I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - and makes us care about it and want to understand it.

Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country and it's history and it's people.

It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world and has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century

My favourite book of all time, 15 Dec 2006
I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters and the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personally it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.

shogun, 27 Jul 2006
I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" and "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 and "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more and then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.

Epic really is the word!, 28 Jul 2008
Shogun by James Clavell truly is a mammoth tale of action, intrigue, passion, tragedy and betrayal. I had never previously read any books by this author or indeed any about Asia, so I was pretty daunted when I first saw the size of Shogun and I felt that it might be hard work to get through (this was not the case at all). The story follows English sailor John Blackthorne and his slightly accidental landing on the Japanese coast. It's as though he has gone to a different planet, the culture, lifestyle and beliefs are utterly different from anything he had previously experienced. Gradually he begins to show his worth to the nations powerful Lords and slowly his status in the country rises.

Shogun is action-packed from start to finish, never before has a novel taught me so much about a nations culture and language. Shogun is an incredibly gripping and intriguing book, that keeps you wondering how it's all going to turn out right to the very end. It's fascinating to see Blackthorne begin to understand and appreciate the Japanese way of life to the extent that he almost seems to prefer their ways to that of Europe by the end of the book.

Shogun is a book that is definitely worth a read and I'm certainly tempted to read another Clavell novel now.

Stunning achievement, 10 Jul 2008
There are very few books that one would wish to read more than once. Of those, there are, for me, three that stand head and shoulders above the rest. One is (almost predictably) Lord of the Rings; one is Dune; and the last (but not least) is Shogun. Once picked up, it is very hard to put down. The reader is drawn into a 100% real and credible world - in my case, so completely that when I reached the last page and put it down for the last time, I felt a sense of bereavement, as though I had come back from visiting a land that I knew I could never return to. And that is precisely the power of Shogun. So well is it written that it transports you into both a different land and a different time effortlessly and, despite the fact that it is by no means short, it leaves you wanting more. Here is a completely different culture, philosophy, and language, viewed through the eyes of a stranded Englishman, who gradually comes to understand the beauty of the Japanese way of life as well as his surroundings.

Atmospherically gripping, 09 Jun 2008
With only a couple of anachronisms, Clavell has written a hugely enjoyable, action-packed novel. The simplicities of peasant life are contrasted with the intricasies of court and diplomacy in a way guaranteed to engage the reader, leading to a revaluation of many of our Western views; while the action keeps us wanting more.

Fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding.

Asian epic to beat all Asian epics, 29 May 2008
This standard-setting novel was one of the first books I read after arriving in Japan for a three-year sojourn in 2001 and it was the perfect introduction to the country. Not always historically accurate, but as Clavell says in his foreword to Gai-jin, our accepted histories are not really what happened either - just interpretations of it. In fact, Clavell claims that, by changing accepted historical facts, the story he is telling may be closer, in spirit at least, to what actually happened. A valid argument, coming from someone who understands the country as Clavell seems to.

Set in Japan at the end of the C16, Shogun tells the story of Richard Blackthorne (Richard Adams), the British 'pilot' who became the only foreigner ever to achieve samurai status in Japan's history (forget the Last Samurai). Blackthorne becomes friends with the powerful and cunning warlord Toranaga (Tokugawa) and the book marks his rise from shipwrecked, mis-treated prisoner to powerful and influential land-owner and government advisor.

The book is packed full of minute detail, edge-of-your seat suspense and exciting action, all at the same time. Characterisation is rich and, like in those hefty Russian novels, a few pages is needed at the beginning to list who everybody is. I can't describe how good this book is, and how much it gives a sense of the beauty and dignity of Japanese culture. Reading it is an experience that absorbs you completely. As with The Lord of the Rings (a no more impressive epic than this), what goes on in its pages becomes more important that your actual life. If there were more such books around it would endanger careers and relationships everywhere.

Clavell wrote a series of best-selling Asian epics, Shogun being the best-known. I am reading his other Japan-set epic, Gai-jin (published in 1993 - the year before his death), right now. Even if it's half as good as Shogun, even at 1,200 pages, it will be a worthwhile read. Less known, Clavell also co-wrote the script to screen classic The Great Escape (he was a POW in WW2, an experience he based his first Asian novel, King Rat, upon) and, more oddly, wrote entirely the script of the original 1950s film The Fly (remade by David Cronenburg in 1986). I can't find any fly experiences he could have based this on.

One more thing. The 1980s TV mini-series of Shogun, scripted by Clavell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune (and that guy with the big beak nose from The Bill), is a superb adaptation of the book, and one of the very best TV mini-series of all time.

Shogun, 24 Nov 2005
Fantastic book.
I read it during one summer stretched out on our sun-lounger.
It's an amazingly in-depth book that grabs your attention from cover to cover.
I couldn't put it down for a second.
(Well, except at lunch.)

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

If you only ever read one book... , 08 Oct 2008
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's and my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it and all they all felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled and realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind and King Rat, all are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I really did wonder how all the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.

First Englishman in Feudal Japan, 05 Oct 2007
One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.

What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai and Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.

Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him and his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, and only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.

You simply must buy it., 18 Jun 2007

I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - and makes us care about it and want to understand it.

Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country and it's history and it's people.

It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world and has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century

My favourite book of all time, 15 Dec 2006
I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters and the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personally it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.

shogun, 27 Jul 2006
I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" and "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 and "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more and then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.

Epic really is the word!, 28 Jul 2008
Shogun by James Clavell truly is a mammoth tale of action, intrigue, passion, tragedy and betrayal. I had never previously read any books by this author or indeed any about Asia, so I was pretty daunted when I first saw the size of Shogun and I felt that it might be hard work to get through (this was not the case at all). The story follows English sailor John Blackthorne and his slightly accidental landing on the Japanese coast. It's as though he has gone to a different planet, the culture, lifestyle and beliefs are utterly different from anything he had previously experienced. Gradually he begins to show his worth to the nations powerful Lords and slowly his status in the country rises.

Shogun is action-packed from start to finish, never before has a novel taught me so much about a nations culture and language. Shogun is an incredibly gripping and intriguing book, that keeps you wondering how it's all going to turn out right to the very end. It's fascinating to see Blackthorne begin to understand and appreciate the Japanese way of life to the extent that he almost seems to prefer their ways to that of Europe by the end of the book.

Shogun is a book that is definitely worth a read and I'm certainly tempted to read another Clavell novel now.

Stunning achievement, 10 Jul 2008
There are very few books that one would wish to read more than once. Of those, there are, for me, three that stand head and shoulders above the rest. One is (almost predictably) Lord of the Rings; one is Dune; and the last (but not least) is Shogun. Once picked up, it is very hard to put down. The reader is drawn into a 100% real and credible world - in my case, so completely that when I reached the last page and put it down for the last time, I felt a sense of bereavement, as though I had come back from visiting a land that I knew I could never return to. And that is precisely the power of Shogun. So well is it written that it transports you into both a different land and a different time effortlessly and, despite the fact that it is by no means short, it leaves you wanting more. Here is a completely different culture, philosophy, and language, viewed through the eyes of a stranded Englishman, who gradually comes to understand the beauty of the Japanese way of life as well as his surroundings.

Atmospherically gripping, 09 Jun 2008
With only a couple of anachronisms, Clavell has written a hugely enjoyable, action-packed novel. The simplicities of peasant life are contrasted with the intricasies of court and diplomacy in a way guaranteed to engage the reader, leading to a revaluation of many of our Western views; while the action keeps us wanting more.

Fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding.

Asian epic to beat all Asian epics, 29 May 2008
This standard-setting novel was one of the first books I read after arriving in Japan for a three-year sojourn in 2001 and it was the perfect introduction to the country. Not always historically accurate, but as Clavell says in his foreword to Gai-jin, our accepted histories are not really what happened either - just interpretations of it. In fact, Clavell claims that, by changing accepted historical facts, the story he is telling may be closer, in spirit at least, to what actually happened. A valid argument, coming from someone who understands the country as Clavell seems to.

Set in Japan at the end of the C16, Shogun tells the story of Richard Blackthorne (Richard Adams), the British 'pilot' who became the only foreigner ever to achieve samurai status in Japan's history (forget the Last Samurai). Blackthorne becomes friends with the powerful and cunning warlord Toranaga (Tokugawa) and the book marks his rise from shipwrecked, mis-treated prisoner to powerful and influential land-owner and government advisor.

The book is packed full of minute detail, edge-of-your seat suspense and exciting action, all at the same time. Characterisation is rich and, like in those hefty Russian novels, a few pages is needed at the beginning to list who everybody is. I can't describe how good this book is, and how much it gives a sense of the beauty and dignity of Japanese culture. Reading it is an experience that absorbs you completely. As with The Lord of the Rings (a no more impressive epic than this), what goes on in its pages becomes more important that your actual life. If there were more such books around it would endanger careers and relationships everywhere.

Clavell wrote a series of best-selling Asian epics, Shogun being the best-known. I am reading his other Japan-set epic, Gai-jin (published in 1993 - the year before his death), right now. Even if it's half as good as Shogun, even at 1,200 pages, it will be a worthwhile read. Less known, Clavell also co-wrote the script to screen classic The Great Escape (he was a POW in WW2, an experience he based his first Asian novel, King Rat, upon) and, more oddly, wrote entirely the script of the original 1950s film The Fly (remade by David Cronenburg in 1986). I can't find any fly experiences he could have based this on.

One more thing. The 1980s TV mini-series of Shogun, scripted by Clavell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune (and that guy with the big beak nose from The Bill), is a superb adaptation of the book, and one of the very best TV mini-series of all time.

Shogun, 24 Nov 2005
Fantastic book.
I read it during one summer stretched out on our sun-lounger.
It's an amazingly in-depth book that grabs your attention from cover to cover.
I couldn't put it down for a second.
(Well, except at lunch.)

A MASTERPIECE WORTHY OF THE TAIPAN!, 30 Sep 2007
James Clavell was a WONDERFUL Writer (yes, with a capital W) and NOBLE HOUSE was a gift he left to us!

Through his eyes we visit Hong Kong in the 1970's. Clavell, like a virtuoso connaisseur of the human condition he is, manages to interweave a multitude of stories into a continuous carpet of a city living fast, taking risks, winning and loosing but never giving up.
Heads of huge conglomerates on the verge of foundering - yet never letting go of their rival's throat; dirt-poor Chinese maids striking it rich by a sudden turn of their joss; photographer-Wo and his trophy collection; drug-running smugglers asking for favors-you-can't-refuse; cold war spy networks riddled with double and triple agents; an American stock-market runner trying his hand in raiding Hong Kong companies; ladies getting "pillowed", men getting wooed, fortunes made and lost in the 10 days these all take place. Will the Noble House survive?

To quote Balzac, behind every great fortune lies crime. To prove him right, Noble House is but a thinly veiled reference to Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, a real company. Anticlimactically for an historic British company operating in China, it is nowadays incorporated in Bermuda - and trying to forget its opium-running past (like so many City of London companies respectable today yet founded on drugs and dead natives).

All these stories are presented masterfully, without ever loosing the reader's interest or dropping the ball of building tension. There were less than a dozen writers who could do this - starting with Homer.

My copy was so worn I had to replace it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The best book i have ever read, 03 May 2007
First, if your going to start reading the Asian Saga, you must go back and read them in order. Even Shogan has little sub plots which if you read carfully Noble House you will see. If you don't do this you will miss out on some of the books sub plots irony.
But this is a roller Coster of a Novel, it never stops from page one to page one thousand.
This is the best writen book, James Clavell writes like a novelist should, the charters come alive in your mind and by the time your finished they're as real as your mother.
If your going to read one book this year make it this one.

A brilliant, colossal epic., 08 Jan 2004
Noble House is huge, totalling 1284 pages. However, unlike you might think - the story ALWAYS flows and there are no pauses! There are several sub-plots along with the main plot, which is the fate of Struan's and it's tai-pan Ian Struan Dunross.

The book's ending is a bit rushed up but it's still excellent ...I think Clavell could have avoided giving the disaster at the end too much importance. Moreover, Clavell leaves much food for thought after the book as several of the sub-plots aren't totally resolved. However, Noble House is absolutely brilliant and Clavell's insight into Hong Kong's cultures is plainly...superb, really, really superb. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Asian way of life. I just love the way Dunross deals (Eurasian) compared to the Chinese Four Finger Wu and the American Bartlett.

As usual, Clavell provides the reader with a bible of deep Asian inisights set in a capitalist Hong Kong arena...and remember...Asians are FIRST asians...and then anything else ;-)

Must read. Shogun was perhaps better as the portrait of 16th century Japan is AMAZING but Noble House is more colossal in the fact that the 10+ sub-plots assume a massive importance in the end, while Shogun was more centred on the three figures of Blackthorne, Toronaga and Mariko.

Best book I've read, 14 Dec 2003
This is not only my favourite from James Clavell's Asian novels, but probably my favourite book ever. A massive exhausting epic of a novel, you'll feel like you were there watching it happen by the time you get to the end. A particularly good read if you happen to be on the plane to Hong Kong, it'll give you some idea of what to expect, such is the atmosphere and level of detail of the book. Amazing, absolutly amazing.

A great classic, 05 Aug 2001
One of my favourite books of all time. Read so often my second copy is starting to look tatty!

Quite a long book with complex plots that intertwine, exciting and very well written. Clavell at his very best, a good idea to read Tai-Pan before buying this book. I wouldnt reccomend Gai-Jin though skip this and go on to Noble House.

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

If you only ever read one book... , 08 Oct 2008
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's and my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it and all they all felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled and realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind and King Rat, all are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I really did wonder how all the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.

First Englishman in Feudal Japan, 05 Oct 2007
One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.

What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai and Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.

Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him and his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, and only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.

You simply must buy it., 18 Jun 2007

I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - and makes us care about it and want to understand it.

Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country and it's history and it's people.

It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world and has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century

My favourite book of all time, 15 Dec 2006
I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters and the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personally it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.

shogun, 27 Jul 2006
I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" and "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 and "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more and then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.

Epic really is the word!, 28 Jul 2008
Shogun by James Clavell truly is a mammoth tale of action, intrigue, passion, tragedy and betrayal. I had never previously read any books by this author or indeed any about Asia, so I was pretty daunted when I first saw the size of Shogun and I felt that it might be hard work to get through (this was not the case at all). The story follows English sailor John Blackthorne and his slightly accidental landing on the Japanese coast. It's as though he has gone to a different planet, the culture, lifestyle and beliefs are utterly different from anything he had previously experienced. Gradually he begins to show his worth to the nations powerful Lords and slowly his status in the country rises.

Shogun is action-packed from start to finish, never before has a novel taught me so much about a nations culture and language. Shogun is an incredibly gripping and intriguing book, that keeps you wondering how it's all going to turn out right to the very end. It's fascinating to see Blackthorne begin to understand and appreciate the Japanese way of life to the extent that he almost seems to prefer their ways to that of Europe by the end of the book.

Shogun is a book that is definitely worth a read and I'm certainly tempted to read another Clavell novel now.

Stunning achievement, 10 Jul 2008
There are very few books that one would wish to read more than once. Of those, there are, for me, three that stand head and shoulders above the rest. One is (almost predictably) Lord of the Rings; one is Dune; and the last (but not least) is Shogun. Once picked up, it is very hard to put down. The reader is drawn into a 100% real and credible world - in my case, so completely that when I reached the last page and put it down for the last time, I felt a sense of bereavement, as though I had come back from visiting a land that I knew I could never return to. And that is precisely the power of Shogun. So well is it written that it transports you into both a different land and a different time effortlessly and, despite the fact that it is by no means short, it leaves you wanting more. Here is a completely different culture, philosophy, and language, viewed through the eyes of a stranded Englishman, who gradually comes to understand the beauty of the Japanese way of life as well as his surroundings.

Atmospherically gripping, 09 Jun 2008
With only a couple of anachronisms, Clavell has written a hugely enjoyable, action-packed novel. The simplicities of peasant life are contrasted with the intricasies of court and diplomacy in a way guaranteed to engage the reader, leading to a revaluation of many of our Western views; while the action keeps us wanting more.

Fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding.

Asian epic to beat all Asian epics, 29 May 2008
This standard-setting novel was one of the first books I read after arriving in Japan for a three-year sojourn in 2001 and it was the perfect introduction to the country. Not always historically accurate, but as Clavell says in his foreword to Gai-jin, our accepted histories are not really what happened either - just interpretations of it. In fact, Clavell claims that, by changing accepted historical facts, the story he is telling may be closer, in spirit at least, to what actually happened. A valid argument, coming from someone who understands the country as Clavell seems to.

Set in Japan at the end of the C16, Shogun tells the story of Richard Blackthorne (Richard Adams), the British 'pilot' who became the only foreigner ever to achieve samurai status in Japan's history (forget the Last Samurai). Blackthorne becomes friends with the powerful and cunning warlord Toranaga (Tokugawa) and the book marks his rise from shipwrecked, mis-treated prisoner to powerful and influential land-owner and government advisor.

The book is packed full of minute detail, edge-of-your seat suspense and exciting action, all at the same time. Characterisation is rich and, like in those hefty Russian novels, a few pages is needed at the beginning to list who everybody is. I can't describe how good this book is, and how much it gives a sense of the beauty and dignity of Japanese culture. Reading it is an experience that absorbs you completely. As with The Lord of the Rings (a no more impressive epic than this), what goes on in its pages becomes more important that your actual life. If there were more such books around it would endanger careers and relationships everywhere.

Clavell wrote a series of best-selling Asian epics, Shogun being the best-known. I am reading his other Japan-set epic, Gai-jin (published in 1993 - the year before his death), right now. Even if it's half as good as Shogun, even at 1,200 pages, it will be a worthwhile read. Less known, Clavell also co-wrote the script to screen classic The Great Escape (he was a POW in WW2, an experience he based his first Asian novel, King Rat, upon) and, more oddly, wrote entirely the script of the original 1950s film The Fly (remade by David Cronenburg in 1986). I can't find any fly experiences he could have based this on.

One more thing. The 1980s TV mini-series of Shogun, scripted by Clavell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune (and that guy with the big beak nose from The Bill), is a superb adaptation of the book, and one of the very best TV mini-series of all time.

Shogun, 24 Nov 2005
Fantastic book.
I read it during one summer stretched out on our sun-lounger.
It's an amazingly in-depth book that grabs your attention from cover to cover.
I couldn't put it down for a second.
(Well, except at lunch.)

A MASTERPIECE WORTHY OF THE TAIPAN!, 30 Sep 2007
James Clavell was a WONDERFUL Writer (yes, with a capital W) and NOBLE HOUSE was a gift he left to us!

Through his eyes we visit Hong Kong in the 1970's. Clavell, like a virtuoso connaisseur of the human condition he is, manages to interweave a multitude of stories into a continuous carpet of a city living fast, taking risks, winning and loosing but never giving up.
Heads of huge conglomerates on the verge of foundering - yet never letting go of their rival's throat; dirt-poor Chinese maids striking it rich by a sudden turn of their joss; photographer-Wo and his trophy collection; drug-running smugglers asking for favors-you-can't-refuse; cold war spy networks riddled with double and triple agents; an American stock-market runner trying his hand in raiding Hong Kong companies; ladies getting "pillowed", men getting wooed, fortunes made and lost in the 10 days these all take place. Will the Noble House survive?

To quote Balzac, behind every great fortune lies crime. To prove him right, Noble House is but a thinly veiled reference to Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, a real company. Anticlimactically for an historic British company operating in China, it is nowadays incorporated in Bermuda - and trying to forget its opium-running past (like so many City of London companies respectable today yet founded on drugs and dead natives).

All these stories are presented masterfully, without ever loosing the reader's interest or dropping the ball of building tension. There were less than a dozen writers who could do this - starting with Homer.

My copy was so worn I had to replace it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The best book i have ever read, 03 May 2007
First, if your going to start reading the Asian Saga, you must go back and read them in order. Even Shogan has little sub plots which if you read carfully Noble House you will see. If you don't do this you will miss out on some of the books sub plots irony.
But this is a roller Coster of a Novel, it never stops from page one to page one thousand.
This is the best writen book, James Clavell writes like a novelist should, the charters come alive in your mind and by the time your finished they're as real as your mother.
If your going to read one book this year make it this one.

A brilliant, colossal epic., 08 Jan 2004
Noble House is huge, totalling 1284 pages. However, unlike you might think - the story ALWAYS flows and there are no pauses! There are several sub-plots along with the main plot, which is the fate of Struan's and it's tai-pan Ian Struan Dunross.

The book's ending is a bit rushed up but it's still excellent ...I think Clavell could have avoided giving the disaster at the end too much importance. Moreover, Clavell leaves much food for thought after the book as several of the sub-plots aren't totally resolved. However, Noble House is absolutely brilliant and Clavell's insight into Hong Kong's cultures is plainly...superb, really, really superb. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Asian way of life. I just love the way Dunross deals (Eurasian) compared to the Chinese Four Finger Wu and the American Bartlett.

As usual, Clavell provides the reader with a bible of deep Asian inisights set in a capitalist Hong Kong arena...and remember...Asians are FIRST asians...and then anything else ;-)

Must read. Shogun was perhaps better as the portrait of 16th century Japan is AMAZING but Noble House is more colossal in the fact that the 10+ sub-plots assume a massive importance in the end, while Shogun was more centred on the three figures of Blackthorne, Toronaga and Mariko.

Best book I've read, 14 Dec 2003
This is not only my favourite from James Clavell's Asian novels, but probably my favourite book ever. A massive exhausting epic of a novel, you'll feel like you were there watching it happen by the time you get to the end. A particularly good read if you happen to be on the plane to Hong Kong, it'll give you some idea of what to expect, such is the atmosphere and level of detail of the book. Amazing, absolutly amazing.

A great classic, 05 Aug 2001
One of my favourite books of all time. Read so often my second copy is starting to look tatty!

Quite a long book with complex plots that intertwine, exciting and very well written. Clavell at his very best, a good idea to read Tai-Pan before buying this book. I wouldnt reccomend Gai-Jin though skip this and go on to Noble House.

"Changi was genesis, the place of beginning again", 29 Sep 2007
We should be really grateful for the strike that prevented Clavell to work as a screenplay writer and director for a few weeks in the early sixties and led them to write his first novel. In this edition there is a nice prologue by his daughter explaining what prompted him to write this book, and how quickly he wrote it. The novel is a fictionalized retelling of Clavell's experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore.

Clavell does an amazing job in describing the personalities of the different characters that take part in the story. The fact that the camp held American, English and Australian prisoners provided him with the opportunity to showcase his acute understanding of the different cultures. If you add on top of that the Japanese and the locals that were in charge of managing the camp, you will find a wealth of characters that make this a mesmerizing read. There are two characters though, that are at the center of this tale, and whose actions could serve as a study in sociology. One is an American, the King, who is a corporal that has the ability to facilitate commerce, which is prohibited by camp rules, and therefore makes a very nice living, especially when compared with everyone else. When the King meets Peter Marlowe, a British Lieutenant, the contrast of personalities and moral codes could not be clearer. Thus starts an unusual friendship that will test Marlowe's character and convictions, since he will have to decide between compromising his morals in return for better living conditions for him and his friends, and sticking to his guns and keep on living miserably.

One thing that you can tell as soon as you start reading this novel, and that is confirmed later, is that Clavell is an excellent narrator and has a gift for describing characters and give them a soul. This helps understand how he can hold the reader's attention without it wavering in lengthy novels like "Shogun". In this case, the parts that deal with the secret commerce help provide the story with variety, because they speed up the pace and change the tone. It is also interesting that this edition includes the passages related to the situation of those left behind, mainly wives and kids. These provide additional insights into the lives of the prisoners, helping us understand their motivations and behavior better.

In summary, this can only be defined as an excellent read. Although it has some scenes that may be hard on some readers for their brutality, I believe that the great majority of people will love it.

Fantastic, 25 Jan 2001
Set in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in WWII, King Rat is a brilliant and gripping story that follows the lives and deaths of the men trapped behind the wire, held by brutal guards and slowly starving. Friendships and hatreds bloom, and we come to really care about the fate of the characters. King Rat shows the way that people survive extreme hardships: some by pulling together and helping each other, some by acting purely out of selfishness. Plus, how people try to impose their own order and maintain their own power in a place where they are helpless. A very incisive look at the human condition that is relevant everywhere: you'll recognise your work colleagues amongst the inmates.

an engrossing documentary,-not entertaining blockbuster, 09 Oct 2000
James Clavells' books have a strange tendancy of being read by people - by accident. how many people have read shogun by the 'loft lottery'? - probably enough, this book, however would probably not interest the random reader quite as instantly as his other books. the characters are well described and are fully capable of sustaining the reader's empathy and revulsion, both at the locale and its degenerative effect on the men's mentalities. the story is well paced, although the narrative does tend to revolve around a slightly limited amount of problems. it has neither the twisting plots nor the grandiose locations of his other novels, but considering the dark nature of this book,and its length, its claustrophic sense is one that keeps pages flowing but not with the ease and enthusiasm of his other works.

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern context though Chinese readers will probably find the book patronising and one sided (having said this the book take pains to be fair, both sides view the other as barbarians a great deal). This is a sort of British version of events.

Much of the book seems true, based on factual material on Chinese culture in relation to Hong Kong coming from Chris Patten in "East and West". Indeed the author has a good grounding in Chinese culture so I think his ideas are accurate enough.

This book tackles mixed relationships, business negotiations, the Chinese and their ways, their systems of marriage ... and is a really good source of the elements that make Chinese culture so attractive, colourful and rich.

As for the story. Well, it is gripping enough and I can't get enough of Hong Kong so I'm taking in every word. Pity that Hong Kong has reverted to China I say but hopefully China will become like Hong Kong in time rather than the other way around.


Well....., 06 Jun 2006
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine and started to read it with trepidation. (Long book and I was unsure whether I would be that interested in the era/genre).

However...by about page 50 or so, I was grabbed by the throat and dragged into a story line so compelling that I literally could not put the book down. I would challenge anyone with an ounce of imagination not to love this book.

Engrossing & brilliant by turns..., 02 Apr 2006
...but by no means the finished article. As with all of Clavell's novels the scope is vast, characterisation deep and the backdrop a vista that you want to see for yourself.

Unfortunately, however, the ending was so predictable that after 600 pages, with a mere few left unturned I put the book down in disgust. An unheard of occurence for myself as I always finish what I start...

So whereas SHOGUN gets a throughly deserved 5*, Tai Pan for its totally predictable and unimaginative ending falls sadly short for me. Such a waste.

If you only ever read one book... , 08 Oct 2008
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's and my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it and all they all felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled and realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind and King Rat, all are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I really did wonder how all the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.

First Englishman in Feudal Japan, 05 Oct 2007
One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.

What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai and Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.

Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him and his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, and only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.

You simply must buy it., 18 Jun 2007

I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - and makes us care about it and want to understand it.

Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country and it's history and it's people.

It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world and has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century

My favourite book of all time, 15 Dec 2006
I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters and the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personally it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.

shogun, 27 Jul 2006
I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" and "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 and "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more and then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.

Epic really is the word!, 28 Jul 2008
Shogun by James Clavell truly is a mammoth tale of action, intrigue, passion, tragedy and betrayal. I had never previously read any books by this author or indeed any about Asia, so I was pretty daunted when I first saw the size of Shogun and I felt that it might be hard work to get through (this was not the case at all). The story follows English sailor John Blackthorne and his slightly accidental landing on the Japanese coast. It's as though he has gone to a different planet, the culture, lifestyle and beliefs are utterly different from anything he had previously experienced. Gradually he begins to show his worth to the nations powerful Lords and slowly his status in the country rises.

Shogun is action-packed from start to finish, never before has a novel taught me so much about a nations culture and language. Shogun is an incredibly gripping and intriguing book, that keeps you wondering how it's all going to turn out right to the very end. It's fascinating to see Blackthorne begin to understand and appreciate the Japanese way of life to the extent that he almost seems to prefer their ways to that of Europe by the end of the book.

Shogun is a book that is definitely worth a read and I'm certainly tempted to read another Clavell novel now.

Stunning achievement, 10 Jul 2008
There are very few books that one would wish to read more than once. Of those, there are, for me, three that stand head and shoulders above the rest. One is (almost predictably) Lord of the Rings; one is Dune; and the last (but not least) is Shogun. Once picked up, it is very hard to put down. The reader is drawn into a 100% real and credible world - in my case, so completely that when I reached the last page and put it down for the last time, I felt a sense of bereavement, as though I had come back from visiting a land that I knew I could never return to. And that is precisely the power of Shogun. So well is it written that it transports you into both a different land and a different time effortlessly and, despite the fact that it is by no means short, it leaves you wanting more. Here is a completely different culture, philosophy, and language, viewed through the eyes of a stranded Englishman, who gradually comes to understand the beauty of the Japanese way of life as well as his surroundings.

Atmospherically gripping, 09 Jun 2008
With only a couple of anachronisms, Clavell has written a hugely enjoyable, action-packed novel. The simplicities of peasant life are contrasted with the intricasies of court and diplomacy in a way guaranteed to engage the reader, leading to a revaluation of many of our Western views; while the action keeps us wanting more.

Fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding.

Asian epic to beat all Asian epics, 29 May 2008
This standard-setting novel was one of the first books I read after arriving in Japan for a three-year sojourn in 2001 and it was the perfect introduction to the country. Not always historically accurate, but as Clavell says in his foreword to Gai-jin, our accepted histories are not really what happened either - just interpretations of it. In fact, Clavell claims that, by changing accepted historical facts, the story he is telling may be closer, in spirit at least, to what actually happened. A valid argument, coming from someone who understands the country as Clavell seems to.

Set in Japan at the end of the C16, Shogun tells the story of Richard Blackthorne (Richard Adams), the British 'pilot' who became the only foreigner ever to achieve samurai status in Japan's history (forget the Last Samurai). Blackthorne becomes friends with the powerful and cunning warlord Toranaga (Tokugawa) and the book marks his rise from shipwrecked, mis-treated prisoner to powerful and influential land-owner and government advisor.

The book is packed full of minute detail, edge-of-your seat suspense and exciting action, all at the same time. Characterisation is rich and, like in those hefty Russian novels, a few pages is needed at the beginning to list who everybody is. I can't describe how good this book is, and how much it gives a sense of the beauty and dignity of Japanese culture. Reading it is an experience that absorbs you completely. As with The Lord of the Rings (a no more impressive epic than this), what goes on in its pages becomes more important that your actual life. If there were more such books around it would endanger careers and relationships everywhere.

Clavell wrote a series of best-selling Asian epics, Shogun being the best-known. I am reading his other Japan-set epic, Gai-jin (published in 1993 - the year before his death), right now. Even if it's half as good as Shogun, even at 1,200 pages, it will be a worthwhile read. Less known, Clavell also co-wrote the script to screen classic The Great Escape (he was a POW in WW2, an experience he based his first Asian novel, King Rat, upon) and, more oddly, wrote entirely the script of the original 1950s film The Fly (remade by David Cronenburg in 1986). I can't find any fly experiences he could have based this on.

One more thing. The 1980s TV mini-series of Shogun, scripted by Clavell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune (and that guy with the big beak nose from The Bill), is a superb adaptation of the book, and one of the very best TV mini-series of all time.

Shogun, 24 Nov 2005
Fantastic book.
I read it during one summer stretched out on our sun-lounger.
It's an amazingly in-depth book that grabs your attention from cover to cover.
I couldn't put it down for a second.
(Well, except at lunch.)

A MASTERPIECE WORTHY OF THE TAIPAN!, 30 Sep 2007
James Clavell was a WONDERFUL Writer (yes, with a capital W) and NOBLE HOUSE was a gift he left to us!

Through his eyes we visit Hong Kong in the 1970's. Clavell, like a virtuoso connaisseur of the human condition he is, manages to interweave a multitude of stories into a continuous carpet of a city living fast, taking risks, winning and loosing but never giving up.
Heads of huge conglomerates on the verge of foundering - yet never letting go of their rival's throat; dirt-poor Chinese maids striking it rich by a sudden turn of their joss; photographer-Wo and his trophy collection; drug-running smugglers asking for favors-you-can't-refuse; cold war spy networks riddled with double and triple agents; an American stock-market runner trying his hand in raiding Hong Kong companies; ladies getting "pillowed", men getting wooed, fortunes made and lost in the 10 days these all take place. Will the Noble House survive?

To quote Balzac, behind every great fortune lies crime. To prove him right, Noble House is but a thinly veiled reference to Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, a real company. Anticlimactically for an historic British company operating in China, it is nowadays incorporated in Bermuda - and trying to forget its opium-running past (like so many City of London companies respectable today yet founded on drugs and dead natives).

All these stories are presented masterfully, without ever loosing the reader's interest or dropping the ball of building tension. There were less than a dozen writers who could do this - starting with Homer.

My copy was so worn I had to replace it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The best book i have ever read, 03 May 2007
First, if your going to start reading the Asian Saga, you must go back and read them in order. Even Shogan has little sub plots which if you read carfully Noble House you will see. If you don't do this you will miss out on some of the books sub plots irony.
But this is a roller Coster of a Novel, it never stops from page one to page one thousand.
This is the best writen book, James Clavell writes like a novelist should, the charters come alive in your mind and by the time your finished they're as real as your mother.
If your going to read one book this year make it this one.

A brilliant, colossal epic., 08 Jan 2004
Noble House is huge, totalling 1284 pages. However, unlike you might think - the story ALWAYS flows and there are no pauses! There are several sub-plots along with the main plot, which is the fate of Struan's and it's tai-pan Ian Struan Dunross.

The book's ending is a bit rushed up but it's still excellent ...I think Clavell could have avoided giving the disaster at the end too much importance. Moreover, Clavell leaves much food for thought after the book as several of the sub-plots aren't totally resolved. However, Noble House is absolutely brilliant and Clavell's insight into Hong Kong's cultures is plainly...superb, really, really superb. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Asian way of life. I just love the way Dunross deals (Eurasian) compared to the Chinese Four Finger Wu and the American Bartlett.

As usual, Clavell provides the reader with a bible of deep Asian inisights set in a capitalist Hong Kong arena...and remember...Asians are FIRST asians...and then anything else ;-)

Must read. Shogun was perhaps better as the portrait of 16th century Japan is AMAZING but Noble House is more colossal in the fact that the 10+ sub-plots assume a massive importance in the end, while Shogun was more centred on the three figures of Blackthorne, Toronaga and Mariko.

Best book I've read, 14 Dec 2003
This is not only my favourite from James Clavell's Asian novels, but probably my favourite book ever. A massive exhausting epic of a novel, you'll feel like you were there watching it happen by the time you get to the end. A particularly good read if you happen to be on the plane to Hong Kong, it'll give you some idea of what to expect, such is the atmosphere and level of detail of the book. Amazing, absolutly amazing.

A great classic, 05 Aug 2001
One of my favourite books of all time. Read so often my second copy is starting to look tatty!

Quite a long book with complex plots that intertwine, exciting and very well written. Clavell at his very best, a good idea to read Tai-Pan before buying this book. I wouldnt reccomend Gai-Jin though skip this and go on to Noble House.

"Changi was genesis, the place of beginning again", 29 Sep 2007
We should be really grateful for the strike that prevented Clavell to work as a screenplay writer and director for a few weeks in the early sixties and led them to write his first novel. In this edition there is a nice prologue by his daughter explaining what prompted him to write this book, and how quickly he wrote it. The novel is a fictionalized retelling of Clavell's experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore.

Clavell does an amazing job in describing the personalities of the different characters that take part in the story. The fact that the camp held American, English and Australian prisoners provided him with the opportunity to showcase his acute understanding of the different cultures. If you add on top of that the Japanese and the locals that were in charge of managing the camp, you will find a wealth of characters that make this a mesmerizing read. There are two characters though, that are at the center of this tale, and whose actions could serve as a study in sociology. One is an American, the King, who is a corporal that has the ability to facilitate commerce, which is prohibited by camp rules, and therefore makes a very nice living, especially when compared with everyone else. When the King meets Peter Marlowe, a British Lieutenant, the contrast of personalities and moral codes could not be clearer. Thus starts an unusual friendship that will test Marlowe's character and convictions, since he will have to decide between compromising his morals in return for better living conditions for him and his friends, and sticking to his guns and keep on living miserably.

One thing that you can tell as soon as you start reading this novel, and that is confirmed later, is that Clavell is an excellent narrator and has a gift for describing characters and give them a soul. This helps understand how he can hold the reader's attention without it wavering in lengthy novels like "Shogun". In this case, the parts that deal with the secret commerce help provide the story with variety, because they speed up the pace and change the tone. It is also interesting that this edition includes the passages related to the situation of those left behind, mainly wives and kids. These provide additional insights into the lives of the prisoners, helping us understand their motivations and behavior better.

In summary, this can only be defined as an excellent read. Although it has some scenes that may be hard on some readers for their brutality, I believe that the great majority of people will love it.

Fantastic, 25 Jan 2001
Set in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in WWII, King Rat is a brilliant and gripping story that follows the lives and deaths of the men trapped behind the wire, held by brutal guards and slowly starving. Friendships and hatreds bloom, and we come to really care about the fate of the characters. King Rat shows the way that people survive extreme hardships: some by pulling together and helping each other, some by acting purely out of selfishness. Plus, how people try to impose their own order and maintain their own power in a place where they are helpless. A very incisive look at the human condition that is relevant everywhere: you'll recognise your work colleagues amongst the inmates.

an engrossing documentary,-not entertaining blockbuster, 09 Oct 2000
James Clavells' books have a strange tendancy of being read by people - by accident. how many people have read shogun by the 'loft lottery'? - probably enough, this book, however would probably not interest the random reader quite as instantly as his other books. the characters are well described and are fully capable of sustaining the reader's empathy and revulsion, both at the locale and its degenerative effect on the men's mentalities. the story is well paced, although the narrative does tend to revolve around a slightly limited amount of problems. it has neither the twisting plots nor the grandiose locations of his other novels, but considering the dark nature of this book,and its length, its claustrophic sense is one that keeps pages flowing but not with the ease and enthusiasm of his other works.

Relevance 2, 08 Oct 2008
The map contained within the inner-cover pages of the hardback edition portrays the 'hottest' geo-political region on the planet today.

Iran is in the centre, bordered by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Iraq and Syria to the west, the old USSR to the north. The only significant country missing from this equation is Israel.

At the bottom is the Persian Gulf with the Strait of Hormuz channeling into the Gulf of Oman.

If there is going to be a 'whirlwind', a potential flashpoint for a terrible new war (or even World War III), it could very well be right within the latitude and longitude of this map's co-ordinates.

The actual book itself is a superior - though slightly old-fashioned - adventure thriller. Lots of characters; linking sub-plots; suspense and tension cranking up like an epic disaster movie. But - as the previous reviewer indicated - the reader gets a long and detailed lesson regarding the history of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran. The machinations of the CIA and the KGB. The horrors that the Shah and his evil secret police visited upon this nation, with overt Western backing. And the emergent fresh horrors visited by the next set of secret police...

'Whirlwind' is a primer, an introduction, to the present timebomb ticking away day after day. Clavell shows the humanity and sacrifice of the ordinary Iranians, men and women, who were desperately trying to survive through the terrifying crises happening all around them during the Revolution. And one feels for their modern day counterparts facing a new and just as frightening set of circumstances/possibilities.

Relevance, 09 Aug 2005
Given the current discord in the world about the Muslim faith, read this book to gain an insight into why the middle east is as it is and why it reacts as it does to 'infidels'.

Perfection in literature., 19 Oct 2004
This final part of Clavell's "Asian Saga" is also undoubtedly his best. Clavell takes us on a moving, thrilling and deeply absorbing ride throug the life of commercial helicopter pilots surviving the vicious and bloody revolution by religious fanatics as Khomeni returns to rule in Iran. From beginning to end this isa writer at the very height of his talent and it shows in every word.

Don't be put off by the 1200-plus page count or the cast of over a hundred characters. There's no denying the book can be hard work with this much information and this many protagonists, but it's so much more rewarding than almost every other book you could find on this site once you get going.

Reminiscant of Ernest Hemmingway and Graham Greene, with emotions and lives torn to pieces in times of conflict, you will not so much read a story as live another life through the pages of this exceptional novel. Add it to your shopping cart this instant.

Almost as good as Shogun, 17 Nov 2003
His only novel not playing the far east. This tells the story of a small helicopter outfit, supplying the iranian oil rigs with everything needed. The company belongs to Struan's Noble House, too, the boss is Andrew Gavallan, Ian Dunross' nephew. It depicts the events just before and during the revolution, toppling the Shah, and about all the trouble that came for S-G Helicopters due to the fightings between the different iranian factions (muslim fanatics, soviet-led communist rebels and local tribes) and between all of them and any non-iranian person. There's romance, too, thanks to two threads, one about a finnish pilot of S-G Helicopters and his iranian wife, trying to escape via Turkey, and the other one with another pilot who has also an iranian wife. This is also a very good book by Clavell, full of action, adventure, suspense, romance and exotic places and people.

Non-stop Excitement, 05 May 2001
I have read all of James Clavells books, and this one is excellent. One of his best.

Makes you think of life differently, 19 Mar 2007
I am severnteen years and borrowed this book off my grandad and shows how this book can encapture any age group. This book is about the hardships of the years (century to be precise) of the British Empire. It reflects the brilliance of the family bickerings that can occur between the father and son. The book uses all kinds of twists and cliffhangers and tragedy. James Clavell uses the meaning of tragedy to its full and shows how life is random and has no kind of conscience for who should live or die. He shows how frail life is and how easy it can pass onto another generation. Even though what i describe sounds sad and depressing James Clavell shows it in such a kind and positive light, but that doesnt mean it is all flowers and sunshine it is a very deep book that once you start will saturate the way you think of your own life and life in general.
In many ways James Clavell gives you hope as to that everytime a good man is lost or dies another WILL take his place. He shows the similarity of father and son or how the son will inevitably turn into his father, for which in this book is good.

This book is a most brilliant book and should not be read by the light hearted and so dont read this book without preparing yourself to the fact that it will make you feel changed in someway.

Overall it will make you want more of the book and others like it so if you wish to read this one you should probebly get the other two, called Gai-jin and Noble house as these will definitely quench your thirst for more.

Goodbye real world. , 06 Sep 2006
James Clavell creates the most complex mass of characters and story lines I have ever come across. The real art is in weaving it together seamlessly, so as to make an easy read. The story soon pulls you deep in and Clavells` descriptive writing builds beautiful landscapes and scenes. Expect a twisting, turning and desceptive ride, cruising to a terriffic climax. If you enjoy this book, try "Shogun" and say goodbye to the real world......

The Anglo-Sino relationship of an older school, 02 Sep 2006
When I visited Hong Kong I was so impressed by the fountain of wealth that the city represents and having seen the film of this book made in 1986 - I wanted to read the book. I've not finished, but, as someone looking into Hong Kong and Chinese culture, I find the book absorbing, gripping and can related to its hero, Struan. I don't think there are many real Struans out there and in this sense this book is hyperbolic fiction.

Having said this it is fiction based on fact and represents a fairy story of the birth of Hong Kong including its place names and heritage.

I find remarks on Chinese culture especially useful and topical even in a modern contex