James Clavell

Charles L. Grant

Whirlwind

This is James Clavell's tour-de-force; an epic saga of one Pilot-Major John Blackthorne, and his integration into the struggles and strife of feudal Japan. Both entertaining and incisive, SHOGUN is a stunningly dramatic re-creation of a very different world. Starting with his shipwreck on this most alien of shores, the novel charts Blackthorne's rise from the status of reviled foreigner up to the heights of trusted advisor and eventually, Samurai. All as civil war looms over the fragile country.

Shōgun

Un hermoso acercamiento a la cultura japonesa 

Jazmín Mejía

james clavell really enjoyed writing about cock rings eh?

ben wolfson

james clavell really enjoyed writing about cock rings eh?

tv show better

SOON TO BE AN FX LIMITED SERIES • A bold English adventurer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life. All brought together in an extraordinary saga aflame with passion, conflict, ambition, and the struggle for power. Here is the world-famous novel of Japan that is the earliest book in James Clavell’s masterly Asian saga. Set in the year 1600, it tells the story of a bold English pilot whose ship was blown ashore in Japan, where he encountered two people who were to change his life: a warlord with his own quest for power, and a beautiful interpreter torn between two ways of life and two ways of love. The principal figures are John Blackthorne, whose dream it is to be the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, to wrest control of the trade between Japan and China from Portuguese, and to return home a man of wealth and position; Toranaga, the most powerful feudal lord in Japan, who strives and schemes to seize ultimate power by becoming Shogun—the Supreme Military Dictator—and to unite the warring samurai fiefdoms under his own masterly and farsighted leadership; and the Lady Mariko, a Catholic convert whose conflicting loyalties to the Church and her country are compounded when she falls in love with Blackthorne, the barbarian intruder. In dramatizing how a Westerner, the representative man of his time, comes to be altered by his exposure to an alien culture, Mr. Clavell provides a spellbinding depiction of a nation seething with violence and intrigue as it moves from the medieval world to the modern. Praise for Shogun “I can’t remember when a novel has seized my mind like this one. . . . It’s not only something you read—you live it.”—New York Times Book Review “Adventure and action, the suspense of danger, shocking touching human relationships . . . a climactic human story.”—Los Angeles Times “A tale surging with action, intrigue and love . . . a huge cast . . . vast and dramatic . . . stunning . . . savage . . . beautiful . . . an extraordinary performance.”—Publishers Weekly “Exciting, totally absorbing...be prepared for late nights, meals unlasting, buisness unattended.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

Shogun

Exactly as described: “The Epic Novel of Japan,” however pretentious that may sound. Pushed along by a huge cast of well-developed characters and lots of different perspectives, each with their own intricate plots and schemes all expertly interwoven. Can drag on a bit just by its sheer size, and suffers a bit from its depiction of “great man history,” but all in all this is about as good as historical fiction gets.

Finn Marceau

Anthony

** spoiler alert **
           This book was exceptional. I've always been a fan of feudal Japan (and samurai, ninjas, etc) but this book shed some interesting light that I was unaware of. Some of it may be falsified, but perhaps not. I still loved every moment I spent reading the words on the pages.

It was a shame what happened to Mariko-san. I thought it fascinating how far ahead the Japanese were able to plan, and the tricks and treacheries they planned. 

There were a lot of characters to remember, and a lot of complex political things going on, but I didn't find it troublesome to follow along.

I truly wish I could have experienced the world at a time like this.

This is James Clavell's tour-de-force; an epic saga of one Pilot-Major John Blackthorne, and his integration into the struggles and strife of feudal Japan. Both entertaining and incisive, Shugun is a stunningly dramatic re-creation of a very different world. Starting with his shipwreck on this most alien of shores, the novel charts Blackthorne's rise from the status of reviled foreigner up to the hights of trusted advisor and eventually, Samurai. All as civil war looms over the fragile country.

Dana Paduraru

clearly one of the best books ever/
i really enjoyed it/
makes you feel a whole bunch of different feelings/
i cried/
the end was really nice/
also now i know some Japanese words yay

una novela del Japón

Dweedle 

Took me forever to read as its long and dense, but totally worth it. Everything here is top class - the plot, the writing on feudal Japan, and one of my all time fav characters, Mariko, who will forever have my heart for being so kick ass. The novel is complex but an excellent look into Japan’s past, despite being fiction.

Scribbler Johnny

If you like Shogun, read Lord of the Golden Fan. It's Shogun but shorter and better. I'm dead serious. 

Shogun is so rambling and long that while the story itself is interesting, the narrative is difficult to endure.

Melody Izard

So sorry I didn't like this well enough to give it more than a 3 star rating. I will not offer to commit seppuku though.

Full of cliches and very polite arguing (that usually ends up with someone getting their head chopped off). There's not much food though. Some pickled vegetables and raw fish. An occasions pheasant gets to rot and stink up the town. I couldn't keep up with who was the top guy. There was lots of talk of pillowing, a little love, some dancing and singing, and one very lucky duck.

The Epic Novel of Japan

Roberta Bohotici

A book that inspires, that changes values. Shows a different take on handling conflicts, war tactics, deception, dignity and respect. 
It depicts Bushido through a westerner's eyes, bringing it closer to the outsider, the non Japanese. 

Les Reynolds

Fascinating book, but did get a bit long towards the end. He managed to create a beautiful picture of ancient Japan, and the action and political intrigue was very gripping.

Malcolm Struan, the heir to the most powerful English trading company in the Orient, finds his fate intertwined with that of a beautiful young French woman

Whirlwind

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