This was a long one. I liked it, but sometimes the characters seemed a bit... one dimensional? The Japanese were uniformly horrified by the Western ways of the main character, but in my experience there are always people who are fascinated and accepting of alien cultures. But this was hundreds of years ago, so what do I know? This is an action-intrigue-romance-cultural exchange blockbuster that finishes a bit abruptly. If you like ritual suicide, this one's for you. (Don't worry: it doesn't finish with ritual suicide. But it happens. A lot.) ( )

Also a well done movie, but if you saw that first do NOT let it stop you from reading the book. It's fantastic. I don't know anything about the Japanese culture, but I hope he didn't get much wrong, because he makes me feel like I do. The in depth look at the culture & times is very well done. There is plenty of action, romance & suspense. ( )

A kaleidoscope of Japan at the time of the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. True, the names have been changed to allow Clavell to exercise artistic licence, but the historical personages are easily recognised.

Also true is the fact that the intimate relationship between Blackthorne and the Lady Mariko would not have happened like that. So it goes.

When this novel was new, many science fiction fans of my acquaintance devoured it eagerly, saying "This is a science fiction novel!" When I asked what they were talking about, they said "It's about a man coming to terms with an alien civilization", and that is true. Japanese society and culture works on completely different rules to Western society, and that has been the cause of so much pain and suffering during the 20th century. Clavell wrote this book from a position of knowledge; he had experience of the Japanese as a PoW in the Second World War, but he then went further and did his research to uncover the reasons behind what he saw. This book, and others like it, play an important part in increasing our understanding of this alien culture, no matter how much they have spin and fancies added for the entertainment of Western audiences. ( )

To read Shogun is to be immersed in the savagely beautiful, tragically noble world of feudal Japan. ( )

This book was kind of hard to get in to but it was interesting enough that I really wanted to know how it ended. I was in a good portion till I was really sucked in. I loved the plotting and the mind games going on. It was really exciting to see it all play out in the end. I loved the details about the culture I really felt like I was getting a fascinating history lesson as well. I only am annoyed that I cant really know what was more Fact and what was more Fiction in the details about the culture.