I love your 'It is quite long' 😂. I do need to get back to reading some Clavell. I didn't realise that the books were so linked, other people normally forget to mention that.
I'm back! (I finished last night). Here was my full review on Goodreads: A good book set in an interesting time and place, but honestly a disappointment when comparing it to Shogun and Tai-Pan. I enjoyed the overall story, which felt like an offspring of those two earlier books, with this being a generation removed from Tai-Pan and those characters, while also showing an abundance of Easter Eggs from Shogun for those of us that know that work. The story itself was compelling, but the problem was in the execution. This story lacked a compelling protagonist, and although a central protagonist is not necessary for all books to be successful, it may have helped this one. There were a few of the more main characters that were interesting and complex, but many were the opposite, and some were downright 2-dimensional and honestly interchangeable with one another. This felt extremely bloated for what it was, and at almost 1100-pages, provided very little closure at the end, as Clavell had planned a sequel. This book could have benefited from a strong editor to slash 40% of its bulk.
Got to love a bit of James Clavell. Loved Shogun, King Rat, Tain-Pan and Noble House. Best wishes.
He is excellent 👌. Thanks mate.
I love your 'It is quite long' 😂. I do need to get back to reading some Clavell. I didn't realise that the books were so linked, other people normally forget to mention that.
It’s important people know what they’re getting themselves into 😆.
Nice review, AL! 🤩
Thank you Kat ☺️
Commenting quickly for the algorithm but won’t watch until I finish it! I have about 200 pages to go.
Cheers Josh I appreciate that 🙏.
I'm back! (I finished last night). Here was my full review on Goodreads: A good book set in an interesting time and place, but honestly a disappointment when comparing it to Shogun and Tai-Pan. I enjoyed the overall story, which felt like an offspring of those two earlier books, with this being a generation removed from Tai-Pan and those characters, while also showing an abundance of Easter Eggs from Shogun for those of us that know that work. The story itself was compelling, but the problem was in the execution. This story lacked a compelling protagonist, and although a central protagonist is not necessary for all books to be successful, it may have helped this one. There were a few of the more main characters that were interesting and complex, but many were the opposite, and some were downright 2-dimensional and honestly interchangeable with one another. This felt extremely bloated for what it was, and at almost 1100-pages, provided very little closure at the end, as Clavell had planned a sequel. This book could have benefited from a strong editor to slash 40% of its bulk.
Completely agree with most of this including how things go down with the ‘protagonist’.
I would like to read Shogun eventually. Maybe in the next 5 years 😂
I think you’d enjoy it but it is a real time commitment