Has anybody else read these books by James Clavell? A little over a decade ago, a friend recommended I read Shogun, saying that it was the japanese equivalent to Gone with the Wind. If you haven't read the book, it basically chronicles the involvement of an English pilot in the intrigues that lead to the Toranaga shogunate. As a westerner, Clavell cleverly uses the pilot's culture shock to explain to us why the Japanese characters behave in a way that might be seemingly odd.
Tai-pan, a novel about the founding of Hong Kong, delivers this mechanic by contrasting the protagonist's understanding of Chinese society with the relative ignorance of his European peers. Both books are excellent.
Anyways, I was wondering if there are any other fans of these books and am especially interested in what others think of the later books in the series.
I've only read the first 3 of the series (Shogun, Taipan, and Gaijin), so I can't comment on Clavell's later additions. But if you've yet to read Gaijin, I would recommend doing so. It restores the feel of Shogun.
Gaijin just felt like the Shogun edition of Taipan. In addition, it just seemed like so much less ever really happened despite being as long as it is. Pretty turned off from the rest of the series at this point.
The movie of King Rat was also excellent, as was the ten hour ShÅgun miniseries.