Shōgun

3.5/5

Shogun is one of the most frustrating books I have ever read. It starts off with a interesting scenario and introduces us to the honorable yet deceitful world of japan in the 17 century.

John blackthorne is stuck in japan after a vicious storm and has to scrap by to survive, learn japenese and get back to england. The first part of the book was amazing. Despite being 500 pages long, every page adds vast complexity to the story, to blackhorne and japenese culture as a whole. Blackthorne's ignorance and eventual acceptance was great to read

Then began blackthorne's involvement in the region and his collaboration with toranaga and the possibility of the great war. The second part was lengthy and not a lot interesting. There were some memorable moments in between such as blackthorne's seppuku but overall the book seemed to come to a halt. Very little here mattered in the grand scheme of things.

Now shit gets real. Blackthorne and mariko go to osaka to free hostages. Everything leading to the great war as planned by toranaga. This is my favourite part of the book and probably any entertainment I have consumed recently. The fights, sacrifices, deceits and unbreakable ambitions were all incredibly well written. Mariko's stand and sacrifice was my favourite part of the whole book. We also got to delve deep into toranaga's mind and learn how he became this miraculous figurehead; through patience and karma

No that we have all the ingredients for the great war clavell had hyped up for 1100 pages, the book just ends with half a page conclusion of the entire war and the outcomes. I was hit with one of the most disappointing and underwhelming ending I have ever read. Its ironic how clavell, who meticulously developed each character no matter how small their role and made each storyline so detailed no matter how it turns the pace, ended the book in such a rush. It was likely intentional and meant to signify something but it just left a bad taste in my mouth