![]() ![]() Basically, anyone could happily (or not) die at any time and there were many shocking twists.įor context regarding the name of the book, Shogun was the highest title given to a ‘mortal’ in Japan. This was primarily due to the predominant religious beliefs in Japan involving reincarnation and/or the emergence of Christianity with its own promises regarding the afterlife. The result was that the reader learned how little the culture of the time thought of killing. In “Shogun,” as soon as the main character arrived in Japan, he witnessed a shocking beheading. Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice.” While “Shogun” didn’t have any supernatural elements in its story, the two works were similar given the focus of both on political power plays and maneuverings amongst a ruling class.Īlso similar was the unpredictability of both works. Back then, it probably would have taken me a full year of periodic reading to finish the book.Īs a faster adult reader, I went back to the novel and found myself frequently comparing “Shogun” to George R.R. ![]() Unfortunately, I only made it through 100 pages or so before realizing that my reading pace was much too slow. More than two decades ago in junior high, I was entranced by this book’s stark samurai sword cover. My fiction reading for much of this past summer was James Clavell’s 1975 monster of a novel “Shogun.” Clocking in at 428,000 words, this beast of a book was roughly the size of all three “Lord of the Rings” novels combined. (A word of warning that this article gets deep into the plot particulars of “Shogun” and includes spoilers) ![]()
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