Shōgun, Part One

The Asian Saga, Book 1.1

By: James Clavell

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 24 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

By the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell’s Shogun is soon to be a major FX/Hulu TV series!

Shogun, the classic epic novel of feudal Japan that captured the heart of a culture and the imagination of the world, is now available for the first time in serial format. Part One contains the first half of the complete novel.

After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen—Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne’s loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.

Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, Shogun is a critically acclaimed powerhouse of a book. Heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat action melds seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the best-selling novels of all time but one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, Shogun is, as the New York Times put it, ‘'not only something you read—you live it.’‘

Also available: Shogun: Part Two

©1975 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Publishing

Fantastic

I’ve read some complaints about the amount of seppoku in this book, there is a lot of it…. A lot. But if you give this book the chance it deserves you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve seen the show, this is almost a completely different story. It’s deep and rich. Completely engrossing.

Great Narrator

The story was greatly enhanced by the narrator. The history of Japan is very fascinating

Descriptions were fantastic

The story suffered from a couple of things first being the sense of time passing or lack thereof. Secondly would be it was sometimes difficult to tell who was talking especially when characters went into internal monologue. Over all a very good book.

Good, long, dense, slow

Overall - not bad story of two alien races unable to communicate with other, and nominal western understanding of Japanese culture. Reader constantly pronounced samurai as “sam-yoo-rye”, which I found inordinately distracting.

Weird editing is distracting

Enjoying the story, love the narrator, very annoyed by the bad editing, some words clipped, and a weird fade out on some sentences which sounds like I’m about to get a phone call (iPhone fades audio in a similar way for calls). I’m getting used to it, but I’ve never even noticed audio editing before and on this book it really distracted and annoyed me for the first few days I listened. If you’re sensitive to quirks like this, listen to a sample first.

Good storytelling

Really enjoyed this book, it was a pleasure to listen to. I would recommend it.

Narration is excellent, plus, a must-have for more series background

Always a treat when a narrator can perform so many characters so well. Some reviewers say he’s over-the-top - I can see that, and at times I had to I lower the volume when Blackthorn and Yabushige become bellicose, which is often. But Ralph Lister is now a fav. On par with narrators of Cutting for Stone or The Power of One.

Love a great read before watching the series

Totally in love with the Japanese ways , especially the women and how humble but smart they are. I’m excited to hear the next book and begin the series. I have seen the Samurai movie with Tom Cruise and it’s very similar to the book.

excellent

fascinating story of ancient Japan. Shogun is well researched and exciting. highly recommend, especially for anyone visiting Japan. a classic.

Mesmerized, great book

Decided to listen to the books before watching the series, so glad that I did what a mesmerizing book!!