Mike's Reviews > Shōgun

This book struck me as the love child of Game of Thrones and Under Heaven which is tricky since this book was written in the 1970's (I imagine time travel was involved). This book had the political maneuvering and fight scenes reminiscent of Game of Thrones and the wide ranging narrative and historical context of Under Heaven. In this case early 17th century Japan (the Sengoku Period), a time of great uncertainty and flux. It is in this heady brew of intrigue and power politics that the story unfolds.

This book is populated by a wide range of characters, from John Blackthorne, an English (ship) pilot marooned in Japan who is based on a historical figure William Adams (that Wikipedia article will spoil the conclusion of the book for you, FYI), Toranaga, a Japanese Daimyo engaged in a sort of Cold War with other Regents, Mariko, a wife of one of Toranaga's vassals and fluent in several European languages, Jesuits, samurai (friendly and otherwise), consorts, and Portuguese traders to name but a few. While one of the main characters is the stereotypical white, strapping, male protagonist this story by no means revolves around him. In fact he is more often the pawn of others than a force of nature out-nativing the natives. Each of the characters have their own motivations and goals that at times align with other characters' goals and at other times conflicts with them. My favorite parts were where the characters were scheming and trying to politically maneuver others to gain an advantage.

Clavell does a great job making the reader understand the political dynamics of a damn complicated situation. And not just the current conditions, but the history that led the characters to where they are. Clavell is able to impart this knowledge in a natural and smooth manner, never resulting to unwieldy info dumps that take the reader out of the flow of the story. We learn about the world both as Blackthorne does and in conversations between other characters.

I think the strongest aspect of this book was the characters. All of them were very vividly realized and you got a very strong understanding of what their motivations were, why they acted the way they did, and what drove their decisions. They were all fully formed individuals with virtues and vices that suited their personal histories. At no point did I feel Clavell made a character do something that was not informed by that character's nature. The story was advanced in line with character developments and choices, not simply because it had to advance. And it wasn't a male dominated cast by any means. The female characters were just as important and competent as the men (if not more so in some cases). In fact I would put Mariko on my list of top line badass characters for all she accomplishes and does in this book.

Now I cannot speak to the accuracy of the Japan Clavell created. It was sort of a slight skewing of historical events in a manner similar to Under Heaven. Names and places were changed a bit as were some relationships between historically inspired characters, but I don't think this detracted from the story one bit. I approached it as a work of pure fiction and accepted the world Clavell laid down without worrying about how authentic his portrayal of Samurai or ninjas or Japanese society was. This book isn't meant to be a history book, but a historical fiction with liberties taken to make the story enjoyable and engaging.

I will say the first hundred pages were a bit slow, but there was some necessary world and character building in them that set the stage for the rest of the story to build on. I found the story itself highly engrossing with all manner of twists and turns coming up and complicated mix of alliances and shared interests shifting over the course of the book. It mixed wonderfully with the characters with both reinforcing the best aspects of the other. The story had everything: humor, tragedy, romance, adventure, and intriguing all woven together with a deft pen.

Simply put this was an engrossing (if long) book that explored some fascinating characters and real world circumstances they found themselves in. No character is safe from death and often the best laid plans go awry (only to be replaced with more best laid plans that, well, also go awry). If you enjoy historical fictions or political thrillers this could be right up your alley.