I just ordered Shogun from Amazon. I read it 30 years ago and loved it. In fact it has remained one of my favorite books. I wanted to read it again so, It’ll be here tomorrow. 
I’ve never given much thought to Tai-Pan or Noble House though. Anyone read either of those and care to comment?
Thanks.
I read all three about a decade ago, both enjoyable pulpy novels.
It’s been a very long time since I read them, but I remember Shogun being the best book, Tai-Pan (a sequel occupying the same universe) a close second.
Noble House continues the saga but was bloated and less effective. Not sure it was worth slogging through it.
I adored Shogun. And the TV movie with Richard Chamberlain was quite good.
I, too, read them about 30 yrs ago. I read Tai-Pan first, then Shogun, then Noble House, and then started the one set in the middle east (I forget the title – was it Whirlwind?).
I really enjoyed Tai-Pan; it zipped along nicely and I liked the intrigue. Shogun was slower to me, but the cultural notes were an enjoyable learning experience. Noble House, as noted above, was a slog. The character interactions seemed a bit forced. The one I put down was Noble House in a different setting. Same stiff interactions; same political machinations; same everything save the setting.
I like the chapter where the main character tricks the moneylender by paying him back more than he is owed and the moneylender starting giving the protagonist compound interest.
Many years ago, but I recall enjoying it.
I read Tai-Pan and Noble House in the late 80s and enjoyed them (I bounced off of Shogun, but I may have been too young for it when I tried to read it).
Looking back at my records, it looks like I read Tai-Pan and Noble House in the early 80s - I read “Whirlwind” in the late 80s (since it came out in 86)
Slightly off-topic, but King Rat, set in a Japanese POW camp during WWII, is an engrossing read.
I remember that ! But you have to enable The Moneylender Bug before starting a game.
And characters from King Rat turn up in “Noble House”
yes…I have read all of Clavell’s body of works. He is/was a quite engaging author of historical fiction.
Tai-Pan, Shogun, King Rat, Noble House and his last, Whirlwind were ALL connected and great reads in my opinion.
It’s a good film too.
Oh yes, I loved the miniseries of Shogun. I remember reading that when the casting for the Japanese actors was going on, there was no question as to who would play Toranaga. It was Toshiro Mifune all the way, kind of like nobody but Clark Gable would have played Rhett Butler. And I recognized the actor who played Ishido, having seen him in his early career playing a reporter in the first Mothra movie.
I also liked how they didn’t have english subtitles when the Japanese characters spoke. It made the viewer identify with the crew of the Erasmus.
Shogun is my favourite novel ever.
Tai Pan, meh. Wonderful final line, though.
Yes, Whirlwind is set in Iran.
The 1980 TV miniseries of Shogun was also pretty good. James Clavell was the executive producer of the series.
I remember the huge impact the series had when it was first broadcast. It’s still very watchable today.
The interesting thing was that the Japanese wasn’t translated, so the viewers were in the same position as the main character when he first landed, not understanding the language.
TaiPan is excellent, better than Shogun IMO. Its also interesting that the English characters tend to be the villains, an interesting twist in the very English world of Hong Kong. Noble House is a sequel set a hundred years in the future with characters from all of Clavells novels.