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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   4055 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 14, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Shogun is one of my all time favorite novels. My mother and I are extremely excited for the new miniseries. I think it is a layered novel, with a lot going on. I keep meaning to read King Rat, but I've also read Whirlwind (About the Iranian revolution) and Tai-Pan...honestly they both left me very flat, by comparison to Shogun.

A lot of Shogun's plot is autobiographical, Clavell was a POW in Singapore under the Japanese occupation. His experiences inform Blackthorn's narrative.

Oh nice, I didn't know about the new miniseries. I'll add it to the download queue.

I'm content to take a punt on Tai-Pan next seeing as it's the next chronological installment, hopefully it's okay even if it doesn't measure up to Shogun.

Tai-Pan wasn't terrible. Just meandered a lot more, compared to Shogun nothing really happens.

Tai-Pan is also imo quite inferior compared to its "sequel", Noble House

Having read all but Whirlwind - it’s all pretty good at least, though the posthumously published Gaijin suffers from awful proofreading.

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