Nice romanticized view of Japan (Americanized)

First of all I wanted to start by applauding research that went into the book. The customs, costume descripitons and cultural differences are really nicely summarized. Is it realistic? Surprise, surprise none of modern descriptions of feudal Japan are. The view we have of samurais is an effect of Meiji restoration and our current view on Bushido and Samurai caste is based on Japan's own reflections.

When it comes to writing itself it leaves something to be desired. The book is mainly he said, she said, he thought. It's sometimes hard to follow on who's POV the writer takes. It's not amazing, but it's fine. American writers rarely are great when it comes to craft of this kind. It reads a little bit like a script for a movie or tv show.

The story itself draws on reality and makes some changes, but nothing major (at least until the end of book 1)

Performance of James Clavell is exceptional and I highly respect the Japanese reading.

Overall while there are some bad aspects the book gets my respect for taking very difficult subject and popularizing it for modern audience.

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Watch the 2024 series in stead

There are a few things that grate both in the performance as well as the story. For some reason, the audio volume of the last word in a large number of sentences is really low, to the point of being inaudible. Furthermore, while the narrator is great, he doesn't speak japanese. The book is littered with japanese words and sentences, and he can only muster some phonetic interpretation. While this really puts us in the shoes of the anjin, it's also quite annoying.
On the side of the story, it's clear that it is written in the 70's by an american. While the historic events the book is based on are utterly fascinating, the worldbuilding and characters as written by mr Clavell feel like dated pastiches.
Listening to this book just makes me appreciate the work the people put into the tv series even more.

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Let down by the narrator

As other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator tends to fizzle out, making the last few words of many sentences almost inaudible. For me this is a deal-breaker as my audiobook consumption is entirely in my car, to while away long drives. I gave up eight hours into the first volume, and won't bother with the rest of it, or the second volume.

I know the story is good and the research and setting is excellent. But I cannot recommend this title to anyone who plans to listen in the car.

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not as good as the (80s) show

a friend first introduced me to the original TV show and somehow I thought the book it was based on would be good too. its kinda meh, characters are quite unbelievable. I find it hard to believe one of a group of Samurai would jump head first to his death off a cliff, just in order to gain the attention of their master down below..

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What a bitter disappointment

SPOILERS: The whole novel, more than 50 hours of listening is leading to the climatic battle of Sekigahara between Ishido and Toranaga. 50 hours of sacrifice, suffering, death and love, all described in beautiful and luxurious languid detail. A concentration on the most minute parts of Japanese life, brought to life in our minds by the author's loving depictions. 50 hours of every detail of the planning, the lies, the deceit and the double crosses. 50 hours well spent, Except the apogee of the novel's arc is rendered into a 1 minute and 47 second afterward. After all those hours of listening, the satisfying ending you're looking for is snatched away, and you're left with basically nothing.

If I had my time again, I would not listen to this book. The narration was superb, but the ending just seemed the most anti climatic cheat I could ever have imagined.

Do not listen to this, watch the FX series instead. You get all the high points, without the feeling you just wasted two whole days!

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Very good!

Really interesting story and a good performance from the narrator. Unfortunately though, the audio quality has been compromised. It is as if the end of each sentence has been abruptly cut. One can still understand the entirety of the sentence but, given that audio is a big part of this medium, the end result leaves a sour aftertaste.

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