I'm reading James Clavell's Shogun for the historical novelists reference book I've been working on. It's been over 20 years ago since I first read it and it seems I don't remember anything of it. The book seems better than I really expected, but it's also too long. I'm hoping all the time they'd start with fights and battles and all that. It occurred to me that there must've been some Shogun rip-offs that would be shorter than 1,000+ pages. Any suggestions? Do Robert Shea's books count?
Well, not so much ripoff I'm guessing, but Eric van Lustbader did similarly Japanophilic work. At somewhat shorter length. Why exactly are you reading fiction for historical research? Arthur Golden, btw, should be avoided for all kinds of reasons.
ReplyDeleteOh...historical fiction writers reference, eh?
ReplyDeleteI have couple on my shelves (surprise?). You mention Shea, whose Shike to me was always a helluva lot more fun than Shogun, but as I haven't read neither since adolescence, I cannot be certain. If you happen to bumb into Shike, feel free to pick them up for a decent price for me.
ReplyDeleteDavid Charney's Sensei (I&II) are clearly inspired by Shogun, and possibly even Shike and Ninja by Lustbader.
And then there's Thomas Hoover's The Moghul, which is pretty much Shogun-all-over-again (cover says "In the bestselling tradition of Shogun"), but this time in India.
Word up: surpicaDelicious nut, often used in surprise pies, hence 'surpican pie'.
Had to write another one, since this time I got: mings!
ReplyDeleteA bit jazzy evil-doer, like Baron Mings of the planet Mungo Jerry
Todd: I'm sorry if I was vague. I meant that I'm reading Shogun because I'm writing about Clavell for a reference book on historical novelists. [Is 'writers' a wrong word here?]
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, Jukkahoo, I actually have Shea's SHIKE. (Not on my shelves, but somewhere in a box on the floor.)
No, "writers" and "novelists" are both appropriate words, I respond earnestly (if you're making a joke of some sort, never mind).
ReplyDelete