Clavell, James Asian Saga. #bk. 1.20

Read by Ralph Lister

FX/Hulu's Shōgun won nineteen Emmys, four Golden Globes, and four Critics Choice Awards. The most talked about and awarded series on television. Read the book that started it all! By #1 New York Times bestselling author James Clavell, Shōgun, the classic epic novel of feudal Japan that captured the heart of a culture and the imagination of the world, is now available for the first time in serial format. Part Two contains the second half of the complete novel. After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen: Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne's loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed. Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, Shōgun is a critically acclaimed powerhouse of a book. Heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat action melds seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the best-selling novels of all time but one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, Shōgun is, as the New York Times put it, "not only something you read-you live it." Also available: Shōgun: Part One Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Part 4: Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Part 5: Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Part 6: Chapter 60 Chapter 61 "I can't remember when a novel has seized my mind like this one. Perhaps it was the author's Hong Kong novel Tai-Pan…James Clavell breathes narrative. It's almost impossible not to continue to read Shōgun once having opened it. Yet it's not only something that you read-you live it…People, customs, settings, needs, and desires all become so enveloping you forget who and where you are…It's irresistible." "Adventure and action, the suspense of danger, shocking, touching human relationships…A climactic human story." "An utterly engrossing classic that still thrills to this day. James Clavell's Shōgun draws you in and never lets you go. This epic story epitomizes the will to battle fiercely despite impossible odds. A riveting must-read." "An epic novel that cuts bloodred deep into the beating heart of the timeless quest for power. Clavell's work is rightly positioned among the must-read historical fiction classics." "A colossal work in every way…A huge panorama…but you won't want it shorter by one sentence."

Mode of access: World Wide Web