Due to the bargain struck between Dirk Struan and Jin Qua, Gordon Chen managed Jin Qua's financial interests in Hong Kong, investing in land and money lending. g. “spiritually“), opened his eyes, and certainly not to the degree of Blackthorne’s love affair with Japan. Despite this, I can't help but feel quite disappointed, especially considering Shogun is one of my favorite books of all time. Set in 1840s China (Canton), Macao and most importantly, the brand-new English colony of Hong Kong (which Dirk negotiated away from the Emperor through the oh-so-pliable governor), the story is set around Dirk Stuan, a larger than life English “China trader” pitted against Brock, his dark and brutish arch enemy, in a nonstop race to be the best, make the most and outsmart all the rest as tai-pans of The Noble House and the Second Noble House. He brings to light the manipulations that occur behind locked doors over a glass or two of good port or brandy with results that benefit the few over the many.

The true love between the two, despite the different world views and cultural differences and despite the fact that Maymay would never be accepted in European society is quite beautiful. Struan sees all the capitalist and military advantages of this once-in -a-lifetime deal, and sets up the trading colony of Honkers like his own little opium-dealing empire. Pretty much everything is here, giving this the flavour of a historical saga of old with a distinctly masculine edge (Clavell doesn't shy away from depicting violence or perversity).This was a very well plotted book that rarely sagged, and took a story about an era and event that frankly I'm not really that interested in reading about highly enjoyable. Enter James Clavell, from beyond the grave, holding a copy of his 1966 tome, wordlessly gesturing that I should get that into me.

He adapts Chinese ways more readily than others, bridging the gap between Britannia’s steel fist and the effective habits of the people who actually live where the novel is set and putting him ahead of the pack.We are never really given an approximation as to how long she had been with Struan, but it seems to be a significant time. But it doesn’t get more, because it doesn’t significantly deliver on its promise on the cover to be part of an ASIAN SAGA; one in which two cultures encounter one another, and the political and cultural consequences that follow. The seemingly dozens of characters are well developed and fit together perfectly into an epic tale about one man’s indomitable positive attitude, even in the face of impossibly long odds. Some examples include a malaria outbreak in Hong Kong, a Chinese attack on some of the traders' factories, someone close to the Tai-pan falling ill and an attempt on the Taipan's heir's life.