Reviews

What a book! Absolutely massive and a lot packed in, lots of uncertain allies, political intrigue, ladies of the floating world, rape, and the meeting of cultures.

This sequel feels very much a mixture of Shogun and Taipan but not as good as both of those, falls a little bit short for me. I did enjoy it but I felt it was lacking, it didn't grab me like Shogun or Taipan, there weren't any characters to love like Dirk Struan or Blackthorn.

Its nice to read it for the completeness of the series sake, but I'm curious to see how this book is mentioned in the future chronological books. A few loose ends that I would be interested to see develop.

the_pale_woman's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

2.5

This was simply not on the same level as Shogun or Tai Pan. My favorite aspects of this book were the references and comparisons to characters from those previous books. That is not the best look. However, there is something about JC's writing that does grip my attention. I wasn't bored reading this, I just wasn't invested. I didn't really care about any of the characters. Plus, their ultimate fates felt unsatisfying. What would Dirk think? I plan to continue reading this series chronologically. My only hope is that the next one is a step up.