Great series! I've been listening to the audiobook version. I started this 3 months ago, and I'm book 7. Awesome world-building!

I just picked up both volumes of Shogun. I wanted to watch the series before reading the books to have faces to put to the names which sometimes helps me with these epic stories. That helped me truly love LOTR when I read the books after seeing the first movie.

Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books of all time. I loved every page.

Great video! Started this series via audio book a few weeks ago and just started book 5. I think the magic system is brilliantly explained, even though Jason often explains how things work by saying "because magic" to other cast members I think as a reader (listener) you can really understand how and why the magic works which is great.

Pillars remains one of the greatest reading experiences of my entire life.

I borrowed the 1980 dvd's from the library. I understood plot elements that I missed in the newer version. It's weird that so much of it was untranslated. The story of the making of it on the last dvd is pretty amazing. For some reason it isn't being streamed.

Follett has a rule that the story must turn every 4-6 pages. I now judge every book by this rule.

Great when you find a book you enjoy.

There is a book that I think is VERY underrated called Vaingueur The Dragon. It's pretty much a litrpg. It's free on Kindle. It's also a webcomic on tapas. The webcomic only has the first novel. But the novel has more. I highly recommend it. I don't know how other people would like it but I found it very funny.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is my personal favorite of this genre, couldn’t more highly recommend. The voice of the audiobook reader is awesome. Book is totally nuts, but in the best way.

I share your enthusiasm bro I have followed this series since it came out.

Great video. I’ve been intending to start Follet for some time now. This video has motivated me even more! Good luck with the channel. Good content thus far.

for me tpote and wwe are exceptional, the other three are alright, nice vid :)

This was definitely one of the series I really liked when I read a lot more fantasy, i just heard book 4 recently in the series actually came out too

Yeah, fantasy for sure. Bad, not Black

bravo! grazie!

Yep yep, I have all the same complaints 😉 Not a bad book but certainly not justified all the praise 🤷‍♀️ for reference I am a huge fan of the Red rising 👍🏻👏🏻

"promosm"

Back when I read fantasy I remember The Powder Mage and Gods of Blood and Powder series and enjoying Flintlock Fantasy overall, Django Wexler also had a really fun series in that style. Definitely picked a good cover there!

If you two like the Orient Express I'm sure you'll love And Then There Were None also by Agatha Christie

We have similar taste, subscribed. You and your wife are too cute together

Your best friend is watching here!

I like the books I've read, but... I think the author needs to learn how to write normal sex/relationships.

The best series to ever be written

Really enjoyed this video. Glad to see everyone getting something to bring home haha. My son is at the point where if he is ever interested in a book it is to "read" to us and isn't interested in us reading to him lol. Also now going to use the wine analogy when acquiring books to have just in case haha.

Yes, I realize now that this video is too long to be a short on KZbin. Lesson learned! lol

The fantasy Who awake in me an curiosity .

bro reviewed a book he can't remember.

I didn't even realize he narrated books. I'll have to look some of his work up for sure now, thanks for the tip. One of my favorite narrators is probably Michael Page, I just like the tone of his voice I think.

I love this

I definitely agree about column and armor of light but i get extremely torn eith the other three. It's hard to argue against pillsrs being the original but i really really enjoyed the evening and the morning. Granted i read pillars in 2010 and evening last yeasr so there might be some bias there but i would probably pit world without end at 3 snd then pillars and evening are interchangeable. Reallly the top 3 are for me with a decent drop off to columns and armor.

Very informative and rich video. Very nice.

I recall europeans only came to Asia and India to destroy he culture and plunder our wealth of course we are going to mistrust gaijins! Telling one half of a story typical westerners no one invited your ancestors to Asia ypu take what's not yours! Even today

One thing to note is the western mindset at the time the book was written (1970s) and when the miniseries was made (1980s). There was a lot of admiration of the Japanese for the way they industrialized and in some areas surpassed the west. The admiration still exists today but nowhere near what it was then.

I never had any interest in going to Italy,……… until I listened to this audiobook while on a road trip,(because I was a huge fan of the Grisham novels). I’ve been to Italy twice in the last 2 years, having recently returned to the states after an 8-day Italian vacation. Grisham’s mixing of Italian club football and fictitious Italian football players and characters with American expectations, with Italian culture, food, art, history, architecture, history, and yes, even a little romance is captivating. And it piqued my interest in seeing Italy for myself. I have not been disappointed in my travels in Italy. I highly recommend reading “Playing for Pizza”, (or listening to the audiobook, available at most public libraries), and visiting Italy. The place is absolutely amazing. My first trip was confined to Rome. My second trip was a flight into Rome, followed immediately by taking a rental car to Salerno for a tour of the breathtaking Amalfi Coast, (Google it!), with side trips to Pompeii and the southwestern coasts, along the Mediterranean Sea. Next, I plan to explore the northern regions of Italy, (including the “home” of the Parma Panthers). Go to Italy! You will not regret it.

By that time, samurai embraced guns, producing many within Japan. The battle where Tokugawa vied for power against Hideyoshi's son involved 100k vs 100k and extensive use of guns. In 'Shogun,' the depiction of samurai disliking guns was an incorrect view. In reality, many samurai adapted to firearms, acknowledging their power and effectiveness in battles.

I've read it as a teenager, after i've seen the 1980 series here into germany, that was into 86. Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune & Yoko Shimada (RIP 😔) have been superb. I am a huge fan of Mifune since my childhood.

I remember the 1980 miniseries narrated by the great Orson Welles, and starring Tishiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain, all three have passed away.

While I appreciate Shogun for generating interest in Japan and its history, I am less enthusiastic about it than most people because it is an Orientalist fantasy. Blackthorne arrived in Japan, “went native” - typical Orientalist trope - and quickly became the envy of many real Japanese because he learned what it meant to truly “be Japanese, samurai, hatamoto, etc. Even his enemies who despised foreigners eventually loved him. The hero also bedded a high born woman, a “geisha” and several other women and taught them all the meaning of “true love” with his large white penis. Definitely a “mighty whitey” trope. And Clavell wrongly portrayed geisha as prostitutes. That is more of a post-WWII phenomenon during the American occupation of Japan. Throughout the novel there are numerous examples of the “inscrutable Asian” stereotype. One minor character, Rodrigues, even tells Blackthorne that the Japanese possess three hearts - one to show to the world, one to show their family/friends and then a true, secret heart only known to themselves. Lord Toranaga in Shogun is very nearly the perfect embodiment of this type of character; he averred that he doesn’t want to be shogun, but strove with all his might to become just that. While I know that every piece of historical fiction takes liberties with the truth, I believe that Shogun perpetrates more Orientalist and pro-colonial stereotypes than it’s worth as a piece of entertainment.

I remember seeing the first 1980 shogun mini series on tv with Richard Chamberlain. He played the english navigator named Blackthorn.

4:05 That's honestly a bit out of date, not bathing was more of a 1300s-early 1400s thing. I seem to recall it was mostly gone by the 1600s

Getting through some books there. Best wishes for the next.

My favourite novel. I never take a long flight without it. The perfect novel.

I first read Shogun in Highschool after th mini series which I loved, I have reread Shogun at least 5 times and it has aged like fine wine still one of my favorite books.

Ah, one quick point. While the Japanese sword, whether tachi or katana, is the iconic samurai weapon on the battlefield their primary weapon was a pole arm, either yard (spear) or naginata (halberd), not the bow. The samurai began as "the way of the horse and boy" but the yummy (bow) wasn't their primary weapon. The sword was the weapon of last resort on the battlefield to be used only when you were unhorsed or your pole arm broke. Just a bit of actual historical fact. Good video though!

Small correction - Blackthorne is an English navigator employed on a Dutch ship with Dutch crew-members.

Have you read "Samurai William"? True story that inspired "Shogun". Author Giles Milton.

Love Shogun. Tai-Pan and Noble House are also great. The book King Rat is less well known but excellent. I think I remember reading that the main American character in it had a great affect on James. Made him believe that you could make the world and 'go for it.' He certainly did that. Hagakure?

Love the flow of this

Awesome video and review. Best review of Shogun I've seen. Looking forward to more content!