Shōgun, Part One cover art

Shōgun, Part One

The Asian Saga, Book 1.1

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Shōgun, Part One

Written by: James Clavell
Narrated by: Ralph Lister
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About this listen

By the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell’s Shogun is soon to be a major FX/Hulu TV series!

Shogun, 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 One contains the first 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, Shogun 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, Shogun is, as the New York Times put it, ‘'not only something you read—you live it.’‘

Also available: Shogun: Part Two

©1975 James Clavell (P)2015 Blackstone Publishing
Classics Historical Heartfelt Romance
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What listeners say about Shōgun, Part One

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  • Overall
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A fitting conclusion

This was a great series of books. The storytelling was excellent, the voice acting was superb. The pieces all fall together in a great way giving you the insight into the true plan of the Shogun.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating story, masterful narration.

A very engaging story with one of the best performances by a narrator that I have yet come across. I cannot speak to the historical and cultural accuracy of the novel, but I assume and accept some level of romanticism. Beyond that, due to the quality of the performance, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting a tale that I had read some years ago. I think that I may like it even better in this format, which is rather unusual for me.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wanted to watch the show but powered through book 1&2 instead!

I have watch 3 episodes of the show, yet in the past 2 weeks I could not stop listening to 40+ hours of content!
This story pulls you in and transports you!

Yes the audio editor SHOULD be shot for weird fades, but after a couple hours you don’t notice it.

The narrator does great voices and I laugh every time he says “BASTARD!”

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great storytelling

Characters bring the history to life, with some embellishment of course. Happy to have read before the show comes out.

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2 people found this helpful

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Amazing story

I loved the book, no question. However, ghere was an issue with the voice recording. At the end of almost every other sentence, the volume would dip to an imperceptible level, breaking the immersion in the story. In the beginning of the book it was especially prominent. Besides that, I loved the experience.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

A classic

A masterpiece is storytelling and mandatory reading for anyone interested in the feudal era of Japan

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Whoever did the audio editing for this needs to be shot

How did this get through quality control. Every last word in a sentence is so quiet you can’t hear it at all. Really ruins the experience for such a good book.

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Audio is Odd! Enough to distract you from the Story

Right from the get go… the editing of the audio makes it sound like the volume is being turned down constantly. This happens at the end of just about every sentence. It is incredibly distracting. I was listening with headphones. Perhaps I noticed it more than if I were to be playing this on speakers.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

All the characters sound like english pirates.

All the characters sound like english pirates. It is very hard to get into the story and I don’t know if i can finish it. I enjoyed Musashi so much I was excited to listen to this as well as it was recommended by audible. Can we get refunds?

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