Shōgun

Four stars.

The first half I found an absolute chore to get through (and half of 1100 pages is a hell of a lot) but then it clicked, and I was engrossed.

I loved Mariko & Blackthorne, of course - and Blackthorne's steady transformation. And Toranaga, what a character! I enjoyed how deep and rich and clever the whole story was, and how vividly the world is painted - historically accurate or not, it's certainly beautiful. So many passages gave me the shivers, especially towards the end.

I did struggle to keep up with the politics though, particularly in the early chapters. But it was really worth persevering. Excellent climax & excellent ending.