Every Book In James Clavell’s Asian Saga Ranked (Including Shōgun)

James Clavell’s Asian Saga has tantalized America with its mixture of soap opera, action, and history for decades now. It mainly concerns itself with the lives of British and American expats and exiles living in Japan, Singapore, and other locales far from England. Its central characters are members of the Struan family, whose male descendants become tai-pans, or powerful traders and businesspeople who work and live in places like Hong Kong, and even, eventually, Iran. 

Unlike the successful but difficult to find original TV miniseries version of “Shōgun,” Clavell’s novels can be heavily academic in nature. They delve deep into Japanese and Hong Kong history to point out the horrors of racism, imperialism, colonialism, and xenophobia. Yet they’re also soap operas, touched by personal dramas of every kind. Over the course of six novels released by Clavell before his death in 1994, decades pass and generations are born. For those waiting to dig into more of Clavell’s work while hoping for more TV like FX’s take on “Shōgun,” here’s our ranking of the Asian Saga, in order of authorial preference. 

“Tai-Pan” is the worst of James Clavell’s many works, hampered by soapy melodrama. While that genre typically works well for him, here it sinks the narrative and leaves the reader yearning for release. Instead of inspiring awe, it inspires groans — thus, it lands at the bottom of the list.

The book looks at the lives of Dirk Struan and Tyler Brock as they try to make names for themselves in Hong Kong at the end of the first Opium War in 1842. The pair were once shipmates, only to become bitter rivals. Struan develops a huge shipping conglomerate called Struan & Company which will become a major part of the overall saga; Brock, meanwhile, follows a far less legal path to power. Struan also tries running opium while Brock rivals him every step of the way. Vowing to destroy each other, they leave a litany of wives, mistresses, and children behind to pick up the pieces of their conflict over the years and decades to come. Thus unfolds the rest of Clavell’s series. You don’t necessarily need to read this one to enjoy other books in the Asian Saga, but those interested in the history of the opium trade or slowly burning blood feuds will enjoy this one. All other readers can safely skip it.

“Gai-Jin” was the last novel released in the Asian Saga, but it is set before both “Whirlwind” and “King Rat” in continuity. It’s definitely not the worst book in the Asian Saga, but it is far from the best, landing just above the bottom of the pile. “Gai-Jin” follows a year in the life of a variety of Struan descendants in Japan, specifically from 1862 to 1863. As is typical for James Clavell’s novels, the story mixes a soapy, over-the-top romantic storyline with serious social commentary. “Gai-Jin” dissects the social and religious differences boiling between three factions — the white expats called gaijin, the Japanese natives who follow the government’s ways and the teachings of the bakufu (or shogunate), and the shishi, who not only support the emperor over the militaristic shoguns, but would be happy to expel foreigners. 

Since every Struan must have a rival family in the mix, Edward Gornt is introduced as the naïve Malcolm Struan’s wicked foil. Malcolm falls in love with Angelique, a Frenchwoman with no money and embattled morals. She becomes the narrative center of the book when Malcolm dies on their wedding night. This is the first Clavell novel to deal with female characters at length, and Angelique and Malcolm’s mother, Tess, are both interesting and complex women. But they’re not unique enough to make up for a dull plot twist when Angelique teams up with Gornt to get revenge on Tess. The end result is an unbalanced novel that fails to entertain.

“Whirlwind” is chronologically the final book in the Asian Saga, and it’s set in 1979 during the rise of Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini in Iran — the man at the heart of the Iranian Revolution. Focused on another obsession of James Clavell’s — military history — “Whirlwind” is one of the most interesting entries in the series due to how fraught the fight for freedom becomes for its central characters. Clavell’s blend of melodrama and history is at its most effective here and in the next few books, making them true must-read volumes. 

Andrew Gavallan, the right-hand man of current tai-pan and Struan descendant Ian Dunross, finds himself stuck behind enemy lines as the social and political shift to Khomeini’s reign takes hold. As Gallavan had been busy buying up oil for Dunross when the regime change happens, he, and the employees stranded there with him, are in deep trouble. Gavallan must also cope with the pressure from a variety of stakeholders who have major interests locked in Struan’s vaults. As Gavallan tries to save both Struan’s money and the human lives who benefit from it, dozens of different characters also come into view. All of them trying to get out of Iran before it’s too late.

“Noble House” brings the Asian Saga full circle, making it necessary reading if you care at all how the Struan saga ends. It brings the story into the 21st century just as “Whirlwind” does, with the same sense of romantic melodrama perfuming every moment. The novel works because of Ian Dunross, who happens to be the most interesting of the tai-pans in the overall saga. His cleverness and enterprising ways leaven out his worst qualities, making his journey compelling to follow.

It’s 1969, and Dunross discovers he must diversify what Struan & Company does in order for it to survive. Quillan Gornt tries to commit a hostile takeover, leaving the company vulnerable. In case you were wondering, the amazingly named Gornt is a descendant of Tyler Brock, proving that this family feud has truly been lasting centuries. Dunross eventually realizes that convincing a millionaire named Lincoln Bartlett into partnering with him is the only way to save his family’s legacy from being gobbled up. Bartlett, unfortunately, is more interested in playing Gornt and Dunross against one another so he can get the best deal. Let the games begin.

A tough novel rich in complex characterization, “King Rat” is about life in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II. It’s the fourth book in the series and the second best in our pile thanks to its fascinating character dynamics. Life in Changi Prison is a raw nightmare for the British and American allies interred. The book does not shortchange the complexities of the social order in which they are forced to exist. James Clavell himself survived the real Changi Prison, making it easy to understand why this book carries so much weight and has such a rich feeling of urgency to it. It’s a classic of the genre, a novel that war story fans cherish to this day.

RAF pilot Peter Marlowe has been imprisoned in Changi since 1942. “King” — a black market profiteer — hears him speaking Malaysian and decides to make Marlowe his ally. King panders to the camp’s guards, winning favor and power from them; in truth, he’s the one essentially running the camp, thanks to his bribes. In spite of his loathing for King’s behavior and his snobbish adherence to his social caste, Marlowe soon finds himself participating in King’s scheme to breed rats as a food source for their fellow prisoners. With liberation looming, will they all survive to see the outside world again?

At the top of the must-read heap, of course, is the historically-rich masterpiece “Shōgun.” It should be the starting point in your James Clavell journey and is a general requirement for anyone who appreciates the best of Japanese dramas — of those affectionally written by gaijin, at least. It also features Clavell’s best female characters by a mile, as the fan-favorite Lady Mariko stays close to the heart of this novel. Need more encouragement? It spawned an iconic 1980s miniseries that changed TV, as well as the FX series that boasts a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Set in feudal Japan, the story centers on English sailor John Blackthorne (based on William Adams), who finds himself marooned in Japan after most of the crew of the Dutch trading ship he’s helming sickens and dies. He’s held captive by a local daimyo, who wants to keep the knowledge of the marooned foreign ship to himself. Slowly, the out of place Blackthorne begins to learn more about his new country. Eventually Lord Toranaga — based on the real life warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu — learns about him from a spy in the daimyo’s domain and demands a meeting. Afterward, Blackthorne is sequestered with a Franciscan friar who begins the tough task of teaching him the language. 

Blackthorne, who earns the Japanese name Anjin (for “navigator”), gradually becomes intertwined in the country’s politics, even gaining battle experience and becoming a leader in his own right. As the situation grows more tense, complex webs of loyalty, attraction, and honor begin to form, holding all of the characters tight. Blackthorne, now known as Anjin-san to Toranaga’s court, must live under the eye of his master without ever knowing if he can return home.