A review by the_pale_woman
Tai-Pan by James Clavell

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Really fantastic read. It's a slow burn of a book. This story felt more refined than Shogun, but it had the same vibe. Alpha male loves an Asian woman and fueled by that love he bends history around him. The ending felt abrupt, similar to Shogun, but this time, it felt more like a true ending or beginning for this set of characters. I've just recently been getting into historical fiction, so I don't have a ton of experience in the genre, but it's really clicked with me. Big books full of complicated characters and plots are exactly the type of read I'm looking for. I think if you're interested in asian history and you like books like The Pillar of the Earth you would really enjoy this. 

I've been reading this asian saga chronologically, so I read this book directly after finishing Shogun. I normally read in publication order, but it seemed like this might be the right call for this. Shout out if you have an opinion on a reading order. I'm not that knowledgeable about these time periods in asia, so I thought it might help me to keep the histories straight.