Another stellar entry in James Clavell's Asian Saga! This one plunges us into Hong Kong in 1963 for a few intense weeks. Two massive Hong Kong trading houses—one of them being *Noble House*—are locked in a ferocious battle for dominance in the city's cutthroat business world, now distinctly separate from mainland China. Adding fuel to the fire, an American corporation, PAC-COM, is sniffing around, looking to forge a partnership with one of the giants. *Noble House* itself is still run by the des...

Another masterpiece by James Clavell, set in the heart of the East.In 1963 Hong Kong, business is war, families are institutions, the Tai-Pan is an absolute ruler with feet of clay, and success or ruin is a matter of "joss." The Cold War simmers on the fringes of business, the stock market soars and crashes, and landslides and floods sweep everything away, taking rich and poor alike in their path.In this well-crafted and expansive book that never loses its coherence, we see Ian Dunross, Tai-Pan ...

As an author of historical novels myself, I truly grasp the challenges of crafting a complex narrative and ensuring the reader can navigate its every twist and turn. That's why I'm in awe of the sheer skill James Clavell demonstrates in plotting this 1200-page epic, Noble House. He's a true master of the genre. I've got maybe another hour of reading left to finish it up. Finished... a satisfying conclusion and a clear opening for a sequel, though I don't believe Clavell ever actually wrote one. ...

I devoured this one in the spring of 1982, absolutely famished for something to read. My Mom had recently passed away, and I'd been treated for the resulting depression with electromagnetic brain stimulation. It worked like a charm.I started reading like crazy. This first book choice might sound odd to my Goodreads friends, but that was just ME that year. It was a year overshadowed by the market-driven policies of Reaganomics, but back then, I honestly didn't care.Because I channeled my inner Fr...

Business is war! This is the fourth novel of the "Asian Saga" by James Clavell. TV MINISERIES V. NOVEL: DAWN OF HONG KONG I loved the TV miniseries adaptation of Noble House, starring Pierce Brosnan, Deborah Raffin, John Rhys-Davies, and Ben Masters. In fact, I can say that it's my favorite TV miniseries. I have it on DVD and am crossing my fingers that they'd release it on Blu-ray anytime soon.So, it was logical that I'd want to read the original novel......boy! I didn't think that it was ...

I wish it could go on forever. The audiobook version of *Noble House* is absolute perfection :-)

Another fantastic installment in James Clavell's Asian Saga, *Noble House* continues the saga of the Noble House itself, which was founded by Dirk Struan in *Tai-Pan* and carried on in *Gai-Jin*. The story unfolds in Hong Kong over the course of about a week in 1963. It's incredible how much happens in such a short period! While maybe not as tightly plotted as *Tai-Pan*, it shares many of the same compelling qualities. If you're looking for a great historical fiction book review, *Noble House* i...

Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Six months and 1400 pages later, I've finally finished this massive doorstop of a novel, and the best I can say about *Noble House* is that it's better than *Gai-jin*, that massive tome about the Struan's in 1870s Japan, which also took me the better part of a year to get through. I've been reading a book from Clavell's Asian Saga every year since college, a privileged position on my reading list he's earned because I so enjoyed *Shogun*, *Tai-pan*, and *King Rat*. ...

During the summer of 1990, I was working on a project in Phoenix, Arizona. For about 6 to 8 weeks, I flew from Dallas to Phoenix every Sunday afternoon and back home on Friday night. I was the only member of the project team stationed in Phoenix, and I'm not really the type to go exploring on my own. So, that summer of plane flights and lonely evenings turned out to be the perfect opportunity to dive into James Clavell's *Noble House*. I had a fantastic hotel room with a balcony that faced north...

In many ways, *Noble House* is my favorite James Clavell novel. I'm a big sucker for it, I'll admit. It's a massive, sweeping epic, all contained within a single week in Hong Kong. It's a blockbuster novel in every sense, delivering equal parts entertainment and intellectual stimulation. If you're looking for thrilling historical fiction, look no further.There's an extra layer of enjoyment here for those who've devoured the rest of Clavell's Asian saga. In *Noble House*, Clavell starts weaving t...