Rating: 
Summary: Drags.
Review: 2.5 stars.I'll be honest: this book may have a good portrayel of English and Chinese customs and good historical accuracy (I'm guessing), but that's not what I was really looking for, not in a fiction book, anyway. What I look for in fiction, any fiction, is a book that's gripping and entertaining from start to finish. For that to happen the first thing you need is good characterization, which I think Clavell does reasonably well in this book, and secondly, ACTION. I found this book lacking in the latter. For an interesting book you need some type of coflict, tension, and this book really didn't have that much. Shogun(which is a 5 star book) had plenty to keep you interested, and I was hooked, and the only times that I got bored were a few sporadic instances scattered throughout the book that didn't last more than three pages. There was a lot of action, lots of conflict, characters' fates were uncertain, war was looming in the distance... There's a war in this book but it's only in the background, and there's no doubt that the British will easily defeat the Chinese, so there's no conflict there. Basically the only real conflict in this book is the enmity between Struan and his rival, Brock. Might have been a good sub-conflict, but as the forefront of a 700 page book makes the book lacking in terms of enjoyment. This book is divided into six parts. There's really only two sections of the book where there was enough action and conflict to get me really interested. The first was the ending of book one, and the second was of course the climax. The rest of the book, books two, three, four, and most of five, is mainly talking, planning, fretting, Struan arguing with his mistress, and more talking. It gets boring real fast, and then it gets REALLY boring. There were a few instances in which something would happen that would peak my interest, but it wouldn't be long before it faded into the boring monotomy that was so prevalent during the middle portion of this book. Honestly, there were many times where I nearly gave up, and the only thing that kept me going was my desire to read the other books and not miss out on anything. I got interested again when I got to the climax, and the good ending gave this book some redemption. But, compared to the ninja-attack climax of Shogun, the climax in this book is still a pale shadow. Shogun was the first book I read and this is my second, I'm reading them in order. I know that Shogun was his best, maybe it spoiled me for his other works. I know many people rank this as his second best. I hope that isn't true. But then again, I don't think I'm evaluating using the same criteria that the rest of you are using. The next book is Gai-jin, and just by reading the reviews it seems that it has more action and more conflict, more on the lines of Shogun, so I'm still game. And if you're asking me, "You mean you'd really pick lots of action and conflict over intricate plots, good evalution of different cultures and social systems, and historical accuracy?", my answer is, "Absolutely." All that other stuff is good but it comes second.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Shogun
Review: ...there are many similarities between "Shogun" and "Tai-pan", only the first is about Japan in 17th century, and the second is about China/Hong Kong in 19th century. However, both books have european (british) characters in the main role, and both books are based on the differences and struggling of these characters in a different environement. Dirk Struan is the Tai-pan (supreme ruler) of the Noble House Trading Company, one of the Hong Kong-based companies that provide England and Europe with the middle-1800s wonder: tea. Along the book, Struan has to overcome rival companies, murder threats, malaria, love interests and the supposedly dettachment of Britain towards having an Asian base on Hong Kong. Like "Shogun", "Tai-pan" has dozens of plot twists, many characters all involved with each other in one level or another, forces of nature, etc. Unlike "Shogun", "Tai-pan" has a very fast pace and the chapters follow one another with the speed of a Typhoon. In the beggining, the reader will struggle with the speed Clavell introduces his characters, and there will be at least 100 pages until you know who is who, but past that phase, "Tai-pan" is very enjoyable. Dirk Struan, the main character, sure seems a little super-human sometimes, but that's not something that will spoil the reading. In fact, Struan is the kind of central character that the reader will always relate to. ...P>Now I'm surely moving on to "Gai-jin" and "Noble house".
Rating: 
Summary: Not Clavell's Best...but a Great Read!
Review: I picked up Tai-Pan after I finished "Shogun" and "King Rat", so "Tai-Pan" had a lot to live up to when I picked it up in April 2002. Perhaps if I would've read this first, my review would be much different. The story focuses on the Dirk Struan, the charasmatic Tai-Pan (Supreme Ruler) of the Noble House (A British trading compnay). The reader is immediately sucked into an intriguing story of love, betrayel, rivalry, and trickery. However, the reader is sucked back at after 200 pages and puts the book down for a few months (that's what I did, anyway). I decided that Clavell was my favorite author, and I was obligated to finish his work. I started reading again, and I was once again sucked back in after page 400...intrigued me again at page 500, excited me at 600, and almost brought me to tears at 700 (in a good way, mind you). This is a must for anyone who has any sort of interest in Chinese culture, British history, and love. Do yourself a favor and order "Tai-Pan" off of Amazon.com...your gateway to happiness!
Rating:
Summary: A dazzling novel
Review: James Clavell was second to none in decribing the charcters' reasining process. The reader can think he actually knows the characters. However, it seems to me like the author wanted to end the story and did it so abruptly. Unlike Shogun, many stories were left incomplete. This is why I didn't give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Only read, if you plan on the series
Review: I found this novel a faily difficult read. As mentioned in another review, the broken English was cumbersome. It slows down a reader, who is interested in the plot.
I did like the plot, which includes piracy, smuggling, deceit, and pride.
I read this novel, so that I could read Noble House with ease by understanding the characters, etc. I'm only 100 pages into Noble House and can already tell that it is a better novel than Tai-Pan.
I suggest to read this novel only if you plan to read the Clavell's series.
Rating:
Summary: If you aren't reading the series, read Shogun instead...
Review: Second in a series, this book isn't nearly as good as the first (Shogun). The subject matter (the British occupation of Hong Kong in the early 1800's) is certainly juicy enough, so I'm not sure exactly what went wrong in this book. I had difficulty adjusting to the way in which the book portrayed the spoken words of each of the characters. For instance, if the character couldn't speak English very well, then Clavell attempted to faithfully reproduce phonetically what you would have heard in real life. While good in theory, this method wreaked havoc with the readability of the story. I still found the story engaging, although not quite to the extent of Shogun where I would race home from work and immediately start reading. Clavell's magical ability to encapsulate history in a sugar coating of fiction and slide it down your throat is amazing. The story's climax occurs only a few pages from the end, and the resulting two page denouement is a little unsatisfactory, although I suppose this is to be expected in a series with four more titles... worth the read if you are doing the whole series, otherwise read Shogun instead.
Rating:
Summary: Another Stellar Novel from Clavell
Review: I just finished reading Tai-Pan, and although it did not top Shogun, in my opinion it came pretty damn close. The strongest aspect about the book was the clever way in which Clavell weaved all the history, politics and character development together into a fascinating story. Tai-Pan was well researched, well written, and extremely well thought out. Clavell really seemed to grasp the essence of the Chinese and their mentality and juxtaposed it against that of the English. Hands down the best book I've read this year.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Epic
Review: Tai-Pan is a wonderful epic novel. The story is fascinating on many levels. First, since it takes place in Hong Kong, there is a spectacular cultural and historical backdrop for the entire book. On top of that, the plot that Clavell developed is quite intriguing, and the characters are interesting as well. Finally, there are lessons on leadership and morality as well, for those who would like something more than an extremely enjoyable novel!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: What can I say? This has got to be one of the best books I've ever read. It is fantasic. If you have any interest in Hong Kong at all you will also find this interesting. If ever anyone gets a spare moment, or you see it sitting in the window of a book shop (or even at amazon.com, get it, read it. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: tai-pan
Review: One of the best interpretations of Hong Kong that I have ever read. Recomend this to anyone interested in Chinese and British history.
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