Noble House

Rating:
Summary: James Clavell's Greatest Work
Review: Noble House is undoubtedly Clavell's greatest work. Although Tai-pan, Shogun and King Rat are excellent books in their own right, Noble House keeps the reader enthralled to the last page. Tai-pan makes good reading in itself and serves as a prequel to Noble House. However, it is not necessary to read Tai-pan before Noble House. I did not but I still found this work exciting. The plots - CIA versus KGB versus PRC Intelligence versus MI-5/MI-6, Gornt versus Dunross versus Bartlett, Orlanda versus Casey and a variety of characters (other than those already mentioned), makes the 1400 plus pages light work - it is truly a classic by an author with deep insights in the culture and international relations of Hong Kong and its neighbours and trading partners. The boardroom drama is intense and Clavell leaves the reader guessing who will emerge winner until the end. I recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Clavell's greatest, fascinating characters in fine setting
Review: Set 120 years after the events of Tai-Pan, Ian Dunross is the latest in Dirk Struan's line to head Struan's, also known as the Noble House. To survive, Struan's always skates the financial edge, and Quillan Gornt, descendant of Dirk's enemy, Tyler Brock, is quite happy to push it over the edge.

Even though we meet many fine characters, from American businesswoman Casey Tcholok to smuggler's son Paul Choy, Hong Kong itself is really the star of this novel. Seeming almost anarchic at times, the colony (as it then was, the novel is set in 1963) and its people, Chinese and British, seem to worship one god, Money.

Clavell ties in references to his other novels--characters from King Rat show up and relive their wartime hatred, many of the characters discuss and live out the heritage of Tai-Pan, and a Japanese character mentions briefly the events of Shogun.

This is the sort of book that will keep you up reading until 4 a.m.

What I didn't like: I found the character of Peter Marlowe most annoying. He shows up all the time, acts like a know it all, and is really Clavell's way of writing himself into the book. Also, about six different times, it is mentioned that the U.S. is starting to get involved in Vietnam, and each time, a precient character chirps (or at least thinks) that the U.S. will regret it. Hindsight is 20/20, the novel was published in 1981.

A good read.

Rating:
Summary: Review by Shane Kennedy - Author of Highbinders
Review: Author James Clavell wrote six epic novels that he referred to as "The Asian Saga" consisting of Shogun, Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, King Rat, Noble House, and Whirlwind. Each book, while not always directly interrelated, has overlapping characters and themes that build upon one another while exploring the experiences of Europeans in Asia. While King Rat is often referred to as Clavell's strongest work, (Whirlwind his weakest) its dark setting of a Japanese POW camp during the Second World War is often too unsettling for many readers. Noble House allows a reader the option of seeing just how engrossing Clavell can be as a writer while not having to deal with the biting nature of humanity's dark side as portrayed in King Rat. Set in Hong Kong during the early 1960's, Noble House's plot evolves around the wheeling and dealing of modern day "Tai-pans" or Big Bosses of large, wealthy corporations. Clavell balances his hero, Ian Dunross, against an equally imposing counter-hero, Quillan Gornt, creating a clash between two corporate-titans that is exciting, interesting, and at times very witty. At over 1370 pages, Noble House is not a quick read, but if you are interested in reading only one of Clavell's books, Noble House should be your choice.

Rating:
Summary: Better than taipan
Review: This book is the best book i ever read, but again this book is not recommended for lower class because it might offend them. But if your in upper class well one must have it.

Rating:
Summary: Huge, engrossing novel!!!
Review: This book doesn't have the historical sweep, grandeur and other-worldly feel of SHOGUN, but it is even more densely packed with political and personal machinations, intrigue, "pillowing," colorful characters and tension than any of Clavell's other books. I began it with feelings of apprehension, thinking "Oh, no, 1400 pages of Hong Kong corporate intrigue...how good can THAT be?"

Well, it's pretty darn good!!! Yes, there's corporate intrigue, but it's actually kept to a minimum. There are murder mysteries, kidnappings, disasters, sexual intrigue, huge sums of money being thrown around, and lots of detailed glimpses into the psyche of the Chinese, Europeans and just the unique world of Hong Kong in general.

If I could have, the book would get 4.5 stars. I have just a couple of problems with it. 1) As in TAI PAN and GAI JIN, the end of the book features a major natural disaster which has the effect of sorting out some of the problems the main characters are having...it feels like a deux ex machina from a Greek tragedy, especially now that Clavell has done it three times! 2) The ending feels a bit rushed. We've invested 1300+ pages into the book and its interesting characters...a richer ending would be in order. (Although for rushed, unsatisfying endings, you can't beat GAI JIN!)

That being said, the book is richly rewarding, and frankly, quite amazing. Clavell has successfully juggled perhaps dozens of storylines and scores of characters. The outline for the book alone must have been hundreds of pages. And all of it takes place in the course of one week!

Please, if you haven't read other Clavell books, read them in order!!! They are all great, but to be truly appreciated, they BEG to be read in order: SHOGUN, TAI PAN, GAI JIN, KING RAT, NOBLE HOUSE and WHIRLWIND. All are very rewarding, exciting reads.

Rating:
Summary: Gave up half-way through...
Review: I guess I'll have to be a wet blanket and say - I couldn't finish it. I made it about half-way through and just couldn't keep all the characters straight and trying to understand the international banking and trading was more like a chore than a reading pleasure. I was also tired of listening to all the obscene and elaborate ways the Chinese characters talked about the "filthy, dung-eating, uncivilized foreign barbarians" - and that's mild compared to most of the racist insults! And it seems like every single male character, upon seeing Casey for the first time, thought "Ah, I would certainly like to possess/bed/pillow that one!" Another complaint: It seems like almost every new advancement in the plot was heralded by a phone call. I was so sick of the phone ringing every other page!

My problem with Ian Dunross: It kept hammering home the point that Dunross had inherited Dirk Straun's animal power and aura of danger, but I never really saw this come through. He seemed like just a typical ambitous businessman and actually a little easy-going a lot of the time. Of course, I didn't finish the book so maybe the aura of danger cropped up later.

I was actually rooting for Gornt by the time I stopped reading; I didn't really get any feeling of loyalty to Straun's - Not like in Tai-Pan where I was cheering for Dirk's side all the way.

And yet... I gave it two stars because it's not out of the question that I'll give it another try one of these days, maybe when I'm feeling more ambitious.

Rating:
Summary: Superb story
Review: James Clavell didn't disappoint me. The story is exciting, you never know what comes next. The ending is great, unlike Tai Pan's abrupt conclusion. I agree with one of the reviews: one doesn't need to read Tai Pan before in order to understand Noble House. However, there are some side stories that are brought in Noble House whose comprehension requires previous reading of Shogun, Tai Pan and King Rat. Besides, I enjoyed seeing how the characters of those books (or their descendants) get to know each other in Noble House.

Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING !!! Clavell's Best
Review: Layers of intrigue. I did not want his book to end. TAI PAN was great but this was better. One of my Top Ten favorite books of all time. Even at 1200+ pages, you will re-read it someday.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book That You Won't Want to End
Review: I must have been reading Noble House for about 4 months. The book is huge. When I brought the book to the pool at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Las Vegas, I had people tell me that is was the biggest book they had ever seen in there lives. One guy mentioned that the book was longer than the dictionary. Which is true. Someone else asked me how you remember characters and events in a book that is so long. And that is the beauty of this book and its writer James Clavell.

Despite being over 1300 pages, Noble House will hold your interest the entire time. You will not want it to end. The characters in this book are so great, you will be sad when the book is finally over.

The book is about Hong Kong in 1963, it is also a sequal to Tai-Pan and in a way a sequal to King Rat. It makes references to Shogun as well. The book is also a history of the cold war, and of Hong Kong and China in the early 1960's. That is one of Clavell's greatest gifts, the historical background he brings to his Asia saga.

This is no quick read, but its a great read and full of great stuff about China and Chinese culture.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: This was the first James Clavell book I had read, and now I am eager to read all of the others. In a word, Noble House is amazing. In its breadth and scope it is unsurpassed by any novel I have ever read. It is gripping from the Prologue where you introduced to the main character, Ian Dunross to the awe-inspiring conclusion. The characters are all well-formed, and you feel like you know them intimately. Their faults and good qualities are all known by the reader. Don't be discouraged by the book's weight and length. It will fly by. Even though the book weighs a pound, it is very hard to put down. This is a book that makes me want to tell anyone who can read that they should read this book.