Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: Okay, I took up the challenge the reviewer from Oregon put forth, and read both "Cloud of Sparrows" and "The Golden Crane"; and I have to agree with the other reviewer that "Cloud of Sparrows" appears to be derived from "The Golden Crane". Although there are a lot of dissimilarities, there are just too many similarities between plot, characters and even pacing to not see the connection. As for which was the better book, well, I vote for "The Golden Crane". It's shorter than "Cloud of Sparrows", but a more enjoyable read. The author has a very pleasurable reading style, while I found "Cloud of Sparrows'" prose to be tortured and bloody. In fact it actually hurt to read it. I can see why this book isn't exactly flying off the shelves. On the other hand, I couldn't put "The Golden Crane" down. Plus, there weren't any wild, contrived plot devices like "Cloud of Sparrows" implausible gunslinger in 19th Century Japan on a blood quest and a psychic samurai warlord. Give me a break. Finally, I was more interested in "The Golden Crane" because it told the story primarily from the American perspective, while "Cloud of Sparrows" concentrated on the psychic samurai warlord, whom I just couldn't relate to. Anyway, I'd have to give "Cloud of Sparrows" a thumbs down and "The Golden Crane" a thumbs-up. I also enjoyed doing this kind of reading detective work. I wish other readers would do this kind of comparison between other authors' works that appear similar.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: This is a great Samurai novel. Almost as good as Shogun by James Clavell. If you like Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo series you'll love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Finely Balanced
Review: Cloud of Sparrows is set in pre-industrial Japan between the era of feudal lords and the rise of the last emperors. Three American Missionaries arrive in the coastal city of Edo as guests of the minor lord, Genji, and all have hidden motives as to why they are there. Lord Genji is himself immersed in several intrigues with the Feudal power leaders in Japan. Most involve plots to kill or discredit him in the eyes of the other Lords. He is considered by many to be a young and witless fool incapable of leading a noble house. His one saving grace is that he is gifted with prophetic sight. This superstition forces his enemies to deal with him carefully. He is counseled by several loyal samurai officers as well the mysterious Geisha, Heiko The many character stories are woven together quite well by fist time author Takashi Matsuoka. Several minor characters are as interesting, chief among these is Lord Genji?s Uncle and Samurai Master Lord Shigeru. He is also gifted with prophetic sight, but with devastating consequences.Cloud of Sparrows has samurai, ninja, geishas, sword fights, gunslingers, Buddhist monks, spies, beautiful women, all interacting in historically accurate Japan of the 1860?s . The author takes on the ultimate demise of the samurai culture and shows the differences between the two cultures; rather clumsily at times, and quite cleverly at others. He often stops, and retells the same event from the viewpoint of two different characters. This seems unnecessary and is the only criticism of the entire novel. What he lacks in true character development (Emily) he compensates for in good intricate plot, heavy with Japanese point of view. There are many violent scenes in this book. The final battle between the Lord Genji?s forces and those of the Shogun are a good example as are the descriptions of killing women and children told in flashbacks. There is no "happy" ending, no character really gets what they ultimately want. This does not pave the way for any cohesive sequel, but in the epilog the ground work is set for an amazing prequel.
Rating:
Summary: A Bad Rip-Off
Review: I read "Cloud of Sparrows" and the plot, in many ways, parallels the book, "The Golden Crane", which is also for sale on Amazon.com. The "Golden Crane" was copyrighted in 1997, well ahead of Matsuoka; but I find his take-off not as good. His addition of a hardened American gunfighter seems outrageous at best, and completely improbable in tightly controlled Japan. He makes the Japanese protagonist, Lord Genji, a psychotic visionary. This is also highly improbable in a society that reviles anyone different. In mid-nineteenth century Japan, Genji would have probably been killed before he reached adulthood, once his pyschosis became manifest. Matsuoka's work does offer more gratuitious gore, if you are in to gratuitous gore.
However, if you want to read a better story, with many of the same elements, set in the same time period, and with a much more interesting plot, try the "Golden Crane", which is for sale as a less expensive paperback book.
Rating:
Summary: I liked this a lot!
Review: 1) Ron Rifkin reads the audiobook version of this book and did a fine job. Even without doing distinct voices for the characters I never had to guess or rewind to know which character was talking. 2) There was a point during the audio presentation that I actually started to get teary-eyed becasue I was so sucked into the scene. The building of the scene and the sense of honor was simply overwhelming and inspiring. 3) This story had a little bit of everything...history, action, romance, political intrigue, etc. A little something for everyone. 4) The plot had fine twists and turns and I never really knew what to expect. In the end I personally was satisfied with the resolution of the story. 5) Some very memorable characters who are driven by believable motivations. 6) I've never read Shogun nor any other story like this, I just happened to stumble upon it and am very pleased I did. I'm encouraged to check out other similar type stories...Shogun being one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read - But no shogun
Review: This is a surprisingly good read, especially considering that it is the author's first novel. I can NOT, however, be comared to Shogun. The time period (right at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate) that the book is set in is an interesting one and it contrasts favorably to the time period in Shogun. Matsuoka also does not use fictionalized names for real historical figures. Matsuoka also does an excellent job of describing the future through a mid nineteenth century samurai's visions. On the bad side, the characterization seems forced and is typical of beginning novelists. Plot points also seem contrived at times; such as one character traveling all the way to Japan from the United States to avenge a murder. How did he know his target went to Japan? Additionally, the characters use modern phrases that no one from that time period used. All in all, a pretty good book.
Rating:
Summary: The next book made into a martial arts movie, it should be!!
Review: This book has it all! Action, Love, Disappointments, Triumphs, and so on, You make your own judgement! Once you start reading this novel you will ponder at what the next page has in store for you. This could be the next Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon movie and is bound to be a box office smash! We see ancient China, let us see Japan in the days of Shogun rule before the fall of the warlords. Read this book and you will see what I mean!
Rating:
Summary: No Shogun
Review: It's hard for me to imagine anyone other than a Delacorte marketing executive comparing Cloud of Sparrows to Shogun. While Cloud of Sparrows has a decent plot, the writing is fairly bland, the characters shallow, and the dialogue forced. I lived in Japan for three years, and as much as I wanted to love this book, I quit at page 250. On the other hand, I've read Shogun twice.
Rating:
Summary: Eagerly anticipated, greatly disappointed.
Review: As a student of Japanese culture and history, I was eagerly turned to the first page of Cloud of Sparrows and was hooked. However, as the story progressed, I grew increasingly frustrated. The author (clever use of the name "Genji") had ample opportunity to develop the characters, but concentrated, instead, on detailing the battle scenes. The characters were two-dimensional and left me feeling deprived and disappointed. His descriptions of the countryside, however, were enticing, and I look forward to another visit to Japan.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: This book took a hold of me from beginning to end. I was hoping it wouldn't be a slow read after I read the first chapter (which wasn't slow at all actually). But it actually turned out to have a nice flowing pace. The action scenes were described well and all the characters were quite well developed as the reader was given insight into their history. I found myself interested in every character in the book. Splendid story. I hope this author produces future works at the same level. You know a book is good when a person who goes to Las Vegas on his 21st birthday and keeps thinking about going back to the hotel and resume reading to find out what happens next....as I did. Very quick read by the way.
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