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Summary: A riveting, realistic thriller!
Review: I read this book years ago and was absolutely riveted. It is a different kind of Crichton than one would expect. However, this book delivers with each page. I'm not sure how much about the Japanese is true. But after reading it I wanted to learn to speak Japanese and learn about their culture. The characters are fascinating and have considerable depth. The technology interested me much, but Crichton watered it down so that the average person would be able to understand it. This is an excellent and solid read. Actually, I read it twice, cover to cover!
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Summary: Another Hit
Review: Michael Chrichton just can't seem to write a bad book. The first book I read by him was Timeline and I had to immediately get another. Two months later I had read everything he's written. I am a little upset now that there's nothing more I can read by him but I must say, he is an amazing author and his books are just what I was looking for. They are interesting and intricate with amazing little bits of plot that always come together. His books keep your mind working and this one certainly continues that trend. It's another book you can't put down and if you're a Michael Chricton fan you deffinitely must read this one too.
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Summary: Great murder mystery!
Review: This is a book I could not put down and finished it within a matter of days. The storyline was very good and suspenseful. I have nothing but rave reviews about this book and I continue to pass it on to other people.
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Summary: Didn't feel rascist... but I'm not Japanese.
Review: Its weird. I never felt the Japanese were evil when reading this book....Most people did.Instead I was impressed. If the stuff in the book is true, then they are truely brilliant, and simiply awesome at corperate affairs. The book never said the Japanese were evil, it said they were smart. He did do lots of research for it, whether he extraveggated or not I can't tell. The actual story is compelling and keen. It's been awhile since I read it, but it was barely under par next to his other novels. To any Japanese people reading this review, some how or another I have gained even more respect for your culture and country by reading this, though I can easily see why it is offensive.
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Summary: Problematic and politically incorrect....
Review: ...where "politically incorrect" writing is a license to spout jingoistic, offensive, dated opinions about a subject that the author (a medical doctor and otherwise excellent novelist) has no documented first-hand experience in. I have been a Crichton fan since "Terminal Man", and I mean the FIRST time it was published. I have read "Rising Sun" three times over 5 years, each time trying to read through the anti-Japanese propaganda and just enjoy a thriller. "Rising Sun", though, has insurmountable problems. It just isn't possible to issue an indictment of an entire culture simply because its differing values. In Japan, operating within a keiretsu (trading coalition) is perfectly acceptable within the context of Japanese society. Why criticize this behavior? Also, much as I would have loved to have found one, several years of working in or around Japanese-owned companies haven't yet yielded one "secret Japanese clubs" or "$12000 a plate sushi houses". Believe me, I looked for them, too. The best I could come up with is a trivial sushi house attached to a Holiday Inn in San Jose, CA. Secret handshakes make for great suspense novels, though. After reading this novel, you'd think that standard practice in a Japanese company involves intrigue so convoluted that Machiavelli himself be confused. (To be fair to Michael Crichton, "Disclosure" is the same way - I'd be afraid to go to work if people that twisted were as common as Crichton writes in his fictional companies). Criticize specific people, criticize actions...but be very careful when you criticize (even by implication) an entire country. The Japanese have plenty of weaknesses...many Japanese companies have emphasized plant efficiency and teamwork over intellectual capital (why invent it when you can license it). Even a modest review of the Japanese economy since this novel was written pretty much dispels the unstoppable momentum and teflon nature of our Asian friends. I have to admit, I do like the novel for its plot...it's just hard to get away from the unsolicited opinions of the author.
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Summary: The coolest murder mystery
Review: Okay, Agatha Christie, as cool as she is, cant incorporate computers or car chases down a crowded intersate into her books. Chrichton does just that. This book is oozing with suspense, and is just perfect for a rainy night. This is a book meant to be read almost in one sitting, despite its length. This book is a companion to Clive Cussler's "Dragon", which is cooler of course, because Dirk Pitt is the coolest character in all of popular fiction, but still, read this book. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: The movie ruined it
Review: If you read the book, don't see the movie. Crichton has a flair for writing, unfortunatley not all of his books are easily transformed into movie format. Don't let this discourage you from reading and buying the book, it's very good. In his first attempt in giving an accurate look and sound to how frustrating, disgusting, and difficult an investigation for murder is, Crichton breaks the mold from other earlier books that he has written. Crichton uses foul language and explicit details into what appears to be a sexually related murder. This book is definatley not for children that might have read Jurassic Park and other Crichton novels, or for those with sensitive ears and eyes. If you are looking for a thrilling man hunt for a man unknown, a great murder mystery with action and incredible details, this book is for you!
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Summary: Another Crichton great.
Review: It seems like everyword in the Michael Crichton novel "Rising Sun" compeles you to read more. This thriller involves Special Services officer Peter Smith and retired detective John Connor, who are caught in the middle of a murder at the grand opening of the Nakamoto bulding, a new multinational corparation. Connor, who uses some great language in the describing of the Japanese, who own the Nakamoto buliding, is one of the greatest dectectives since Sherlock Holmes.
Even though the language may be objectionable, but the pacing of the story is great and the twists and turns are awesome.
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Summary: How Does Crichton Do It?
Review: This book is fantastic. When I picked it up I'd read a few of Crichton's books and loved them all, but was curious as to whether I could really get into this book, one about the business world. Well, this book drew me in. It's got humor, loads of suspence, an amazingly mysterious plot, and great characters. It was very fascinating to take a look into Japanese culture, specifically as it relates to business and their code 'Business Is War'. The amount of intrigue that is spun in this story really made me wonder about the darker side of big business. It's also very much a mystery, which I had never read and this one I enjoyed immensely. It is fun to watch the two cops, coming from totally different backgrounds, adapt to eachother and grow as friends. I haven't read it in a while so I can't remember their names (Conner I think I forget the other) but you get the idea. It's also great to see them do the impossible in uncovering the conspiracy covered up by a powerful corporation... Great book, read it because it has everything you could want in a story!
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Summary: Dated and too much "Author's Voice," but a good quick read
Review: The facet of writing known as the 'Author's Voice' is both time-honored and despised, a technique where he who writes the story steps forward and expounds his own agenda through the mouths and thoughts of his characters. The use of AV in a novel can be smooth or rough, depending on the author's ability and intelligence and the complexity of the point(s) he wishes to express. Sometimes AV is unintentional---a Catholic writer cannot help but view the world through eyes tinted by Catholicism. Other times AV is quite intentional; the author does everything in his wordsmith power to hammer into the casual reader the importance of his/her personal issues. Michael Crichton's _Rising Sun,_ a bestseller in the early 1990s, is a fine example of the use of intentional AV. Crichton had an axe to grind about the rampant takeover machine that Japan had become and some inherent weaknesses of free trade, and _Rising Sun_ was, to extend the metaphor, his whetstone. The Author's Voice comes out of every character's mouth in the book, from U.S. Congressmen to lowly janitors, giving insight and informed opinion about the looming threat of Japanese dominance. The other parts of the book---a murder mystery, some family strife, and interesting examples of digital manipulation---are all done in a competent fashion, but in truth these elements feel obligatory and forced; a thin veneer to ease the rant; and the chinks and cracks show clearly beneath. The material is a bit dated at this point, with Japan's economy in a long slump and its worldwide presence muted somewhat. Still, _Rising Sun_ is worthwhile because it does educate about certain cultural tendencies and business philosophies of the Japanese while sustaining the 'whodunit' atmosphere essential to a mystery. Crichton's straightforward, rather passive style also makes this a quick read. Of course, you could also watch the movie, which is paint-by-numbers to the manuscript but better paced and more involving.
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