Customer Reviews

Rising Sun

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am not a Crichton fan but for some reason always wind up reading his latest book. There is always at least something of interest there. So I was very pleasantly surprised with Rising Sun, a book that takes an unexpected turn for Crichton in that it is light on the science and heavy on character and plot. A murder mystery entangled in the complexities of Japanese business dealings in America, it provides Crichton with an opportunity - through several of his characters - to vent about Japanese culture and the problems American business has competing with them.

The book works on several levels. It is an exciting mystery, an interesting exposition about Japanese business and culture and - as always with Crichton - a lesson in new technology. Whether the insights one gleans about the Japanese are true or not (and that was a controversial aspect of the book when first published) the image of them presented in the book is perfect to create the tension and intrigue that helps keep the plot ticking and holds the reader's interest till the end.

After finishing this book, I let out a big breath, probably the first one in over 3 hours, as I could not stop reading this book for its(no pun intended)breathtaking plot and international intrigue. At its heart, this novel is a book about how Japan is taking over America's economy(there are good examples from Crichton, he has done his research, check the rather large bibliography), and the fact that the Japanese will do anything to control it. As Crichton states many times, Japan's motto is "Business is War", and after finishing this, I cannot help but agree. The story revolves around Lt. Peter Smith and John Connor(haha), who investigate the murder of a beautiful young girl, who was murdered at the Grand Opening of the Nakamoto Building.A great mystery ensues, and even Crichton's lack of detailed descriptions flies by your mind like the pages you are reading. I recommend to read this over the weekend on a soft hammock, just to prove you want fall asleep.Also check out Sphere and Jurassic Park, but do not go anywhere near The Terminal Man.......UGH!

Michael Crichton wrote RISING SUN in 1992, when Japan was considered a big economic threat to the United States. Since then, Japan's economy has fallen into a long-term recession, and it has sold back many of the American properties it purchased over a decade ago. Japan is still a serious economic force, but it's no longer the economic bogeyman it used to be.

There's a decent murder mystery in RISING SUN, but this novel is essentially an excuse for Crichton to express his fear of Japanese business practices. Much of the dialogue in this novel is stilted, and is merely a front for Crichton to express his view that the American way of doing business is outdated, and cannot compete effectively against Japanese methods. Many of the characters are nothing more than caricatures designed to push this message.

Crichton makes some interesting points in this novel, but he is not particularly subtle. He basically makes the same points again and again, through one repetitive chapter after another. This novel starts very well, but it eventually wore itself thin with all the doomsaying and preachiness.

RISING SUN is an interesting read, and a clever thriller. But I wish Crichton had spent more time on characterization and plot, and less time on his agenda.

There are lots of detail to flesh out the events and plenty of Crichton's interesting insights on Japanese-American business relations and Japanese vs. American society. If you like to read books with details that spur you on to check it out for yourself this is a buy for you. (Crichton has a selection of other books in the end to help you follow up).

I've read this book twice, once several years ago and again last night. Bottom line: no matter the controversy or the debate about this book to me it's still a good techno-thriller/suspense read. Sure it'll fail as a textbook but as fiction it's great.

For those who are truly interested in the themes presented in the "Rising Sun" pick up "Bushido" by Inazo Nitobe and the "Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi. Shameless plug here as both are available here at Amazon. :) They are hard to find in regular, walk-in bookstores here in the States. I bought my copies in Japan (Kinokuniya's in the Kanto area seems to have plenty of them) so if you're not heading there any time soon start clicking.

Also, if you haven't seen the movie version it's quite entertaining as well if you end up liking this book.

Just remember, don't ride the high horse while reading the book, just take an easy stride, relax, and enjoy.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5. If you are interested in a book filled with mystery, suspense, and action, the Rising Sun can be very appropriate. The Rising Sun by Michael Crichton, is a story based on a Japanese motto "business is war". It teaches you how the Japanese view business and how serious is its for them. The whole story is based upon a character who shows big attraction towards business.

The story line starts with a dead body of an American girl. From the beginning to the end, the whole plot is filled with suspense and action. Even though the book uses some vulgar language and includes some racial views, Crichton uses them the right way only making the book seem more interesting. The curses are only from the characters' dialect making the book sound more realistic and the racial view are the same perspectives one can have in real life.

This book with an unexpected ending and a very suspenseful story line, it makes the reader keep on reading. With false foreshadowing made by the audience, many ironic things are found at the end. The ending is very different from the what the reader would expect. If you are really interested in finding out the ending, you should really get this book and read it.

I read this mainly because as a late-comer to the Michael Chrichton list of novels, I read Jurassic Park mostly due to the interest generated by the movie--the book,by the way, was CLEARLY SUPERIOR to the movie--I ended up reading this one as well. This was my 2nd Chrichton novel, and I was VERRRRY pleased with it. On the whole I despise books written in 'first person' but Rising Sun was exceptional because it WAS written this way. Some of the scathing reviews on this book puzzle me, if these people who are so critical of his writing are THAT good at guessing the outcome--AND--got tired of the writing style, maybe THEY shouldwrite a string of best sellers and IF they pull it off, maybe THEN the remarks will have merit. Until then, this book is a GREAT murder/mystery, and a great deal of fun to boot. Kudos to Chrichton...AGAIN.

It is amazing how much can change in a decade. By 1992, communism had fizzled; an obscure Democrat named Bill Clinton was President. And Michael Crichton was writing a novel about the threat posed by the Japanese.
In the Rising Sun, John Connor and Lt. Peter Smith are called to assist in a homicide at Nakamato Towers, a sprawling conglomerate. What starts out as a trivial murder, soon explodes and becomes a tale of Japanese industrial subterfuge reaching the corridors of power.
Crichton does an admirable effort of explaining the cultural differences between the West and East. In the 80's Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler and Ford, in his autobiography, had warned of the insidious business practices of the Japanese, but it took the talent of Crichton to bring it to a mass audience. The plot is decent, with Connor in the perfect role as teacher.
However when one reads the Rising Sun in the present, one is struck with the realization that though the charges remain, the bugbear has changed. It is no longer Japan; it is now China. (Especially after Lenovo bought the PC division of IBM.)

Going beyond the tense murder investigation, the duplicity of foreign corporations, and the hypocrisy of our elected officials, this novel might just teach us that the American economy is more resilient than we think.

I think 'Rising Sun' is among Michael Crichton's finest works, but time hasn't been too kind to it. With an early 1992 publication date (of the hardcover edition), it would have been conceived by Crichton during the height of the Japanese 'bubble economy.' The U.S. was awash those days in fears of Japanese economic hegemony. Various 'serious' books questioned whether the Japanese 'model' would supplant the US' as the dominant paradigm of the new century. Crichton's book - a very-well written, suspenseful thriller - plays off of those fears.

Well, a big 'oops' is in order here. Turns out the Japanese economy was very (VERY) overheated and a bloated Nikkei (peaking at over 40,000 compared to today's tepid 10,000 - 12,000 range) masked what now appear to be fundamental issues with the Japanese model - the paralyzation casued by excessive corporate cross-ownership of shares, failure of banks to recognize even the most obvious non-paying loans, massive transportation projects concreting the entire country without rhyme or reason...the list goes on. The upshot is an economy that has run - at best - sideways for 12 years or more.

Kudos go now to Prime Minister Koizumi who really seems to be tackling these issues head-on and making good progress (most notably in bank reform). But the effect of the last 12 years is to really take the steam out of edgy, confrontational books like 'Rising Sun', which is actually a critique of Japan itself masked as a thriller. It's a shame because the book itself is quite a ride and a masterful novel of suspense. I know it sounds like a tired cliche, but I literally couldn't put 'Rising Sun' down and read it straight through in one extended sitting. If you do read it now, just remember that Crichton's book is predicated on the perception of Japanese power, circa 1989 - 1990.

To the Japanese business is war by other means. What is the Nakamoto murder and 12 years after this book's writing can it still hold a reader's attention? The answer is yes.

Special services is a diplomatic detail in the LAPD. A homicide is reported at the Nakamoto Tower. A caucasian woman has died. Peter J. Smith has been assigned to the Special Services detail for the past six months. An experienced officer, John Connor, tells Smith that a foreigner can never master the etiquette of bowing.

The ninety seven floor building had been constructed from prefab units from Nagasaki. In the 1970's 150,000 Japanese students a year were studying in America while 200 U.S. students were studying in Japan. Peter Smith is dealing with Mr. Ishiguro. A very important business reception is taking place and Mr. Ishiguro does not want his guests to be bothered by any aspects of the investigation whatsoever. Every homicide scene has energy.

The author states that Japanese people are sensitive to context and behave appropriately under the circumstances. There is a shadow world in New York and Los Angeles and other American cities available only to the Japanese. Two men had already searched the victim's apartment. In Japan every criminal is caught. There is a ninety nine per cent conviction rate. In the U.S. it is seventeen per cent. A crime occurred with the expectation it would not be solved.

In Japan scandal is the most common way of revising the pecking order. Officer Smith would like to find a house suitable for raising his daughter but has found that the real estate prices are beyond his means. National cultures clashing create fragility in understanding as does the clash of business cultures. Out of the blue it would seem the two police officers are the subjects of bribery attempts by the Japanese.

The solution of the crime is elaborate and laid out with care. All in all the story is very engrossing.

Crichton departs from his usual formula in "Rising Sun", and the changes are not good ones. Instead of casting his big-plan-gone-wrong plot in some arena of science - scientific history, scientific future, medicine, technology - he chooses politics. Perhaps the story worked when it was first written, but ten years later it comes off as reactionary and outdated.

Worse, instead of focusing on the nuts-and-bolts action of his story, Crichton makes a foray into more emotional territory with a first-person narrative that includes multiple love interests and parenting issues. He fails, however, to make his character either a believable man or a believable Crichton hero.

But the book is not a failure: Crichton does still succeed at what he's always been best at. "Rising Sun" is an entertaining, quick read with plenty of twists and turns. For readers seeking only a quick thrill, the book offers more than enough.