Shogun by James Clavell vs. The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

February 22, 2025

It’s a battle between samurai and Roman legions, but nobody gets hurt.

This probably isn’t the best pair of books to read at the same time.

Both Shogun by James Clavell and The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough are historical epic novels from decades ago. Shogun was published in 1975 at 1210 paperback pages. The First Man In Rome was published in 1990 at 935 paperback pages. The First Man in Rome also has 140 pages of glossary that I didn’t include in my page count. Shogun has no glossary. Shogun paralleled 1970s fascination with East Asian culture. The First Man in Rome paralleled Western culture’s general fascination with the Roman Empire.

Shogun is easy for me to read. It’s more like an adventure novel than a historical drama. I read Shogun almost 50 years ago when I was in eighth grade, just before the NBC mini-series began. The First Man in Rome is a slog (for me). I’ve attempted it three times and have never finished it. I started it a few months ago, and I’m stuck on page 627. I’m much more interested in the Roman Empire than I am in Japanese culture before the influence of the West, so I should be enjoying The First Man In Rome more. I probably should have already finished it by now. I’m only a few hundred pages off.

I’m not sure if THE MOST EXCITING PRODUCTION IN TELEVISION HISTORY holds up 45 years later, but it might be worth a look.

Shogun is primarily a Westerner’s perspective of feudal Japan’s culture, with doses of the Japanese characters’ thoughts and motivations. The First Man in Rome is almost like an insider’s look at ancient Roman life. Even though most of the characters are historical figures, the details of specific locations and everyday items is… kind of boring to a guy like me. Fans of The First Man in Rome are fascinated by the McCullough’s thoroughness, so I can’t complain about it. I know I should appreciate the details, but I get impatient for the author to get to the story.

When you’re done reading Shogun, that’s it. There’s not a sequel. You can watch two TV versions, one from last year on Amazon and one made for network television in 1980. Clavell has some other great novels like Taipan, King Rat, and Noble House, but none of these are directly related to Shogun (as far as I know).

Can you spot the typo from ***Shogun***?

When you’re done reading The First Man in Rome, you have several more books in the series, including The Grass Crown, Fortune’s Favorites, Caesar’s Women, and maybe a couple others that I probably won’t get to. And if that’s not enough, the series Rome on HBO reminds some readers of McCullough’s Rome novels, but I haven’t read enough of her books to know if that comparison is really a comparison. The Rome series is good, though the second season was kind of rushed.

To me, the characters in Shogun are much more interesting. Each character is motivated by fear to some extent, knowing that decapitation or torture is one wrong move or wrong word away. The characters in The First Man in Rome are bland, motivated by their desires for greatness or belief in their destinies. There’s little tension in most scenes. Some of the details are interesting, but (to me) the scenes aren’t riveting. Even characters who suffer brutal deaths show little if any fear of what’s about to happen. Maybe the Romans were made of sterner stuff. Sterner than pre-Western Japanese culture? I doubt that.

Merely ONE of the ten best books of the year? Pffft! What worthless hyperbole!!

I’m a little biased against The First Man in Rome because I want to see the Romans lose, but that’s not The First Man in Rome’s fault. Most readers don’t share my feelings.

I might not have enough time in my life to read a lot of books the size of Shogun or The First Man in Rome series, so I have to be picky. I’ll probably end up finishing both, but my preference so far is Shogun by James Clavell. The First Man in Rome is definitely high quality and worth reading, but the perspectives and pacing in Shogun make it more interesting to me.

What do you think? Which do you prefer? A high quality book that’s thoroughly detailed and historically accurate? Or a high quality book that moves quickly with lots of tension and action and drama?

And to read a book that is NOT a historical epic, get a copy of my ONE novel here on Amazon!!

Or you can get a signed copy from ‘the trunk of my car’ below.