Rising Sun: A Novel

Rising Sun is a great novel, but not if you're trying to read yourself to sleep. Too much fast-paced action for that.

The novel Rising Sun was originally published in 1992, fully 25 years ago as I write this review, and during that time the world has changed enormously. Michael Crichton writes of a U.S. preoccupied with the threat of an increasingly economically dominant Japan and the story basically revolves around that conflict. History has developed quite differently, it turns out, and the Japanese economic bubble that was taking place when this story was written has now collapsed. Today a more appropriate choice for concern would probably be China. Still, the story is fascinating and enjoyable. Having seen the Sean Connery / Wesley Snipes movie several times over the years, I was curious to see how similar the book was to the movie. This turns out to be one of those cases where they seem to be practically identical, not only in the major elements of the story but in the feel and personalities of the characters. The most notable difference does not become clear until late in the book and is a fascinating one - the retired Captain John Connor, played in the movie by Sean Connery, is black in the story, and the detective Peter J. Smith, the Special Services Liaison for the Los Angeles Police Department, played by Wesley Snipes, is white. I heard Connery's voice in my mind as I read the words of John Conner, and it was an unexpected surprise when a casual remark late in the story disclosed that Conner would not fit the Connery image at all! That didn't detract from the story but it was an interesting difference. The action moves quickly as Conner, senpai to the less experienced kōhai Smith, work together to determine the real killer and identify the motivations for the killing and subsequent coverup, and fight off the manipulations being attempted by the Japanese behind the scenes to influence their investigation and outcome. The twists and turns are well concealed and even knowing the story it was enjoyable and often unpredictable to see how it all developed in the book. I've enjoyed Michael Crichton's books over the years, and although it's likely that I read Rising Sun years ago when it was first released, I did not remember the story from the book. Returning to it now was enjoyable and a worthwhile read.

This will keep you on the edge of sanity, hearing what the Japanese are willing to do to gain a foothold in American industry. The characters seem real, the action intense. If you doubt Crichton's assessment of the Japanese, read the books listed at the end of the novel.

This book was probably more interesting 20 years ago or so. A young woman is murdered at the grand opening of a big new Japanese owned hotel. As detectives smith and Connor try to solve the mystery, the Japanese fight them and refuse to cooperate at every turn. The subjects of racism and Japanese imperialism come up often. In the end, there is a twist when the murderer is revealed but honestly it got very tiring hearing the long and constant Drabble about the Japanese superiority and the Japanese this and the Japanese that. It was just too much. This book could have been half as long and more interesting. I also objected to the ridiculous way Connor never ever told his partner about any theories or developments in the case. Smith was useless and a terrible cop. Kind of dull and very unrealistic. Waaaayyy too wordy

Michael Crichton was, of course, a master of the techno-thriller. Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Prey - From the 70s until the late Aughts, when Crichton passed away, there were few better masters of plotting and pacing. Often overlooked in his resume, though, is Rising Sun, a book that is really interesting to read even now, 25 years after it was published. Rising Sun is, primarily, a murder mystery, a standard thriller novel, but placed in a slightly different timeline than ours. In this timeline, the Japanese have leveraged their ability to protect their markets while exploiting ours to become the foremost producer of just about everything modern. As a result, they find themselves owning most of Los Angeles, where Rising Sun takes place. Interwoven through the very good murder mystery are occasional sidelines into the corruption of modern Washington politics and the media, as well as the nigh-impenetrable facade of Japanese business culture. There are warnings in Rising Sun (again, written 25 years ago) that appear to have born fruit today - the decline of manufacturing in America, our dependency on Wall Street, and the imminent rise of ‘alternative facts’ (the idea that the real truth doesn’t matter, perception is all that counts). Of course, there are plenty of things that stick out to a modern reader. VCRs and car phones, for instance, will be just about incomprehensible to younger readers, as might pay phones and ‘land lines’, but they don’t detract from the plot terribly much. I’d say that, overall, Rising Sun holds up remarkably well 25 years after it was written.

Great eye opening read on world politics. Today Japan isn't what it was, but China is now a similar threat.

Asian nations know how to play the long game. They know how to think. The U. S. is not a ship of state, it is a Ship of Fools. We wallow in foolish pity for adversarial world players and we lose. We have consistently failed to view the world's nations realistically-All Of Them. When we treat other nations like unruly teenagers and allow them to act out, clean up their messes for them, allow them to take advantage of us politically and economically, we do not do them or their people any favors; nor do we help ourselves and our own people. Japan suffered a severe depression after this book was written, however, there is much to be learned here. Replace the word China over Japan. China is not as racist as Japan but it is as ambitious. Replace the words Central America over Japan. These countries are not rich but their governments are corrupt, self serving, and expect us to further their goals with U. S. wealth. All these countries are playing the long game against our foolishness, our stupidity. It's time for our country to grow up, stop behaving like a thirteen year old girl with a crush on a young hood. We have whole populations without career goals or hopes for a future. This book, in its subtle way, is holding up a mirror and saying, "Look. It's not too late. If we don't look after our own country, your own people, nobody else will," just as a parent looks after and nurtures a two year old...unlike a well dressed, wanton woman. Get it?

One of my favorite things about Michael Crichton novels is the sheer amount of research he put into each one. The story here is fascinating, but I'm not sure how well his profile of Japanese culture has aged (or was accurate). I remember reading this in the 90s and feeling the tension with the emerging presence & brilliance of Japanese technology in the American market, but it seems like Crichton presented a series of racial tropes and then attempted to deconstruct/individuate them; just not sure how successful he ultimately was by the end of the book. The narrator is also a bland 'everyman' type of character (foil to Connor, but still). The adventure, however, keeps you hooked.

un good novel for those who want to deep back in 90' and Japanese threat, from an american perspective.

It is an nice thriller on the difficulties of communication between cultures. More of a spy than really documenting the case.

Excellent book. Very good detective story. Lots of information on Japan but in such a way that it keeps you invested in the story . Always enjoy Michael crichton's books.

読んでから随分と経ってしまいましたが、心に残っている一冊です

Es una historia detectivesca muy entretenida, con excelentes referencias a la cultura japonesa. La película del mismo nombre tiene la misma premisa, pero el libro es mucho mejor en la mayoría de los aspectos. Aunque gran parte del tono del libro está afectado por la percepción del Japón en los EE. UU. en los 1980s, los datos referenciados son reales y hacen que el intriga sea más interesante. Recomendable para los que gustan de historias de detectives, aficionados a las novelas de Crichton o a los interesados en la cultura japonesa.