Shōgun books – James Clavell's Asian Saga explained

Created for television by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks (Top Gun: Maverick), the new series is based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell. But actually, Shōgun is just one of the novels in Clavell's expansive Asian Saga series of books.

The new series is set in 1600 and explores Japan on the onset of a century-defining civil war, boasting performances from the likes of Cosmo Jarvis (Persuasion) and Anna Sawai (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) plus much more Japanese acting talent.

But, seeing as Shōgun is just one of the books in the literary universe, read on for everything you need to know about Clavell's Asian Saga series.

How many books are in James Clavell's Asian Saga?

There are six novels in the Asian Saga book series by James Clavell.

Clavell was an Australian-born writer and director who was also a World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Best known for his Asian Saga novels, Shōgun is actually the third novel in the series.

Clavell first wrote and published King Rat in 1962, which is said to be based on Clavell's own experiences of being a prisoner of war, with one of the three main characters, Peter Marlowe, based on Clavell himself.

Clavell then published Tai-Pan in 1966, with Shōgun being the third to be released in 1975. The novel has been described as Clavell's "tour-de-force" and was subsequently adapted as a TV miniseries in 1980, on which Clavell served as producer.

1981 saw the publication of the fourth novel in the saga, Noble House, which went on to become a bestseller and was also adapted as a TV series in 1988. The novel tells the story of Hong Kong as an increasingly deadly playground of the CIA, the KGB and the People's Republic of China.

Whirlwind was then published in 1986, a tale that spans three weeks in Tehran in February 1979.

Finally, Gai-Jin was published in 1993. The final novel in the series is the sequel to Shōgun and is set in 1862 as the power of the Shogun wanes and the rival factions plan to restore the Emperor.

After publishing Whirlwind in 1986, Clavell actually wrote a shorter version of the tale and focused primarily on two characters from the original. Originally titled Escape: The Love Story from Whirlwind, the novel is now known as Escape and is generally not considered part of the Asian Saga.

At the time of Clavell's death in 1994, it was reported that the novelist had plans for several future additions to the Asian Saga series.

How to read James Clavell's Asian Saga in order

There are a couple of different ways to read the Asian Saga, either in the order in which they were published or in the chronological order of the book matter itself.

The order by their internal chronology is as follows:

1. Shōgun
2. Tai-Pan
3. Gai-Jin
4. King Rat
5. Noble House
6. Whirlwind

But if you want to read them in the order in which they were published, the order for doing so is:

1. King Rat (1962)
2. Tai-Pan (1966)
3. Shōgun (1975)
4. Noble House (1981)
5. Whirlwind (1986)
6. Gai-Jin (1993)

Shōgun will premiere on Disney Plus on Tuesday 27th February with its first two episodes, episodes will then be released weekly. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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