Rising Sun: A Novel

This was the worst Crichton book I have read. The first half plus of the book was filled with slams on the Japanese which may or may not have been true at the time. At any rate reading these was not the least bit entertaining. The characters were dull and uninteresting. To me, this book was a chore to labor through and I was glad to finally finish (and hopefully soon forget).

Every generation has a national boogeyman to fear. In the 50s and 60s, it was Russian communists. In the 70s, it was the OPEC nations. In the 80s, it was the Japanese. Books, movies, and TV shows of the era were filled with fears of a future where the Japanese took over the world. Crichton's novel fits squarely in the genre of nationalistic propaganda and it doesn't hold up well.

On its surface, "Rising Sun" is a murder mystery. Two Los Angeles detectives are called in to investigate the murder of a beautiful white woman (her race is relevant) found at a party held in the US headquarters of a Japanese corporation. However, the true nature of the book quickly becomes apparent. One of the detectives John Connor is an expert at Japan while the other knows nothing of the Japanese. Connor is constantly explaining the Japanese to the novice detective, and it's not always flattering.

Like most of Crichton's books, "Rising Sun" is an agenda thinly disguised as an action novel. The real purpose of the book is to warn about the dangers of Japan to the United States. We're exposed to corrupt Japanese who use the US as a playground to enjoy drugs and women with immunity, Japanese corporations who steal US technology but don't share it with the States, and the racist and corrupt underbelly of Japanese culture. "Rising Sun" starts and ends with the idea that Japan is an evil nation trying to commit economic warfare and is a threat to the freedom of the world.

Now that we're a few decades on and Japan has suffered one of the worst economic collapses in world history, his anti-Japanese monologues come across even clearer as the xenophobic tripe they are. As other reviewers have said, you can replace Japan with any other country you want, and his arguments sound the same, which should be a clue that they're meaningless.

As a murder mystery, the novel is not very good. The body is there, the clues are there, and the detectives are there, but there isn't a straight mystery story. The plot itself is just a vehicle to bring the detectives into contact with different aspects of Japan world-view to trigger one of the endless monologues about the Japanese. If you took out all the anti-Japan screeds, the story would be three chapters long. In the end, there isn't really a "whodunit" revelation as much as an "Oh okay" moment when the killer is revealed to be pretty much exactly who you think he is.

I did enjoy his descriptions of Japanese traditions and rituals, though. Connor's explanation on how to bow and greet a Japanese businessman is one of my favorite pieces of writing ever. I just would have liked a story with a more balanced view of Japan since Crichton clearly researched the country and its mysteries.

Not Crichton's best work.

In general I try to avoid reading Crichton’s books if I have seen the film taken from them. I prefer to leave them for last, when, alas, there won’t be others left. This time, however, I made an exception, also because it’s been so many years since I saw “Rising Sun” at the theatre. I didn’t exactly remember the plot and it was nice to rediscover it in the pages of this novel, even if some details came to my mind as I went on.
I must admit that during the reading I often found myself imagining Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes playing the main characters and it was a great feeling. It was like reliving that film, but in a much more diluted and in-depth way.
The story itself is about the murder of a young high-profile prostitute in a Los Angeles skyscraper belonging to a large Japanese company, which took place at the same time with an important party that involved many famous people (some real ones, who are mentioned by the author, even if they are never seen in a scene). The game of deception, the technological element and the succession of events (the story takes place in two days) full of twists and turns make this novel a fast read, despite its length. But what makes it even more interesting is all that in the film, for obvious reasons of time, could only be mentioned: the technological war between the US and Japan in the 90s. Crichton, mixing reality and fantasy, makes us learn more about Japanese industrial practices and the culture of the rising sun. He does so in particular through the character of Connor, an experienced policeman with a love-hate relationship with Japan, made of understanding and respect for its rules despite this does not correspond to a total acceptance or even approval of the same, who leads the protagonist, Smith, in a difficult case that everyone, for one reason or another, wants to close as soon as possible. This is the death of a woman of “no importance”, as defined by the Japanese characters, but that somehow is able to upset many other lives, perhaps even Smith’s.
What I also found very interesting is the technical aspects concerning the tampering of surveillance videos, even though now, with direct recording on files, it appears obsolete.
Overall, in this novel, as usual, Michael Crichton manages to combine a page-turning plot with valuable insights, able to leave a mark well beyond the time dedicated to reading.

Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, author of Kindred Intentions

There are people who have complained that this book does not make the Japanese look good. I say that author Crichton was much harsher on his fellow Americans. If anyone feels this book does not provide an accurate depiction of Japanese mentality and culture, I am anxious to hear from them.

Yes, the murder mystery story is secondary to the novels comparative analysis of Japanese and American culture and business practices, but that is Crichton's modus operandi. It does describe how Japan has essentially taken over certain crucial industries from the Americans, such as televisions and semiconductors, and how the Japanese won't buy our products when they sell to us-and how practices we Americans would consider wrong are perfectly normal to them. But the book also describes how we Americans have become complacent and let ourselves get into trouble.

Japan isn't so well-off now? But American complacency is still a problem, and threats from the outside world are neither phobias or bigotry-they are real, even in the SJW crowd pretends otherwise.

Those of you who are reading me for quite some time know that I am a big fan of Michael Crichton (https://zahraammar.wordpress.com). That man was brilliant with his pen and to this day whenever I think that he is dead, I feel sorrow, deep deep sadness. I think all children of the 90s owe him their childhood fascination of dinosaurs and the dreams that anything could be possible. I have read a lot of his books (not all yet) over the years and I was mildly surprised when this turned out to be murder mystery woven into corporate creepiness combined with cultural nuances. It is well executed, well paced and well balanced. Except, I wasn't really hanging onto every page reminding myself to breath, because he has been so good in the past, I have forgotten to perform a basic autonomous function like breathing.

The air is like a modern Clavell's Taipan, except the setting is Los Angeles and there is a beautiful escort who is entwined in some dangerous habits along with secret liaisons who gets murdered in a conference room at the opening of a landmark Japanese building. There is this Sherlock Holmes and Watson thing going on with the two main protagonists, one of whom is named John Connor, so when I imagine him, I see either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Christian Bale, neither of whom fit the description and mess around with my visualisation of the story. Anyhow, the other dude has recently moved to the foreign liaison department and gets called and tags along Connor who is more attuned to all things Japanese. Tensions start to rise within the police department and the attaches and trivialities unravel into winding ways and if you think you know who did it, well, let me tell you, you didn't.
It is a really good read. I enjoyed learning about Japanese culture and some history and I know I am gushing but Crichton's voice is too strong to ignore.

Rising Sun
P.S I know there is a movie version out there with Sean Connery...gasp... but I don't think I am ready to watch it just yet.

I'm not much of a reader of detective or mystery novels. However, after reading Rising Sun, I may need to go out and buy a couple good books and see what the genre is like. Rising Sun is unlike the mountain and technological thrillers that Crichton is known for. It's more of a mystery than thriller and lacks much of the technology aspect from his other books. It was a very refreshing new look at the type of books Crichton can write and was actually very intriguing.

Rising Sun takes place in Los Angles and a time where the Japanese have begun to invest heavily into the United States. Peter Smith, is in Japanese liaison for the Special Services department of the LAPD. Basically, he works with the police department in cases dealing with the Japanese community. He's called to an investigation into a murder of a woman at the grand opening of the new Nakamoto Tower, the headquarters of a major Japanese company. Smith brings in an old cop, John Connor, to help with the investigation. Connor was also part of the Special Services and specialized in working with the Japanese. His is a smart man with deep connections in the Japanese community. Together, they work to solve the case of the murdered woman, running across the Los Angles area and running into different problems along the way.

Crichton does a very good job of leaving small details throughout the book. They are unnoticeable at first, but when they become key pieces of the story later on, I was definitely amazed at how I just glanced over the parts. Timeline is filled with small plot twists and made me constantly change who I was suspecting to be behind the murder. Every piece of evidence added a new dimension to the story and slowly unraveled the reason behind her murder.

Each character in the story was very well developed. I felt a clear progression with the development of the main protagonist, Peter Smith. Throughout the book, his past history becomes a part of the story. Every moment, I learned something more about him, whether its something about his personality and the way he acts or about something in his past. The other characters in the story are also well represented. Each feel very unique and different from each other. On one side of the spectrum, we have a detective that absolutely loathes the Japanese and is always gunning to try and do something to take them down. On the other side, we have more reflective people who take the time to really think about the situation.

I got a glimpse into the prejudices and feelings that Americans had towards the Japanese during the time period. Many of the characters gave the feeling of being anti-Japanese. It was very interesting to see this type of viewpoint from back then in the modern world. Now, Japanese culture has infused itself into our everyday lives. Companies like Honda, Sony, and Samsung are now household names today and are held with high respect, but in the book, the people saw them as enemies. How we view others changes over the years and Rising Sun shows a clear change from the modern world. I did feel that this idea was way overemphasized in the book. Every person seemed to want to say the same thing about them, but in a different way. It got a bit boring and annoying after the first couple times.

There are some very graphic passages throughout the book, both through the use of profanity and through images. I felt a bit repulsed at the excessive use of profanity throughout the book, but it does fit the time period of which it came. Some of the graphic descriptions of the murdered woman are a bit over the top. Crichton definitely didn't have to go all out on this subject, but he did anyways.

I'm not well versed in prime detective novels, but I still felt that Crichton gave a very strong effort into Rising Sun. It's fast paced and thrilling. The characters are wonderfully diverse and its interesting to see how they change throughout the book. It's full of plot twists and will keep you guessing. If you can get around the profanity and constant ranting on the Japanese, Rising Sun is a great read and is one of the more unique books from Michael Crichton.

Solid read. Good, not great, but better than most. Not my favorite Chrichton book, but better than most I've read. Am I being repetitious?

It's a unique detective story. While Japan isn't anywhere near the economic threat to the United States like it was in the past (that title now belongs to global debt levels), this was still an interesting read. While the story was good, the real value here is a look inside the Japanese culture. Reading is fun, but it's even better when you learn something about the world.

Recommended as much for the education of a foreign culture as the entertainment.

This acclaimed novel is set against the backdrop of Japanese-American tensions at the time of its writing - each side apprehensive, protective of their own territory and culture. The plot revolves around an American female's murder in Nakomoto, a Japanese corporation on American soil - and that distinct setting sets the wheels of this novel in motion. The intricacies of etiquette, culture, duty that is inherent to Japan plays a key role as the investigation begins to unfold. Only one man can identify and effectively communicate with the Japanese - enter Captain Connor, played deliciously well by the ultimate Sean Connery in the movie adaptation of the book.

Crichton, who must be fluent in Japanese, intersperse random Japanese phrases and customs throughout the book. One of my favorites is the sempai-kohai relationship between Captain Connor, the sempai or the mentor and coach, and Lieutenant Smith, the kohai or trainee. I remember one afternoon picking up a book comprised of Japanese traditional expressions soon after this book - so inspired I felt in learning the thousand year old expressions of their culture. I barely made it past fist few pages of my book, "The Japanese have a word for it"; it was overwhelming to consume in one sitting. The sheer complexity of each expression and its history wore me out. The demands of society and pressures of tradition are tremendous on the lives of the Japanese and puzzling to the rest of the world - the non-Japanese ones of us who can neither fully grasp nor appreciate the depth of servitude felt by this nation.

As one who is fascinated by the Japanese culture, language, country, eccentricities and mysteries, this books adds an intense and mixed angle of perspective for me. The story is a mystery murder and while interesting, it does not make up the core of the book. While the murder plot carries you through the pages, nothing is more engrossing than Connor's brutal honesty about how the Japanese think and do business. "Business is war to the Japanese", he repeats over and over - and you will see why if you read the book.

The suspense of the murder mystery is no simple maze to follow. Twists and turns into the investigation thicken, as they should in every good story, and yet remain realistic to the reader. The plot spoiler warning applies here as I disclose the vast difference between the endings of movie and book. In Crichton's novel, Theresa and Lt. Smith do not end up together, there exists no previous relationship between Theresa and Captain Connor, and Ishigoro, the Japanese employee, is the real murderer as opposed to an entirely different character in the movie. This is no small difference as the entire story is built to incriminate Ishigoro in the end. Imagine my disappointment as I learned that Sean Connery not only played Captain Connor but was also the executive producer of the film - and he allowed for such a large deviation from the novel? I would defer to Crichton whose imagination first brought us to the world of the Rising Sun. I prefer the ending in the book.

The story line was good but too often Crichton, as usual, drifted from the story to to preach on a political theme. This time the perceived problem of the Japanese take over of the US economy. He lost the drive of the story in his apparent racist remarks about the culture and people of Japan. And as we know the Japanese have not taken over the US economy, Just as in "State of Fear" his thoughts of the conspiracy of climate change are not well thought out or, of course, truthful.

Rising Sun is very different than most other Crichton novels. Written after Jurassic Park, Rising Sun moved away from his standard sci fi theme. This delved into the murder mystery realm.

It mixes cultural differences between Americans and Japanese business people (and between American and Japanese bad guys) in with a good old fashioned murder whodunit. It's all very well constructed and paints a vivid picture of the story that takes the reader along for the ride.

I'm not even a big fan of the murder mystery genre, but Rising Sun had be hooked from the start. I found it compelling from cover to cover and was surprised at how addicted I was to each page.

The movie turned out pretty good as well!

This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed when I read it. Although a detective story, Michael Crichton used this as the background to inform Americans about our competitive relationship with Japan. I have met others who have read this book stating that Crichton was way out of his league when he wrote it. They criticized how he stereotyped the Japanese, but much of what he wrote although somewhat exaggerated were true. As a business student in the 80s, I often read about the tension between American industries and their Japanese counter-parts. Japanese business approaches, practices and attitudes were studied and well documented. Such practices as product dumping were common for Japanese businesses, which drove many American electronics companies to bankruptcy and at a market disadvantage.

I believe that Crichton by writing this novel was trying to alert Americans to the growing threat that concerned many in corporate America. The novel was to serve as a warning not only about Japan's growing economic power, but its aggressive acquisitions of market positions, industries and real estate which were once dominated by Americans.

Accusations of racism are often attributed with this novel, but such thinking is unavoidable as the Japan Inc. is being scrutinized. As one reads one cannot feel some animosity towards the Japanese, which again is Crichton's purpose to awaken the reader to American interests. One case in point was how when American made cars were purchased in Japan that the consumer was marked for tax audit by the government. What Crichton failed to include was the reason for this was that American cars were the trademark for the Japanese Yakuza, who primarily purchased such cars: thus triggering the tax audits. Such a presentation of "racist" policies by the Japanese are emotionally charged and effective, but are only a partial truth of what was occurring between Japanese and American business relations.

At the time that it was written, none foresaw the economic recession that hit Japan in the mid-1990s, and how it would deflate not only their economies but their national ego as well. One can only speculate where would the two countries be if the recession had not halted Japan's economic advance.

Rising sun is a great book. While not as heavy on action as Timeline or some of Chrichton's other books, it has enough plot twists and interesting parts to keep you wanting to read more.
It starts off when the main character, special liason Peter Smith, recieves a call of a mysterious homocide over at a huge Japanese building. Coincidentaly, the grand opening is on the same night as the murder and the Japanese don't want the murder to interfere with their party. After picking up his sempai, (superior) John Connor, he goes to the building to investigate. When he gets to the building, the suspense starts up and there's a whole bunch of plot twists and investigating. In fact, the first 200 pages or so are great and are worthy of five stars. But after that, it slows down. There's a whole bunch of talking in stead of finding clues and it gets boring after a while. Also, if you are Japanese, I strongly urge you NOT to read this book. Many Japanese will find it offending, partly because of one of the characters in the book cussing them off all of the time. Also, there's a really weak ending. After all of that 270 pages of talking, I expected some shooting or action, but there wasn't. There was just a whole bunch of talking.
All in all:
PROS: Good plot; lots of mystery and suspense; (for the first 200 pages) and lots of plot twists.
CONS: Gets boring after a while; Offensive to the Japanese; Very slow and unintersting; (after the first 200 pages) and a very dull ending.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're really in to mystery books, you'll enjoy Rising Sun. But if you're not in to mystery books, it's a safe bet that there are many better books (especially by Michael Crichton) out there.

I loved this book. Crichton is perfect. I coundn't put this down. I read this in less than a 24-hour period and its nearly 400 pages. Great book great book great book. It has become a bit dated because the Japanesse business surge has lessen. I still recommend it because of its great story. What I can't believe is the reviews I read here! This book is not offensive to the Japanesse businesses. It simply points out the cultural differences between American dirty business and Japanesse dirty business. He takes a very objective look at both countries people and business and shows why we are losing the battle. He also gives extremely competent opinions of how to fix the problems. I read a review by The New York Times that put into words what I thought after reading this. "Every so often, a work of popular fiction vaults over its humble origins as entertainment, grasps the American imagination and stirs up the volcanic subtexts of our daily life. Uncle Tom's Cabin was that kind of book; so was Laura Z. Hobson's Gentleman's Agreement. Michael Crichton's 8th novel, Rising Sun, a thriller set against the background of current American-Japanesse tensions, is likely to be another...That he should now write so passionately and engagingly on matters of Japanesse culture and the survival of a free and productive America- that is the true surprise of Rising Sun...Rising Sun exposes the raw nerves of a country in profound economic distress, of a people with declining faith in themselves, their leaders and their past, a people very uneasy about their future. Despite the book's provocative tone, Mr.Crichton is no xenophobe, no fool, no ranting bigot. The questions he poses are of great consequence in the debate about America's condition at the end of the American century. What more could one ask of a work of popular fiction?"

Rising Sun took the form of most Crichton tech thrillers mixed with just enough action and suspense to keep the reader plunging ahead not only for the plot action but also to learn about the endless technological wonders that are in store. Overall the book was good and opened my eyes to yet another world living "below the surface" of regular society. This time Crichton chose the corporate world of Japanese in America and a relatively simple murder case to ignite an international incident. The book takes the reader on a ride through the upper class businesses and underground bars and karioke clubs of the Japanese in L.A. This mixed with Crichton's exciting explanations of cutting edge technology (this time in digital video) made for a page turner that, when finished, I could even brag that I learned something. This one even came packed with a deep economic warning steering us away from our continued and growing dependence on Japan. The only thing that I didnt like about this one was the first person view in which Crichton chose to write it in. At times it seemed to have a choppy flow and an almost childish "he said she said" way about it. Overall, the book was a fast read and, like almost all Crichton I've read, suprisingly educational and enjoyable at the same time. A good read for any Crichton fan or anyone wanting a fast reading novel with an edge of truth.

I totally disagree with those who claim this novel to be anti-Japanese and/or racist. Pay attention to the detail of the story and Crichton's comment's at the end of the book and you will know how he feels. Rising Sun is nothing more than a vehicle to tell a story from the viewpoint of one particular character. Would I agree that Rising Sun is Politically INCorrect? Yes -- a little...but so is Disney's Song of the South, does it mean there was some ulterior racist motive by the author? I don't believe it for a second. If you'll remember, Rising Sun came out at a time when wealthy Japanese Industrialists were snatching up sections of Los Angeles and huge portions of Hawaii left and right. I believe in many ways Crichton pays a HUGE compliment to the Japanese people portraying them as fierce competitors who do not take business decisions lightly. I myself have worked for a Japanese company in the past, and I can tell you they are incredibly smart people with a work ethic that puts most of the world to shame.
With that aside, Rising Sun is so TOTALLY different from Crichton's other novels that I very nearly passed it by. But I decided to take a gamble and it paid off really well. In fact, I'd love to see him do another murder/mystery. He is easily one of the most adaptable authors I have ever read (next to Greg Iles). The forensic descriptions and technical detail are in fact amazingly detailed (as usual) and on many levels I felt I was right in the middle of the action AS it was happening. Crichton's attention to each and every nook & cranny of the plotline serves to give us what certainly feels like an insiders view of what a murder investigation is really like.
Word of caution: The movie version is truly one of the worst film-adaptations I have EVER seen. I like Wesley Snipes, but he in NO WAY fits the character he portrays in the novel. PLUS, if you think that because you may have seen the movie you know the outcome, you DON'T. Another MAJOR screw-up in the movie is they alter the plot SO much that we have a completely DIFFERENT murderer in the movie than in the book. It never ceases to amaze me how Hollywood can take a perfectly good novel, and think that in order to make it better, they have the talent to re-write it. They need to ask themselves this: WHAT exactly was it that made the book to popular in the first place? Keep it as close to the novel as possible and you'd be surprised at how successful these stories can be on the big screen (take Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings as one impressive example).
All in all this is one of my top 3 favorite Crichton novels, and I am quite anxious for his follow-up to Timeline (c'mon Michael! It's been almost 3 YEARS...!). For fans of the murder/mystery genre, don't let his past techno-sci/fi novels keep you from this well told tale of suspense. Not just good, but simply GREAT storytelling.

I confess I read this book in a single day, skipping some of the sermons. I enjoyed the mixture of fast-paced narrative and paranoid vision of American decline. Crichton is intelligent and a good story-teller. But I wouldn't read it twice, as I with a really compelling story.
A haunting tale can be built upon a vision of pure paranoia, as George Orwell showed in 1984. When we open a novel, we are entering an imaginary world, or at least the world as the author sees it in some mood, so it does not do to be too thin-skinned. (As some below appear. Literature must come from honest private impression, not the censored version of reality that is public convention.) But in the best anti-utopian stories, the sermon is imbedded in the tale, and then explained by the narrator (That Hideous Strength) or some guru-like wise man (the Fishburne character in Matrix) or villain (O'brien in 1984, the cave-dweller in Well's Time Machine, )late in the story. You feel the creapiness of the place before anyone explains it to you, and the impression it leaves comes from the images, in which exposition clothes itself.
Crichton is an overly intrusive author. His sermons about the danger of aggressive Japanese business practice and empty American self-confidence pop up so often they impede rather than add flavour to the story; I found myself skipping them. Crichton doesn't give his characters enough life of their own: they all puppet the party line. C. S. Lewis said of George MacDonald that his novels contained many sermons, and this was a relief because he was a poor novelist, but an excellent preacher. Michael Crichton, by contrast, writes an exciting story, but his preaching tends to be over-wrought. And why do nearly all his characters, professional or blue collar, male or female, swear like staff sargeants? Enough, already. Most people I know can get through a whole day without four-letter words, let alone a sentence.
As an American who lives in Japan, I think some of Crichton's points are merited -- Americans, by contrast to Japanese, can be yacky and whiny, we have too many lawyers, and service is not nearly as good. Much of what he says about the Japanese rings true as well; I'm not totally averse to a little Japan-bashing. On the other hand, Crichton's Japan guru, Conner, says some things that made him seem considerably less wise in my eyes. Japanese have "never been guilty or embarrassed about sex." Nonsense. He must be reading too much James Clavell. They "have no problem with homosexuality." Get real. Maybe 400 years ago. "No other country tolerates" the level of violence of the U.S. Untrue. Many countries have much higher violent crime rates than America. The U.S. "soon will be third in the world" economically, after Japan and "Europe." Didn't happen. Imagine how Americans are going to feel in ten years, when China, with a population ten times that of Japan, becomes fully developed. Or worse yet, when computers take over . . . Nor there's a thought to make a healthy man paranoid.
author, Jesus and the Religions of Man

From reading some of his other novels, I already knew that Michael Crichton is a great storyteller. After finishing Rising Sun, I can also say that he is adept at handling diverse subjects. I originally stayed away from this book because I tend to stick with science fiction, but I'm glad I finally came around and gave it a try. I really enjoyed this murder-mystery - far more than I expected, to be sure.
The only advice I would give someone thinking about buying Rising Sun (other than to do so) is to keep in mind the state of Japanese-American relations at the time the book was written. Reading it today, it may seem like Crichton is unnecessarily hard on the Japanese, but in 1992 there were serious concerns about the future of our economy and our country in a world soon to be dominated by Japan. Crichton weaves this fear into the novel by taking his protagonist through an eye-opening and life-changing murder investigation involving both Japanese nationals and corporations. But the book isn't just about Japan - it stands on its own as an investigative mystery, keeping the suspense and surprises going all the way to the end.
While not a literary masterpiece, Rising Sun is solid, entertaining and fun to read. I recommend it.

Because I picked this book out of the fiction section, it was a bit different than I expected. This novel is pretty much a murder mystery, and I very much enjoyed reading it, even though I am not a terrific mystery book fan.
In typical Crichton style, this book will keep you in suspense until the very end. When I thought the book was slowing down, there was always an unexpected plot turn to keep my finger under the next page.
Special Services Liaison Peter Smith, for the LAPD, is called in to investigate a murder that occurred during the opening party of the Nakamoto's new building in LA. He calls in a man named John Connors, an expert in dealing with the Japanese, who becomes his mentor and helps him solve the case.
As mentioned at the end of the book, this novel reflects Michael Crichton's views about how the Japanese are essentially buying out America. There is a heavy dose of his opinion throughout this book that America is increasingly being controlled by Japan. If you disagree about his opinions and reading about them will bother you, then you will probably not enjoy this book.
This book may forever be considered controversial, but nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read and definately a page-turner!

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.

Congo took us to Africa. Airframe took us inside and outside of airplanes. Pirate Latitudes took us back in time. Now Rising Sun takes us deep into Japanese culture. I know that it came out before a few of the books I just mentioned but I am amazed at how well Crichton can capture things that are not known to the majority of people whether it is scientific studies or other countries or both.
Rising Sun is a murder mystery and is one of the few mystery novels that impressed me both because of the skill of the author and because of the lengthy solution of the mystery. It was a very fun book full of details about Surveillance equiptment. Some may find that repetitive examination of a film boring but I enjoyed how that could turn something so small into a massive clue by skillfully inhanceing the film. Very fun book and very enjoyable with a ton of info as usual.

I have to admit, I was a little iffy about picking this book up to read. I mean, It just seemed so, so, un Crichton. But im glad I did read this. It is one heck of a page turner. This book really makes you think about what goes on behind closed doors in major businesses, and even the government.
When a murder occurs durning the opening party in a major business party, the company is trying to do whatever they can to keep it under wraps. It is up to a young liasion officer and another officer to pin the killer. But that isnt easy for them to do, because they only have one day to solve the crime. And there is much more going on than they or you will every believe.
Every chapter points the murder towareds a different face, leaving you constanly wondering who did it. This book has more twists and turns in it that you will be able to believe. But as Crichton is always able to do, he makes you believe, makes you realize that the whole conspiracy that he has created is very real and very possible.
Although a turn from Crichton's Sci-Fi regular novels, dont let this pass. It is as good or even better than his regulars. And also keep in mind.... this book was his first bestseller!!!

Michael Crichton knows how to write a good suspense novel. His novels are different from other writers like Vince Flynn or Clive Cussler. Michael Crichton researches the topic he is writing about and that makes reading about it much more enjoyable. Rising Sun begins as a simple detective story, you'll think "Oh, more of the same catch the killer and the book's over." But that isn't the case in Rising Sun. Crichton weaves insights about the Japanese people and their ways into the story, educating us as well as the protagonist, Peter Smith of the LAPD. Multiple times I was reading and realized that I had no idea where the plot would turn next. It was hard for me to stop reading, the chapters are usually short, so you'll think just one more and then I'll put it down. But you keep reading. Crichton manages to write a great story, but he drops some anti-Japanses propaganda into the novel. Tom Clancy managed to write a novel, Debt of Honor, about Japan's business is war mentality and kept it clean. Crichton's anti-Japanese leanings are the only bad part of the book. This will be enjoyed by fans of his other works.

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.

Rising Sun is one of those books where I read it fast but I didn't really like it. I just wanted to to get it over with. There was so much useless information on Japanese companies and their culture. The whole middle part of the book is about Japan the country and little of anything else. There were some clever things thrown into the mix but overall it was a unimaginative plot. I was actually surprised Michael Crichton wrote this book. This is not is claim to fame. He comes up with an extravagent ideas that involve Time Traveling and Dinosaurs and turns them into bestsellers and movies. Rising Sun is pretty much just another run of the mill police story. I felt at times that Crichton was so focused on getting his opinion out that he made the story and the characters suffer. There was only about 5 pages of suspense in the whole book and that was near the end. If your interested in Japanese culture and politics then this book is for you. But if you want a supense packed journey then check out another Crichton book. Rising Sun is a huge disappointment from Michael Crichton. 2 Stars

As incredible as it seems now, it really was just a few years ago that America's intellectual elites worked themselves up into a tizzy over the ascendancy and supposed pending world dominance of Japan. Several factors contributed to this phenomenon. First, there was the general feeling (hope) on the Left that the U.S. was in decline, perhaps best expressed in Paul Kennedy's best-selling Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Second was the fact that Japan's centrally planned economy appealed to many on the Left, who hoped to see the U. S. adopt a similar system. Third, let's face it, was a persistent strain of anti-Asian racism in American society. Though Germany and Japan shared many qualities in the late 80's, it was Japan's rise in particular which was greeted hysterically. It is no coincidence that while German immigrants faced a significant degree of ethnic animosity during WWI, though little or none during WWII, it was Japanese-Americans who were actually rounded up and put in concentration camps after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Oddly enough, despite the American Left's generally impressive record on racial matters, both the internments of WWII and the outbreak of Japanophobia in the late 80's were led by the Left. I can't explain this blind spot, but it's interesting to note that it persists in the diametrically different ways in which the Left today treats Castro's Cuba as opposed to Red China, the last two remaining outposts of communism, advocating a lifting of sanctions on Cuba, while seeking to deny China a range of Free Trade opportunities. At any rate, whatever it's causes, it was less than a decade ago that intellectuals, academics and politicians joined together to proclaim that Japan was the next superpower and that America would be left in her wake.
Today, with the American economy in the best shape that any economy has ever been in and Japan's economy a complete mess, these doomsday predictions can correctly be seen as ridiculous. But even at the time they were being made, calmer heads perceived the endemic weaknesses confronting Japan. The best book from the period was Bill Emmott's The Sun Also Sets, in which he pointed out many problems with Japan's economic system. Having not read the book in many years, I don't recall whether all of the following come from his discussion of the issues, but problems included :
(1) Lack of natural resources
(2) Lack of a military
(3) Low birth rate and aging population
(4) Hostility towards immigrants
all of which are pretty self evident. But more significant were the factors which were conventionally perceived as strengths which properly understood were really weaknesses:
(5) Japan's high rate of personal savings, though understood to reflect frugality, actually derived from the complete absence of other outlets for consumers. With no opportunity to buy a home and no need for a car, the citizenry had nothing else to do with their money but to put it into low-yield savings accounts.
(6) Extensive trade barriers, which on an artificial level seemed to protect Japanese industries, actually stifled competition and drove up prices for domestic consumers.
(7) The homogenous population and practically one-party government, which were thought to provide stability and societal cohesion, predictably lead to stasis, insularity, and corruption.
(8) The conformity and obedience which made for such a good workforce also made for a supremely unimaginative people. Japan became an economic force by manufacturing high quality products cheaply, but the products themselves were invented elsewhere, mostly here. This was double trouble because there were several other nations (Korea, Taiwan, etc.) with equally disciplined labor corps, capable of meeting the same quality standards, and willing to work for lower wages. But more importantly, as the world economy moved from the old heavy manufacturing model towards one based on intellectual capital, Japan found itself unable to compete.
(9) and, of course, centralized planning, as is recognized by all except intellectuals, is so inefficient that it is almost entirely unresponsive to any changing circumstances, but especially to such an enormous paradigm shift. If no one, or very few, even recognize or understand what's going on in the economy, how are a few bureaucrats supposed to intelligently direct the economy.
These factors all combined to make it obvious to anyone who was not caught up in the mania of the moment that and was not ideologically committed to authoritarian government, that, far from being the next dominant world power, Japan was headed for a precipitous decline. All of which brings us to another trend-sucking bestseller by Michael Crichton.
Rising Sun is an interesting mystery, a fascinating clash of cultures, and a completely over-the-top anti-Japan polemic--kind of like Robert Ludlum interspersed with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. As the detectives pursue their murder investigation, characters launch into extended disquisitions on the cunning and the treacherous business practices of the Japanese. As a result, a competent techno-thriller ends up being buried in so much pedantry, and what's worse, inaccurate pedantry, that the most compelling reason to read it now is that it serves as a reasonably entertaining proof of one of our central tenets here at Brothers Judd : the accepted wisdom is always wrong. Read it to be reminded of how little attention you should pay to the ideological ravings of our intellectual elites.
GRADE : C

Michael Crichton keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages of this fast paced novel, by spinning a clever yarn of murder, industrial, and international intrigue.

LAPD liaison officer Peter Smith, and a hard-bitten cop on extended leave named Connor stumble into an investigation surrounding the murder of a beautiful, yet kinky and slutty, glorified call-girl named Cheryl Austin.

Smith is an idealistic, gung-ho guy who wants to get to the bottom of this crime, but Connor keeps pulling on the reins. Connor is an old "Japan hand," who has mastered the arcana of Japanese culture and business mores. Its endless subtlties and nuances frustrate Lt. Smith to no end, but he suffers through it all because (a)Connor is all he has as far as an experienced resource in solving this case, and (b) the Japs are playing some big-time hardball because this murder took place at the opening of a new office complex and the ongoing investigation is causing them to loose face.

Crichton has an artistic way of weaving a moral into his brand of fiction. In this particular work, there are several. (1) Our politicians are corrupt to the core, (2) Our national economic policy is being dictated by our out of control balance of payments and trade deficits, (3)We are not educating enough of our own people in the hard sciences, hence, there is a "brain drain" as foreign nationals come here for their higher education and then return home, (4)The US is destined to become worse than England if we do not "set our house in order," soon.

This book is a straightforward read; no confusing sub-plots and a multitude of characters, i.e. nothing gimmicky. Simply good, old-fashion "great American novel"-type writing.

Read this along with Thomas Freidman's The World is Flat. Globalization is a scary thing if you live in a country like ours that doesn't "get it."

This review is for the First Ballantine Books paperback edition, twenty-first printing, June 1993, 389 pages. RISING SUN was on the USA Today top 150 bestseller list for two weeks in October and November 1993, reaching a peak position of 67. At the end of 2005, Michael Crichton had 16 novels on the USA Today bestseller list.

During the opening celebration for the Nakamoto Corporation's new office building in Los Angeles, a beautiful model is found dead of strangulation in the glass walled conference room. The Japanese executive handling the situation refuses to allow the police detectives to proceed without the presence of someone from the L.A. police department's Special Services Division, which provides liaison in matters involving dignitaries and foreign nationals. Lieutenant Peter Smith is on duty that night. He is relatively new in the Special Services Division, so he is accompanied by John Conner, a seasoned professional fluent in the Japanese language and adept at the nuances of the Japanese culture.

Although Peter is the protagonist in the story, John Conner is the real sleuth. He soon discovers that the floor where the murder occurred is littered with sophisticated security cameras, that the murder was filmed from six different angles, but the camera tapes have been substituted with new ones.

Half of this story involves finding the tapes, analyzing them and solving the mystery. The other half is about anticompetitive Japanese business practices and how the Americans are allowing them to debilitate American industries. While the depiction of Japanese culture and business behavior is well researched, there is liberal exaggeration as to intent, application and impact.

The long speeches attempting to prove the Japanese conspiracy theory hang heavy and drag the story. Much of this book belongs in a nonfiction essay.

I have to say that I disagree that the novel is racist - some of the characters are. These opinion's are not neccessarily Crichton's - as represented by how John Conner contradicts many of them. Some opinions are anti-Japanese (Graham), some pro (Conner). Indeed, depite being American, John Conner critisises American ways equally and helps put many things into perspective. Of course, it is a little dated, but it is nonetheless a very good book.
The plot constantly twists and turns. What is actually happening is sometimes a little confusing, but you always want to read on so that all the apparent gaps in the plot get filled (which they do). I do feel it takes a few too many twists and turns though - sometimes it reads like a young author wading too deep instead of somebody as experienced as Creigton was at the time (eg. You think somebody is dead, but then you find they're not, the murderer's identity - if I go on I'll ruin the book but you get the idea).
This isn't the best you'll ever read, but it is nonetheless a satisfyingly good read.

This is a very controversial novel about the power and control of Japan in the U. S. (particularly in the 1980s and early 1990s) and the major cultural differences between the two countries. It generated much discussion when it first appeared. Many have later commented that the changes seen in the Japanese economy in the late 1990s have pointed out the errors in Crichton's view of Japanese business tactics. Others have suggested that the recent events is only a lull in the history of global economics or that this book actually helped generate some changes in government regulations or in the approach some businesses have had in global interactions. Nevertheless, this is an exciting murder mystery. A murder has been committed at the Los Angeles headquarters of a Japanese conglomerate. An L. A. police detective and a consultant on the Japanese have to interact with Japanese industrialists in order to solve it. Videotapes have been doctored and the detective has to find some technological means of regenerating the original data.

I have read many Crichton books and generally enjoy each of them (or else why would I keep reading him?) and I must say that I was disappointed with Rising Sun.

It begins with a murder taking place at a building on the floor just above where a party is taking place for a large Japanese company. This is where the fun begins as the detective investigates each lead trying to determine who the murderer is.

The book is entertaining and the characters within the book continually discuss the Japanese culture in respect to both life and business. It is these discussions that bother me because more often than not it seems as if all the comments are presented in a negative light toward Japanese. I was able to study Japanese for a year in college and I did not find a lot of truth in the majority of the comments about the Japanese culture (which isn't to say it isn't true, just not based on my knowledge). The dangerous thing here is that Crichton is normally very research heavy and his books while fiction contain a lot of fact and if the reader is to accept this information as fact it could very well affect their interaction with Japanese even if it isn't warranted.

As a whole though, Crichton is a great writer and very entertaining to read. This particular novel while it does involve some technology, the Japanese culture takes the lead and the plot itself is very well put together and new clues/information about the murder are given to the reader every so often just to keep you hooked.

While I found Rising Sun enjoyable I rated it at 3 stars because I think it was sub-par for Crichton and because of the heavy use of stereotyping in regards to the Japanese culture.

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.

Michael Crichton knows his trends. Airline safety, dino-mania, international trade... he's got them pegged. Too bad he didn't bother to learn much about international trade before writing this book, which repeats uncritically the silliest of the anti-free-trade arguments, arguments which have been posed and answered for the past two hundred years.
This isn't the only book in which Crichton does this - "Airframe" has a ludicrous speech about safety regulation buried in the middle - but here, it plays a central plot role.
Nowadays, of course, the theories of Japan's "managed trade" have been proven wrong by the state of their newly-punctured bubble economy, and some of the policy wonks and journalists who no doubt inspired many of the points in this book have turned around on the "Japanese wealth machine" view. I doubt many people will be reading this book in five or ten years, but if they do, it will be an amusing historical footnote to the times in which it was written - times in which people believed there was such thing as a "trade war," or that foreign investment was somehow bad, or any number of other discredited propositions.
Of course, as before, the protectionists have been spouting off for two hundred years without coming up with a single new argument, and yet they still show up around election time every year, so maybe this book will still have an audience.

This is a very controversial novel about the power and control of Japan in the U. S. (particularly in the 1980s and early 1990s) and the major cultural differences between the two countries. It generated much discussion when it first appeared. Many have later commented that the changes seen in the Japanese economy in the late 1990s have pointed out the errors in Crichton's view of Japanese business tactics. Others have suggested that the recent events is only a lull in the history of global economics or that this book actually helped generate some changes in government regulations or in the approach some businesses have had in global interactions. Nevertheless, this is an exciting murder mystery. A murder has been committed at the Los Angeles headquarters of a Japanese conglomerate. An L. A. police detective and a consultant on the Japanese have to interact with Japanese industrialists in order to solve it. Videotapes have been doctored and the detective has to find some technological means of regenerating the original data.

I have read many Crichton books and generally enjoy each of them (or else why would I keep reading him?) and I must say that I was disappointed with Rising Sun.

It begins with a murder taking place at a building on the floor just above where a party is taking place for a large Japanese company. This is where the fun begins as the detective investigates each lead trying to determine who the murderer is.

The book is entertaining and the characters within the book continually discuss the Japanese culture in respect to both life and business. It is these discussions that bother me because more often than not it seems as if all the comments are presented in a negative light toward Japanese. I was able to study Japanese for a year in college and I did not find a lot of truth in the majority of the comments about the Japanese culture (which isn't to say it isn't true, just not based on my knowledge). The dangerous thing here is that Crichton is normally very research heavy and his books while fiction contain a lot of fact and if the reader is to accept this information as fact it could very well affect their interaction with Japanese even if it isn't warranted.

As a whole though, Crichton is a great writer and very entertaining to read. This particular novel while it does involve some technology, the Japanese culture takes the lead and the plot itself is very well put together and new clues/information about the murder are given to the reader every so often just to keep you hooked.

While I found Rising Sun enjoyable I rated it at 3 stars because I think it was sub-par for Crichton and because of the heavy use of stereotyping in regards to the Japanese culture.

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.

Michael Crichton knows his trends. Airline safety, dino-mania, international trade... he's got them pegged. Too bad he didn't bother to learn much about international trade before writing this book, which repeats uncritically the silliest of the anti-free-trade arguments, arguments which have been posed and answered for the past two hundred years.
This isn't the only book in which Crichton does this - "Airframe" has a ludicrous speech about safety regulation buried in the middle - but here, it plays a central plot role.
Nowadays, of course, the theories of Japan's "managed trade" have been proven wrong by the state of their newly-punctured bubble economy, and some of the policy wonks and journalists who no doubt inspired many of the points in this book have turned around on the "Japanese wealth machine" view. I doubt many people will be reading this book in five or ten years, but if they do, it will be an amusing historical footnote to the times in which it was written - times in which people believed there was such thing as a "trade war," or that foreign investment was somehow bad, or any number of other discredited propositions.
Of course, as before, the protectionists have been spouting off for two hundred years without coming up with a single new argument, and yet they still show up around election time every year, so maybe this book will still have an audience.

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.

I had to read this book for a college class. Unlike most novels that they make you read in school, this one was a thoroughly engaging murder mystery that breezes by a lot faster than its 416 page count would imply. Even when going into deep, technical exposition about using computers to falsify security surveillance footage, Crichton's writing never drags. Admittedly, the book's paranoia about Japan's rising economic threat to the US is a bit dated and overheated. But still, I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a brisk, thrilling crime puzzle to solve.

When I first started reading Michael Crichton, I was impressed by the way he spun his narrative in an easy going yet gripping style. I was disappointed by The Andromeda Strain because of its lack of a climax. In this novel, however, Crichton delivers. The pacing is good, the plot is intriguing, and the mystery is compelling.

My biggest disappointment in the unintentional racism this book perpetrates. I couldn't agree with Crichton more that Americans need to worry about their economy's long-term health; however, Crichton's focus on Japan is too heavyhanded. I think that the novel would have been just as interesting without the political commentary.

However, overall, an entertaining read.

A murder at a high-profile Japanese company sends two American police investigating the tangled web of Nipponese business and culture.

There are really two aspects to this book. As a murder mystery, it's not very satisfying or even well-handled author-wise. You have the fledgling detective under the wing of a more experienced expert who's so Sherlock Holmsian in his abilities as to be completely unbelievable. There are three twists to the tale, two of which are telegraphed so blatantly as to be painful, the third is so contrived and unbelievable as to cause massive eye-rolling.

Much of the book is a laundry list of complaints about Japanese culture, especially business practices. These tend to be delivered in dialogue clumps every couple of pages, mucking up the flow. Still, quite a bit of it is interesting... assuming it's true. I suspect most of it is.

I had mixed feelings about this. Much of the book moves at a brisk clip, though the tangents where someone delivers a sermon about how Japanese business is unfair tend to monkeywrench the flow. Of course, I suspect much of the book's popularity sees it exactly the opposite: "this is a great expose on the Japanese, but has too much of the murder/police stuff in it." To each his/her own.

Hesitantly recommended.

Crichton does seem to have a thing about protagonists who are single fathers, or who might as well be. With the exception of the main character in AIRFRAME, has he ever written a competent and caring young mother? Peter Smith, the protag of RISING SUN, is a divorced father whose ex-wife literally can't be trusted to change their two-year-old's diaper and do it right. He's also a police lieutenant who has switched from being a detective to the press division - and from there, to being the department's VIP liaison specializing in Japanese VIPs. It's his job to respond whenever a Japanese diplomat or executive gets in trouble with the local law, so that the incident will do as little public relations damage as possible. So one evening as he's studying Japanese (a requirement of his relatively new position), he's called in to smooth matters between an obnoxious detective and the owners of a new office building. Right at the start of their star-studded opening party, those owners have to deal with a murder in their boardroom.

Competent writing (I'd expect nothing less from Crichton), a decent although not wonderfully inventive plot, and fairly interesting characters don't save this novel from bogging down whenever the author decides to give his readers a lesson in history, politics, and economics as those disciplines relate to U.S./Japanese relations - especially to the well-known "buying up" of U.S. real estate and businesses by Japanese investors. I got the feeling that this book was written to sound a warning, not to tell an entertaining story. Yet it does have its moments of crackling suspense, and the relationship between old Japan expert Captain Connor and the much younger Lieutenant Smith comes across both believably and amusingly. Not a total miss, but not Crichton at his best, either.

...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.

During current times when the whole economic structure of our country is in collapse and when presidential candidates speak of the middle class like it's an endangered species, one should read or perhaps reread this book. It sets a murder mystery in a time when the Japanese were buying up many American businesses although the Japanese were not alone in doing this (Germans, British, etc, etc). They were taking their newly acquired companies and often reincorporating them in places like Luxembourg that could provide large tax advantages (i.e. less tax income for the US). The book suggests that these practices weakened the economic spine of this country. The murder mystery itself is set against some rather interesting cultural aspects that lend some interesting qualities.

Prophecies are tough to write; you have about a 99% of being wrong. And so RISING SUN, which was dismissed by many as borderline racist "Japan-bashing" as well as a paranoiac view of Japanese influence in the United States, has not aged very well...as a prophecy. As a mystery-suspense novel, however, it stands the test of time and is well worth your yen.

RISING SUN is the story of Peter Smith, a divorced LAPD detective assigned to "Special Services", the branch devoted to dealing with celebrities, foreign nationals and high-profile cases. When the body of a beautiful young woman is discovered at the headquarters of the powerful Nakamoto Corporation during a huge, star-studded party, Smith is called in to smooth things over. En route he is directed by the Chief to pick up Detective John Connor, a semiretired expert on Japanese culture who has enigmatic ways and a checkered past. What begins as a more or less routine murder investigation turns into a multilayered mystery involving presidential politics, corporate intrigue, and the "nichebi", the Japanese-American trade relationship. Smith begins to realize the extent to which his country has been sold down the river by its own businessmen and politicos, and that there are forces at work - forces much more powerful than a city police lieutenant - that will stop at nothing to prevent the Nakamoto Corporation from losing face. Crossing the standard tropes of a murder mystery with a lot of very clever technological skullduggery and emotional blackmail, while at the same time delivering a powerful (if one-sided) case in favor of a level playing field between America and its trade partners, RISING SUN is a fast-paced, extremely well-crafted novel that, unlike most mysteries, can be re-read with almost as much pleasure as the original reading. The character of John Conner is probably the best Crichton ever came up with - brilliant, self-contained, mysterious, a perfect Holmes-like foil to the one-dimensional "Dr. Watson" everyman that Smith represents, always counseling Smith to remember that from the Japanese perspective, "Business is war."

Now, SUN also has loads of flaws. Crichton deals with the Japanese almost as if they are the Borg, so dominated by their cultural mores that they are almost like caste insects rather than human beings. He has an almost embarrassing inability to be subtle, and repeatedly pile-drives his message home, often in ridiculous ways, such as when the detectives over American beer in an L.A. bar and are told it only stocks Japanese brew. (See how the Japanese are taking over our country!) Most of the characters are half-dimensional cutouts. And very often, the book's dialogue degenerates into characters spitting out clichés or statstics. Still, a whole is more than the sum of its parts, and taken purely as entertainment, RISING SUN remains one of my favorite page-turners. Bad prophecy can make for a good story.

The ultimate combination of a "who done it" and a "high-
tech. thriller"- Crichton satisfies the die hard fan of both
types of novels. It's friday night, the Grand Opening party
of Nakamoto building, and no one would suspect that a herrendous murder
was being committed on the 46th floor. Through sophisticated technology, the Japanese doctored the original recording
of the murder, concealing the true identity of the murderer.
The two detectives, John Conner and Peter Kelly, are entangled
in a race against the clock, following many disappointing leads.
Is American technology modern enough to uncover Japanese doc
tored tapes? Did the Nakamoto corporation play a role in the
murder? The novel's twist ending can not possibly be uncovered
until the last 30 pages.

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!

Definitely this book is a page turner, and if it's true that the japanese are buying all the important things of America the government must do something, but I don't believe that in Japan are no poor people, I know that the Japanese get married with their job and company, but it is a very poor country, remember the last earthquake there? they ask for help because they don't have enough money.
Another interesting point of Japan is that they have the higher number of suicide between ages 12 to 25 because of the competition at school or work. Japan is not the easiest place to live, but, we have to take care of what they are buying not only in America but in the world, because they don't invent anything, they copy everything, but they copy it well and they make it better than the original.
The end of the book is not so good because John Connor who knows the japanese very well assume what happened and why, he doesn't really know why ...

Not really a book about science. If you want to learn about another culture (Japanese), Crichton does a great job informing and teaching in this. How to put this quickly?
Story was boring and not very engaging (his other books were great at engaging), EXCEPT for the very end. The very end got your attention and made the book worth it.
Characters are unimportant like al his books (for the most part, mirror images of State of Fear). Do you learn from this book? yes. Is it interesting? For the most part. If you want to learn about business or Japanese culture, read this. It is NOT xenophobic. Complaining about one or two aspects about the culture does not make him anti-Japanese, especially when he compliments them so much.

Murder, mystery and intrigue from a master story teller. Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors and although I found a couple of his other books genres I like better the authors style and story telling prowess can't be denied. Take a trip to the orient and be ready for twists turns and excitement in a tale that only this author can do with his special brand.

It's a toss up between this and "Congo" for Crichton's worst novel. Saying that, "Rising Sun" has some style, a good plot, and a nice mystery--it's just not as original as his other stuff. I can think of a dozen better Crichton novels--"Airframe", I suppose, would be in a similar field. Sort of. And "Aiframe" is his best ever.
But this book just lacks a special something that makes Crichton's best THE best. He's followed the same path as in all his other novels--TONs of detailled research and some quite profound observations mixed in with his clipped (and rather monotonous) narrative--but still, it's just not as good as his other stuff.
However, as we all know: Cricthon's worst is still miles ahead of some others' best I could mention. Worth reading.

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!

this novel is Michael Crichton's best in my opinion. the first time I read this book I started on a Sunday morning and read straight through, finishing up just after dinner. So many things about this book keep my interest, the first being the commentary on the American and Japanese business climates and cultures. the second being the look at Japanese culture at large. on top of the insight into these aspects of the story itself, Rising Sun keeps the reader guessing and does not have any slow spots within. i highly recommend this book

The author was in good company when he wrote the book. Unfortunately, for him, things did not turn out as he had predicted. The economic postulates of this book are quite obviously, flawed. The United States was not bought by Japan. If they were indeed fighting a war with us the "bomb" we hit them with was the dot.bomb. Of course that had nothing to do with the ten year decline that they have been experiencing. One wonders who will be to blame for the next round of economic malaise.
As far as the story itself goes, it is well written and interesting. There are a number of plot twists and turns and the reader is kept guessing. The dialog was authentically vulagr. Overall not nearly as good as some of the author's other works but a fun read.

After the fall of Berlin Wall, many Americans had the feeling that the last remaining enemy was the Japanese Economy. Organized like an Army, this unity shook the life of many. Through this novel we get a sheer picture of those first years of the '90s, that is the time Japan was on the leading edge in many ways. The thesis is that the new-rich buy power into the US system, as to deviate the investigations for a murder case. It seems that the inside of a Japanese Company, sited in the US is Japanese territory. Today, much of that fear seems long gone.So many of the positions suggested by the book seem extremist, but, we learn from this book that Japanese spirit is difficult to win.

~~~~
Be aware that you won't find Crichton's insired science fiction here.
~~~
But you will find a carefully plotted suspenseful mystery, interesting characters, and a fascinating glimpse into the culture of Japanese business in American seen through the admittedly prejudiced eyes of the detectives.
The interactions of the special liason team, called out to deal with crimes involving foreign dignitaries, and the walls they run into as both the Japanese business hierarchy and American celebrties close ranks to hide crucial information, makes a fascinating, taut, well placed mystery,
~~~~Crichton's attention to detail is evident even outside the sci-fi world.

It's been awhile since I've read a book by Michael Crichton and I'd forgotten how good an author he is. Even though this book seems a little dated now, as it is set in 90's,and Japan no longer seems the economic threat it did at that time, it is still a suspenseful read

This was a great surprise. I have to say that I just picked up this book because I received it as a gift and it was collecting too much dust just sitting there on my shelf. Plus it looked sad. But WOW I am glad that I read it. The pages flew by because I constantly wanted to find out what the next page held. There were countless twists that kept me on the proverbial "edge-of-my-seat." I like Crichton's writing and I thought that the soft and easy way that he took the reader through some of the more complex parts in the book was a necessary and uncomplicated way of handling it. I was scared only because I really hope that the U.S. isn't being taken over the way that many of the characters in the book say it is. I understand the need for fair competition but I hope that, unlike the book, there is a lot of "fair" involved. Good book.

"Rising Sun" has all the subtlety that one expects from a Michael Crichton book -- in other words, none whatsoever.
This book is an appalling failure on numerous levels: as a look at Japanese people, society and their business practices; as a predictor of future trends; and even as a halfway decent mystery novel.
I'll restrain myself and list only a few of its shortcomings. The most irritatingly phony of them was the precisely-paced little speeches Crichton stuffs into the mouths of even minor characters. Like clockwork, every two or three pages someone has to make a little speech about a) how the wily Japanese are eating America's lunch economically and technologically; b) what terrible habits Japanese society and people have; and/or c) how America is letting itself go to hell in a handbasket. These dopey little polemics are uttered by *everyone* the narrator encounters, from LAPD detectives to TV news editors to business people. At one point Crichton resorts to a couple of people in the same waiting room as our hero, suddenly discussing Japanese real estate speculators buying up Montana. I expected parking valets and potted plants to start contributing monologues at any moment.
I'm no Japan expert, and I'm certainly not an apologist for Japanese society or its business practices, but this kind of modern-day "Yellow Peril" throwback makes my blood boil. If you want to learn about Japan, try reading a factual book, instead of this lurid fictional mishmash of half-baked facts and made-up innuendo. T.R. Reid's "Confuscius Lives Next Door," for example. Even (God help me) "Dave Barry Does Japan" probably has more truth in it than Crichton's sub-literate, badly-dated polemic does.

I am very impressed with Rising Sun. I have read a few of Crichton's books, and this one is up on the top of my list of his books. The mystery is very well done. Once I thought I had guessed the right suspect, I was wrong, numerous times! There is a lot of bad language in this book, which isn't typical in Crichton's novels. The movie for this book was good, Connery is the perfect role for Captain Connor. The movie pales in comparison but is still good (Hey- you get to see a man eat sushi off a naked girls body!). If you can get past the abundant R rated aspects of it (theres a lot of bad stuff) this book is great. Rising Sun is on my top 10 list of books.

. . .I can only cautiously endorse this book.
The plot is tightly written. The characters are well-developed and believable. The anti-Japanese message is certainly politically incorrect and a bit problematic -- but probably not all that inaccurate. (This element of the novel will no doubt offend many). The violence is graphic -- much more so than the typical Crichton novel. The sex is quite graphic -- FAR more so than anything else I've ever read by Crichton. (This element will also offend many).
As I stated, I would give this book an endorsement because it truly is quality research and writing. However, the controversial elements in the book are very real -- and if you're easily offended by such things, give this one a miss.

A beautiful young call girl is murdered in the corporate boardroom of Nakamoto Towers in Los Angeles, during a gala event of the Japanese giant company - Nakamoto. The incident is embarassing to the conservative Japanese people because of its sexual connotations and they try to hush up the matter! This intriguing incident sets the stage for the book, a descriptive view of the Japanese way of working, their corporate culture, their business tactics.
The opening is reveting, the reader is kept on the edge of the seat - and then slowly Crichton reveals the actual theme behind the story. This tactic by Crichton is a sure winner to grab the attention of his reader. He then consolidates the attention with a saga of the stark dark world of business dealings.
Little was known about Japan's corporate culture when this book came out. It was also the time when Japanese domination of the world economics had started. The Japanese looked like simple, docile people at home, but at business it came down to "Anything fair in business, business is war". The book also brings out the differences in the Japanese style of working and the American style. Americans are more forthcoming and outright in projecting their view on things. Japanese, on the reverse side, are more secretive, tightlipped about their collaborations, strategies - the inherent belligerence within, gets masked by the placid exterior!!!
This book is definitely a winner... well researched, it gives oodles of insight into a highly successful country's working strategies. Intelligently interwoven with a murder mystery and set in the background of a thriller, even heavy topics like business and economics sink in with effortless ease.
The book makes interesting reading (though a little outdated for the present times) and I definitely recommend it to all.

Crichton did a wonderful job with this novel. It takes you into the world of Japanese business in America and gives you a unique insight into the structure of a fictional Japanese conglomerate. The business conduct and customs are suprisingly correct, from the minor details of exchanging of business cards to the hidden social standards of honor and dishonor that interweave the typical Japanese corporate echelon of power. The action and mystery of this book unfold quite cleverly, and will leave you guessing until the final pages. A great blend of suspense and betrayal in a maze of industrial intrigue. I really enjoyed this one.

Sometimes when you figure out the mystery to a novel, it takes away some of the bite the book has. In Rising Sun I was not fooled at all by the tapes and the Eddie Shakurmura character. So that takes a little away. Also, Lieutenant Pete Smith is one of the worst, dragged out characters I have ever encountered in a book. Then again, John Connor is one of the best characters I have ever encountered in a book. Rising Sun is a split for me. I didn't know who really killed the girl until the end. But I knew everything else that leads up to it. An okay novel by Michael Crichton.

Rising Sun is not a great book, but it is certainly worth reading. I struggled between 3 and 4 stars, and for me 3 stars is just good while 4 stars is real good.
The whodunnit is really quite enjoyable and will keep you guessing, but for some reason I just didn't get engaged with the characters. Crichton just doesn't give enough meat in the character development to support what is a great plot. It is disappointing to be sure.
As far as all the criticism over "...-bashing", don't buy it. Crichton is critical of the ... at times, but I think he's fair as a whole in his portrayal.

A great book to read because it is very suspensful. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout. The beginning of the the book was very exciting and action packed. In the middle, it was slow for a little bit when he introduced Micro Con. He could have made the book go faster if he wouldn't have gone into so much detail about Micro Con. Other than that, he kept the story moving very quickly and made me want to keep reading it. I like fast books a lot, and this book was definately one of those. I really like to see the movie, but I here the book is a lot better.

I have said it once and I will say it again, I cant get bored reading a Michael Crichton Novel. The rising takes the reader into a Japanese, the structure and the actual meaning of business from the characters point of view. A woman dies in a Japanese company and the intention is to solve the murder in the most discreet manner. What makes Michael Crichton ahead of most authors is, he literally takes you beyond the murder, into the Japanese Culture and you basically get the reflection of the characters perspective on everything around them. A masterful read.

I was sorely depressed by this book. Dr. Crichton applies his well honed potboiler pulp fiction talents to a semi-interesting murder mystery laden with racist undertones, both subtle and blatant. While criticism of Japanese corporations certainly may have validity, the blurring of the Japanese people and the conduct of these international conglomerates is the height of literary irresponsibility. I was astounded when Dr. Crichton has one of his characters state that the Japanese in general are more foreign than human. The rest of the book clearly paints the Japanese (including companies and culture) as the "bad guys." As a loyal American of Asian ancestry, this type of popular culture that is imbued with racist messages makes living in this country more difficult and dangerous for me and my family...You only have to read some of the other reviews posted here to fully understand why I find this book so disappointing. If you were inclined to give this book five stars, please think long and hard and imagine similar stereotypic diatribes against [other religions or ethic] minorities.

Great characters in an intriguing plot. A bit alarmist where our relationship with Japan is concerned, but I think that material is dated (1990's) Crichton never disappoints, and has a way of explaining complicated technical data to make it understandable.

It has been 17 years since I read it but it was great. I never saw the movie so I do not know how close to the book it is but I was not expecting much from this even though I had read most of his books. It took me by surprise. Loved it

I was sorely depressed by this book. Dr. Crichton applies his well honed potboiler pulp fiction talents to a semi-interesting murder mystery laden with racist undertones, both subtle and blatant. While criticism of Japanese corporations certainly may have validity, the blurring of the Japanese people and the conduct of these international conglomerates is the height of literary irresponsibility. I was astounded when Dr. Crichton has one of his characters state that the Japanese in general are more foreign than human. The rest of the book clearly paints the Japanese (including companies and culture) as the "bad guys." As a loyal American of Asian ancestry, this type of popular culture that is imbued with racist messages makes living in this country more difficult and dangerous for me and my family...You only have to read some of the other reviews posted here to fully understand why I find this book so disappointing. If you were inclined to give this book five stars, please think long and hard and imagine similar stereotypic diatribes against [other religions or ethic] minorities.

Great characters in an intriguing plot. A bit alarmist where our relationship with Japan is concerned, but I think that material is dated (1990's) Crichton never disappoints, and has a way of explaining complicated technical data to make it understandable.

It has been 17 years since I read it but it was great. I never saw the movie so I do not know how close to the book it is but I was not expecting much from this even though I had read most of his books. It took me by surprise. Loved it

It is well written and easy to read.This novel successfully differentiates US's and Japan's altitude in life and business. We have a lot to learn from them. Entitlement is the wrong way in US. In time US will become a weak international power and will be dictated by other countries if we go on same way.

This book is a fascinating murder mystery involving rape, politics, and multiple Japanese corporations. In the middle of all this is Lieutennant Peter Smith, a police officer from Los Angeles. When it becomes clear he can't handle it alone, he asks for the help of Captain John Connor, an expert in Japanese affairs. And so begins an investigation that is exciting and intriguing. Its subject matter is very realistic and its characters are developed well. I couldn't read this book fast enough. Excellent book.

As with every review here, it is merely an opinion. So first let met try to find and build a little rapport with a few of potential readers. The Micheal Crichton books which I immensely enjoyed and considered enjoyable reading were Airframe, Disclosure, and Timeline. Airframe, being an immensely captivating read. Disclosure, being one of the few books that led to two sleepless nights of reading. And Timeline, an excellent departure from your typical "Thriller" novel, with a unique and somewhat timeless storyline.
With that said, Rising Sun was a bit of a disappointment. The story is not nearly as suspenseful or intriguing as the above titles. The pace is not nearly as fast, nor are the plot twists as captivating or unexpected as his better novels. The plot is, for the most part, quite linear. There are very few moments when you will wonder (or care) what will happen next. Most times it is quite clear where it is going, and there are VERY few times when a plot twist occurs that you didn't see coming. In other words, no "Cliffhanger" chapter endings, or parts of the story you a waiting in suspense to be resolved.
There are two elements in this book that lead to those disappointments. The first is the redundant use of the word "Japan" and the "Japanese". It is possible that at the time of this writing it was a groundbreaking topic, and an exposing of the corporate Japanese influence and involvement that was a hot topic and a newsworthy concern in the early 90s but seems rather outdated today. In almost every chapter, if not every page, some reference to the Japanese and how their culture/business practices are incorporated, and how they differ from the United States'. It may not sound like much of a big deal, or perhaps a slightly awakening topic to those who have no clue about these differences, but it is too say the least, redundant.
The second aspect, is the emergence of the Thriller genre competitor, Dan Brown. While some may disregard this as an issue to this actual story or book itself, it is hard to read books like the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Deception Point, and then transition to a story such the Rising Sun, where the writing, subjects, and incredible plot just does not compare.
But despite the cliches, and exhausting explanations of trivial (i.e. corny) and somewhat outdated Japanese business practices, the book is worth a read. But no highly recommended.

If you were looking for a Micheal Crichton that while still dated but is in easy competition with today's modern thrillers, Airframe and Disclosure are sure fire bets.

Michael Crichton's book "Rising Sun" is an exciting mystery story led by Lt. Peter J. Smith of the LAPD. Lt. Smith is called out to an L.A. high-rise building where the grand opening party for the Nakamoto corporation. Inside this galla event is the body of a mudered American women. The women, known to assosciate with the Japanese, is found in an area that was not closed off leaving suspicions that the body was tampered with. The biggest run around by the Nakamoto company was the security tapes. Their technology was so advanced, so nearly perfect, that the tapes could have been changed, deleted and rerecorded, or even destroyed with little or no trace. "They say 'business is war', and they mean it." As America struggles in the west for control of economy with the Japanese who seemingly own everything, a scandle arises that could possible tear apart the very fabric that makes a large portion of the area's economy go down in flames. With Japan Guru and ex cop John Connor at his side, Lt. Smith is bound to break the case. The suspense, contreversy, and intriguing plot that go along are where Crichton show's his writing talent. Rising Sun is a work that would easily rival his other books such as Jurassic Park and in my opinion would make an even better movie. I give "Rising Sun" five stars and a must read to any one who remotely likes Jurassic Park or Michael Crichton.

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've read most of Crichton's work and have been thoroughly unimpressed with the majority of it. This novel and the Andromeda Strain are a step above his other work, though. I personally disagreed with some of Crichton's politics in this book, and in many instances I felt he was walking a fine line between legitimate cultural criticism and thinly-veiled racism against the Japanese. That knocks a couple of points off my rating. Nevertheless, it is a terrific and exquisitely constructed suspense thriller, and I can't discount its sheer entertainment value. I picked this one up in an airport, and found it to be excellent reading for a long plane ride.

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!

After reading Jurassic Park, I wanted to read every Crichton book available! After doing so, I have decided that this was the best book that he has ever written!

I loved the Rising Sun! It had an intriguing beginning, and only got better as the story went on. This is one of the few books that ever was portrayed in a fair way on television. If you loved the television/movie version, you would love this book!

Have fun!

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!

I read this book when I was in the seventh grade and found it to be quite compelling. Since it has been a years since I read it, the plot and characters have faded from my memory. What I do remember is what Mr. Crichton was saying about business in America involving Japan. He alerted me to the considerable problem that was at hand-though in the years since has dwindled, with American technology behind that of Japan. He wanted Americans to recognize the importance of buying American, since the Japanse were/are aware of the importance of buying Japanse. Many good ideas lie in this book, and it should be read for them, although it should be noted that the book is likely becoming dated.

LAPD lieutenant Peter J. Smith was watching the Lakers game while listening to a Japanese vocabulary tape when he received a call that would shatter his peaceful evening. Apparently a young and gorgeous woman was found dead on the 46th floor of the newly built Nakamoto Tower, home of the new Japanese electronics company that just moved into town. Coincidentally, Nakamoto¡¦s opening bash was going on that night as well, just two floors under the crime scene. Evidently embarrassed and distressed at having something so horrible happen during their opening party, a cover up effort by Nakamoto had already begun even before Smith reached the crime scene. So the investigation began; with clues vanishing by the second, chances of the killer ever being found are turning bleak. Luckily for Smith, he has detective John Conner who is known for his experience at dealing with the Japanese, on his side. Though this book¡¦s plot is painted like a stereotypical murder mystery, it packs in a lot of action and has a powerful message as well; watch out, the Japanese are taking over.
Throughout the book, Michael Crichton makes it clear that Japan was trying to take over certain US industries, which can be disturbing sometimes because he constantly treats Japanese as if they were tireless machines. For instance, many times in the book he stresses how Japanese can finish or do something much faster than the Americans as if they were machines or extreme workaholics. Though this may sound pleasing to an American, who of course would not be happy hearing that the Japanese can do something better and faster than them, to me it often feels like excess criticism that doesn¡¦t add much to the story at all.
But nevertheless, this book was an interesting, intriguing read. Though it often contained a biased voice against the Japanese, this book is still a very well written story with an exciting and exhilarating plot. With many plot twists and unexpected surprises, this book held my attention and kept me yearning for more. It drew me into the unfamiliar world of the ¡¥Japanese Company¡¦, a place were employees are expected to make sacrifices for the company. As a result, I found myself reading not just a usual murder mystery, instead this book was more like a fantasy book where you are completely submerged into another world, one much different than the one we are in. While there are low-key, bland moments were it seemed that the killer was never going to be found, Crichton ¡§reimburses¡¨ readers for these moments with thrilling gunfights, and stimulating sexual themes. So whether or not you're fond of the Japanese, as long as you are a fan of murder thrillers, Rising Sun will deliver.

When reading Rising Sun, it is important to remember when the book was written: Japan bashing was a Congressional pastime as the Japanese Diet tried to figure out how to keep Americans happy and trade from going sour. "Buy American" was (and perhaps still is) a buzzword throughout the country, as the "Asian giant" ran rampant throughout the world, buying real estate and golf courses. US hegemony was over.
Well, it seems that things are a little bit different than everyone expected. Today, Japan is the "withering chrysanthemum" and Americans now turn their eyes to China and the EU as the new fear. US hegemony is being challenged elsewhere, and the #2 economy is nowhere in sight, even if it is still here in almost full force. Go figure.
Now on with the review. Rising Sun can't be blamed for its most obvious shortcomings, as it is simply a window into the world of the scared American. Japan scholars at the best schools in the nation were right there with Crichton as everyone danced around and screamed murder because of an "unfair Japan." With that said, the book isn't half bad. It's fun to read like every other Crichton book, and you still might learn a thing or two. Just remember why it was written and you'll do fine.

Rising Sun by Michael Crichton is a little differant from other Crichton novels. Rising Sun is more like a detective story with a slight Japanese-American relations twist.

The story revolves around a Japanese company that just opened its doors in America. On the night of their opening party, a young American women is found dead. The LAPD liason is brought to the scene to handle the culture-clash. He finds himself involved in a company that is hiding evidence, with a "racist" commander, and a partner who is known to be quite odd. The Liason, Peters, finds himself faced with threats, lies, and attempts on his life.

The story is full of action. The book is certainly a pageturner. I couldn't put the book down.

The only problem I had with this book was that it was one of the more political Crichton books. It had very little scientific research behind it. The information inside says that America should have an isolationist polocy, which many an educated reader would disagree with.

However, the book is entertaining and worth the read.

This book heavily surprised me in many aspects, frankly because I don't see many Asians, especially Japanese, here in Nebraska, and the few people who do travel this far inland are either tourists or foreign exchange students. And they are just as nice anybody (which doesn't say a whole lot). I was also surprised by the language, and as a 7th grader when I read it, I was very impressed and educated by the use of cuss words. Thanks to Crichton, I am a full 2 years ahead of my peers in Inappropriate English (thats a joke).

I never thought I would say that, especially with a Crichton novel, but this one was really not as good as the movie. The plot wasn't as deep, the characters weren't as developed, the suspense wasn't as great. Perhaps I am just a bit off-set by the lack of science fiction, a staple in most of his novels. Perhaps I just found this story _too_ believable, and the characters _too_ real. In any regard, it was a great book, but not one of his best.

Very amusing whodunnit with many stings in the tail before we reach the riveting conclusion. However, what makes this a far more interesting read is the very provocative "japanese in America" corporate backdrop. Clearly, Crichton is using the detective/mystery context to raise all sorts of mischevious questions about Japanese infiltration of U.S. corporate institutions, American xenophobia, and the existence of worlds-within-worlds in today's corporate life. Some of this "paranoid" description seems a little dated at this point, in 2002 -- clearly, the mired-in-recession Japanese are less of a threat today than was perceived in the early '90s, when the book was written.
Nevertheless, a page-turner in the classic sense, as well as a not-so-subtle social commentary... One of Crichton's better efforts.

Michael Crichton takes us on an adventure into Japanese-American corporate finance with a little murder twist thrown in. He includes a lot of Japanese "take-over" of American business in this tale and how this culture handles murder in the board room. Like other Crichton novels, this book is suspensful, thrilling, and entertaining. Why did I only give it three stars? It's not one of my favorite books by Crichton and the corporate tale is a bit dated and maybe even somewhat jaded. It is a good book though, and I highly recommend it.

Rising Sun offers an insight into Japan, and Japanese economics that was once unknown. Although it is now a cliché by saying this, Rising Sun brings new meaning into the Japanese motto: �Business is War�. Japan seems to be a peaceful country but when it comes to business they are like pit bulls. Japan has been slowly taking over the American economy and all of her markets. Major corporations are owned by the Japanese, some even go as far as to say they own some cities and the American Government. Rising Sun uncovers the shocking truth about Japanese business when a murder take place in L.A. in the headquarters of a Japanese corporation called Nakamoto. When the LAPD moves in to investigate they only run into brick walls set up by Nakamoto. Rising Sun has to be Crichton�s best novel since Jurassic Park. Rising Sun may be a fairly large book but the suspense will keep you turning the pages. One could read it in a day. You know who killed who�or do you? The twists in the plot will keep you reading. I definitely recommend this book to all.

I enjoyed this book. The tech. aspect is what gets me. The overall book is good, but I do feel that it cuts a little too harshly on the Japanese. Throughout his book, he fails to mention that not all Japanese fall into the stereotype he describes. If, as you get into it, you forget that this is fiction, you may come away with some of his views, and that is unfortunate. Apart from that, the book is worth reading.

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 the store. :) 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.

Crichton has a wide range of knowledge from medical to science to computer. The new technologies mentioned in this book are new and very interesting. The setting of the story as well as the plot would surely grip you.

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.

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.

Despite a strong, interesting begginning, Micheal
loses me in the middle of Rising Sun. It is quite
interesting how the murderers handled the murder
and cleaned up after themselves, but Crichton
loses the mystery of it all when he goes into the
facts about the company MicroCon. Nevertheless,
Crichton produces a brilliant ending, saving the
book from certain death.

Usually I like Crichton's novels, but this was an exception. The author's other novels are about rationality and reason. However this novel is a promotion of socialist industrial protection laws. Crichton makes a false argument that big government protectionism is good and small government market economies are bad. I'm really shocked. Please read Crichton's other novels but don't waste time with this.

"Rising Sun" can't decide if it wants to be a polemic against Japanese business practicess or a murder mystery thriller, so it tries to do both. The result is clumsy at best. Long stretches of the book delve into the Japanese issue without any apparent connection to the plot. For example, the main character will happen to be standing in a waiting room, and listen as a couple of guys standing near him talk about the latest dastardly dealings of the Japanese -- very convenient, and very unconvincing. Crichton makes some stabs at giving his characters some personality, but it doesn't really work. All too often, Officer Smith comes off as the unwitting foil, his only function to be the innocent naif slowly waking up to the Japanese plot to take over the US. Connor, his detective mentor, has an annoying habit of making mystifying pronouncements about the sly Japanese character. Fooey.

The murder mystery is at least somewhat interesting, but in the end it is pushed too far into the background to really steer the book.

I would say that the book does come across as somewhat xenophobic. I'm too young to remember the very real paranoia in the 80s about the Japanese buying up the country, but this book seems to capture the era pretty faithfully. In the end it was more interesting to me as a time capsule of that era than as anything else. One wonders what Crichton would write as a follow up to this book, considering the way the Japanese bubble burst and the US's economic expansion in the 90s. Perhaps he can write a new book about the rising Chinese superpower?

I just re-read this book after several years. I found it to be just as good the second time. This author educates himself about the subject matter and ties it all together with the fiction. It's a good read, not easily put down though. Have some time set aside to enjoy it.

This book is not the typical si-fi or science based story you expect form Cricton, but it is very good. I was glad to see Crichton had branched out. The story is more about international buisness (Japan to be exact) and a murder mystery. The story flows well and is an easy read.

Making the main characters easy to relate to was one of the only good parts of this book. Having a partner who knew everything before it happened and quite possibly knew the murderer before they questioned anyone made this book boring and hard to continue reading. His lack of detail was disappointing and over use of characters left me wondering whom he was talking about throughout the story. His constant twists and his change in events was annoying to say at the least. I wouldn't recommend this book to even someone who enjoys mystery and murder books. Along with not being amazing it also left a bad impression on Japanese Americans and made you question if he was a racist. With all of the racial remarks and suggestive comments it portrayed Americans themselves in a bad light making them in general look racist and unfair. While it does give a good insight into the business world and how it works along with giving insight into the history and future of industry I still found it confusing and more the most part a bore.

Michael Crichton's Rising Sun is a novel filled with mystery, that once you pick it up it's hard to put it down. Out of all the books I've read this has to be one of the all time best. If you're looking for a book that you can't put down than this would be one for you to consider.

The story takes place in Los Angeles, California and progresses over the course of three days. A detective for the Los Angeles police named Peter Smith received a call from another detective named Tom Graham about a homicide in a new Japanese run building. Smith is then asked to become partners with a retired detective named John Connor to solve this homicide mystery. The two travel to the building and investigate the murder of a woman who was found dead on a table. They only come to discover that there is almost no evidence of who or how she was murdered and even if it was murder at all. The story goes through a great amount of puzzles and fighting breaks out between some of the investigators over this murder just to find out who, what, when, how and why this murder was committed.

Crichton shows a mastery of comparison of two extremely different cultures in this book. The Japanese are shown how they look down upon Americans as slow, stupid, and lazy people. It often looks stereotypical at times but at most points it seems as if its been backed by experience. He represents the Americans as both racist and dedicated to finding out what has happened to this girl. Graham is the racist in the story and both Conner and Smith are the dedicated hard working ones. The two cultures seem to clash in their ideals of each other and that's just how Crichton makes this story more than just a murder.

The book starts right off by displaying cultural background just with its title. Rising Sun, represents the red sun on the Japanese flag and also how there is a big difference between the Americans and the Japanese. Crichton throughout the book displayed his knowledge of both of the American and Japanese culture and how they clash with each other.

This is a great book, especially if you enjoy mystery and how crimes are solved. Also, its interesting to see how the cultures between both the Americans and the Japanese. Michael Crichton has created a mystery that will keep you reading until the end with almost no stops in between. I highly recommend this book to almost anyone because of its on the edge of your seat way it seems to affect you as you read it.

Rising Sun: A Novel is superbly written and not only does Michael Crichton keep you reading, he has you thinking, to the point I had to remind myself I it's a novel. Looking forward to reading another from someone who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors.

This book deals with everything from murder to racism. It especially deals with the ongoing battle of business between the United States and Japan. Just when you think that you know what is going to happen next, a whole different thing happens than what you expected. What's great about this book is that it is non stop action from the beginning to the end. Whether it's a high speed chase or bodies that are found in swimming pools to people jumping off of buildings, this is the book to
read if you are looking for these kind of things. Now that I have read this book, I know how serious the Japanese feel about business and believe, they take it very seriously. Ifyou are looking for abook with lots action, this is the book to check out. You won't be dissapointed.

This book is like all of Crichton other works a great plot but also filled the tons of side knowledge that is easy and enjoyable to read.
This book deals with a murder that took place in a new Japanese company building. It gives a great look into the way business is done in Japan.
This book comes highly recommended along with all of his other works.

An interesting read. Michael has a clear vision presented for the reader and keeps you wanting to get the rest of the picture. A bit too heavy on the business side of the economy for my taste, but it leads to a good read.

Making the main characters easy to relate to was one of the only good parts of this book. Having a partner who knew everything before it happened and quite possibly knew the murderer before they questioned anyone made this book boring and hard to continue reading. His lack of detail was disappointing and over use of characters left me wondering whom he was talking about throughout the story. His constant twists and his change in events was annoying to say at the least. I wouldn't recommend this book to even someone who enjoys mystery and murder books. Along with not being amazing it also left a bad impression on Japanese Americans and made you question if he was a racist. With all of the racial remarks and suggestive comments it portrayed Americans themselves in a bad light making them in general look racist and unfair. While it does give a good insight into the business world and how it works along with giving insight into the history and future of industry I still found it confusing and more the most part a bore.

Rising Sun was a tough one to get through. It wasn't extremely long, but without having any prior knowledge of Japanese business or customs I found myself boggled by the details. Once finished, I felt it was a satisfying read, but not something I would have an interest in reading again. Rising Sun is a must for the more rabid Michael Crichton fans, but casual readers should pass this one by.

Michael Crichton provides another successful, if somewhat dated murder investigation thriller based in part on the exaggerated possibility that Japan culture and economic power will overwhelm America. Like many of his books, he immerses himself and the reader in the knowledge of the subject, but in the sum, denegrates and distorts the subject so as to provide a more exciting read. Parallels can be seen in Airframe (says he loves planes, writes about how they are likely to fail), Jurassic Park (likes biotech, writes about how recreated dinos will eat humans), Adromeda (Dr. Crichton writes how medical research creates a bug that runs amok), Prey (He says he love technology, but here nanotech is the latest people killer). His latest as of this writing is State of Fear, where he argues that the scientists agreeing on the evidence of global warming are wrong and are controlled by an unnamed cabal of nations that wish to keep their citizens in fear. Enjoy his books and his research (often correct), but forget his didactic, incorrect and hippocritical conclusions. They just sell books.

Rising Sun is a great book by all means. It was a very creative idea by Michael Crichton. It is about one murder but it turns out to be more than that. It becomes a conspiercy to turn all heads. It almost seems to Japenese bash but in the same tense it doesn't. I'm not sure if it was meant to be that way. Anyway it is a must read by all standards.

This book is a ridiculous, repetitive piece of propaganda; in the middle of the novel, the story is virtually dropped for some 100 pages in favor of endless examples of "Japanese corporate treachery." While the examples provided are apparently true, they take on racist undertones when Crichton utterly fails to separate "Japanese corporations" from "the Japanese." I'm sure Crichton would object to being judged by the actions of Nike, McDonalds or Microsoft. Propaganda aside, the thriller aspect of the novel is a snore, and Crichton's writing is mediocre at best. The most outstanding characteristics of his prose are his odd usage of punctuation and the awkward lack of contractions in dialogue. This novel is insulting to the intelligence and a waste of time and energy.

In the 80s the big American fear, especially in California, was that the Japanese businesses were going to take over. Strangely, the fact that the Dutch and British had more holdings than the Japanese never mattered.
That said, Japanese conspiracies were popular and this was one of the better ones, which also allowed us to perceive the Japanese manner of thinking.
BTW, this book was better than the movie. Overally, a very good read but not great.

Wow, Michael Crichton, wow...please stick to science-type thrillers! I'm a big Michael Crichton, and this book simply rubbed me the wrong way. The murder mystery is okay, not spectacular, and, more importantly, it is completely overshadowed by the sheer XENOPHOBIA this book is dripping with. This book is so saturated with xenophobic themes. At the same time, you get the feeling that Michael Crichton fancies himself as some kind of expert on Japanese culture and business practices. If it wasn't so irritating and misplaced, it would be kind of funny. Frankly, this book needs to come with a disclaimer: WARNING - EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE EXPECTING A MURDER MYSTERY, BE AWARE THAT IT IS SECONDARY TO BEING A FRONT FOR MICHAEL CRICHTON'S XENOPHOBIC VIEWS.

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.

(Thriller) At a Japanese-owned building in Los Angeles, a woman is found dead. Two detectives must pass through a whole series of cultural barriers to solve this mystery. Lots of twists and turns, but I didn't find it so amazing. Generally entertaining, but the language was too much for me.

Potentially offensive material: Continuous strong language, some violence and sex (brief but quite graphic)

The books is even better than the movie. It had my total attention! The characters were well laid out. Capt. Conner and his antics were utterly great! At times, he seemed a reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes :-)

"Rising Sun" is one of those books I hesitate to bring up in a casual conversation. It is dated, racist as hell, and unashamedly nationalistic. Having said that, it is a well written and exciting story. Although on an intellectual level I detest Crichton for writing this book, my hands couldn't put it down and I read through it all in one sitting.

An ok cop tale, partly based around some American Japanophobia. Throw in the beginnings of the technology for faking video evidence, and some corporate stuff. Then there is the auto-erotic asphyxiation gone just a bit too far problem for one of the visiting business types. Naturally one of the main characters is a Japanese liasion expert, throw him together with a garden variety cop type and there you go.

Many of the predictions in this book about the Japanese "taking over America" by buying it up have not come true. Indeed, with Japan's current economic decline the alarmist tone of this book is quite laughable. I remember reading it at the time and being somewhat skeptical, but in 2008, this book has almost no relevance except as an example of fear-mongering from a prior decade. The mystery story itself is only so-so. Stick to Jurassic Park or the Andromedia Strain.

The plot of this book serves merely to support an amazing amount of Japan-bashing. While I understand the context of the time - when Japan seemed to be buying up the whole of America, the lack of subtlety that Crichton uses to get his point across is disturbing. Like another reviewer said, he puts what seems to be prepared stump speeches in the mouths of all the characters in the book. Even worse is the obvious stereotyping of Japanese: the only Japanese character who seems to have any redeeming feature is a half-American woman who hates Japan as much as Crichton does.
My advice is, if you value objectivity and good literature, give this book a pass and save your money - I wish I had.

I chose this rating because I think anybody with an interest in a good fast moving mystery...AND ...the truth about the selling of America should read this book and then start making some noise. Our leaders are sleeping; or perhaps complicit!?

First the general storyline is an okay mystery which some people will find compelling enough to enjoy the novel. Without giving too much away, I had trouble with the number of suspects who were around the murder victim. That part was unbelievable, but then that is a general problem with mystery novels. You do have to suspend reality.

The other part of the novel is the subject of Japanese businesses buying American companies. Crichton himself writes that he is against the Japanese buying so much of America. That part is contraversial, considering that Europe at the time had owned much more property and businesses in the U.S. One can argue that racism influenced his opinion. Thinking about this issue now, more companies are global so this doesn't seem to be a burning issue. Even Pres. Bush wanted to sell our port management to a Dubai company. It's important to know the situation of the U.S. when this novel was written. America was losing a lot of ground to the Japanese in international business. However since then the flawed Japanese economy, due in part to corruption, bad loans, etc. suffered greatly and was no longer the top international driving force.

You may also consider that the plot revolves around the Japanese buying the favors of white American women. As my friend put it, 'we want your women' was a big theme. My friend is white American. The novel plays to old stereotypes, much like the old 'black men' are trying to get 'white women' racist fear. My ex boss gave me the book because he thought it was a good mystery. However I can't help but see the underlying nasty themes too.

This book was one best books I have ever read. First u learn a great deal of Japanese culture in this. Also it is a great mystery. And it is the way Michael Crichton writes his books, thats what makes him a good writer. This book is worth the money and time.

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.

This is Crichton's best suspense novel. No questions asked. I read this about 3 years back, and I kind of forgot what the book was about, but I DO remember grabbing hold of the book until the very end... I'm not much of a suspense fan, but I still found this book worth reading.

Crichton develops characters with superb literary skill and maintains suspense with superior command of mystery and the English language. A must-read for anyone interested in Japanese-American relationships or looking for a great Crichton novel

A pretty good read -- not too obvious like some thrillers, and full of interesting tidbits on Japanese culture. The author's view of the Japanese "threat" seems a little outdated, given recent economic events.

I love Michael Crichton. But I absolutely hated this book. So much that I actually threw it out. And I never do that to books. The chapters seemed very repetitive to me. Unfortunately, I can't really get down to specifics because it's been 12 years since I read it. I just remember that I disliked it so much.

I liked Rising Sun but I felt there were too many comments about the japanese people that polluted the story. The scenario is good, the multimedia/video side of the book is interesting, the political aspect becomes boring after a while. I would however recommend the reading of Rising Sun since I enjoyed it overall.

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.

Interesting to learn how our country’s corporations arei being invaded by the Japanese. Their superior work ethics and aggression to own our country is frightening if this fictional story is based on facts. I do not like a cut off and incomplete.

Michael Crichton is an excellent writer. Very knowledgeable about Japan- it’s people it’s culture and technologies. Kept me guessing most of the way. Simple plot but lots of twists. The kind of book that’s hard to put down. If you like a lot of suspicious , this is a good read

... for anyone interested in the future of the country. I’m not going to follow my instincts and preach what I know to be the facts but, please read the book, pay attention to the business discussion and write your government representatives. It’s a matter of survival.