#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes this riveting thriller of corporate intrigue and cutthroat competition between American and Japanese business interests. “As well built a thrill machine as a suspense novel can be.”—The New York Times Book Review On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto tower in downtown Los Angeles—the new American … floor of the Nakamoto tower in downtown Los Angeles—the new American headquarters of the immense Japanese conglomerate—a grand opening celebration is in full swing.
On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the corpse of a beautiful young woman is discovered.
The investigation immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue, a no-holds-barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize—and in which the Japanese saying “Business is war” takes on a terrifying reality.
“A grand maze of plot twists . . . Crichton’s gift for spinning a timely yarn is going to be enough, once again, to serve a current tenant of the bestseller list with an eviction notice.”—New York Daily News
“The action in Rising Sun unfolds at a breathless pace.”—Business Week
more
Great read.
A fairly straight-forward murder mystery, entanglement in the morass of Japanese social custom. Once more Crichton’s research is deep and well-used, although quite dated now. Like all of his works, Crichton teaches in an entertaining fashion. A lesser writer could not have done so well. Recommended. B+
The book that started my obsessions w/ Crichton titles
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.
I didn’t enjoy anti-Japanese sentiment in this novel. It has become dated with those sentiments, IMHO.
It was fine, entertaining enough, I guess, but with that kind of name recognition, I had higher expectations.
It was ok, just tedious. But at the end Crighton ties everything up with a nice little bow, and answers all the questions you may have had
Plenty of twists and turns that kept me engaged. I’ve read a lot of mysteries in which I could anticipate the ending. Not this one.
As with most Michael Crichton books you will learn a lot while being entertained.
Nice plot on the 80’s perception of the Japanese-American relationship
Typical great stuff from Crichton, far better than the movie.
Michael Criton is a great action, mystery writer who I have enjoyed over the years. This book was intriguing in that I learned something about Japanese culture, especially related to business.
I read this book years ago when it first came out. Great story. Interesting how there are societies in the US under the radar.
Good story but heavy on the explanations of Japanese culture
Great story
I simply did not like the topic and it did not seem like a Criton book at all.
Written at a time of Japanese bashing, the sentiment overtakes the limited and confusing police plot. One feels lectured rather than entertained. Not one of his finest.
While I have enjoyed reading several of his books, his paranoia was over the top in this one. Still worth reading as long as you are aware of the extreme bias in this book.
Predictable plot twists, lacking suspense. Tedious complaints of japanese economic superiority. Read any other of Crichton books
Read it a long time ago. Didn’t inspire me to ingest everything he’s written but I DID finish it, which I would not do if I didn’t enjoy it to some extent.
I read this and liked it a lot.
The movie has NOTHING to do with this book – another case of someone a Crichton book and completely ruining it, or just NOT GETTING THE POINT.