Also see the movie Rising Sun.

Perhaps it is because this book has an out of date topic, but I found the constant "Japanese taking over America" rants to be a bit much. It took away from the overall mystery of the murder case, which in itself was interesting and intriguing. If it weren't for that preaching, I would have managed 3 stars.

Can you say 'arigatou gozaimasu'......Mr. Chricton for a whirlwind lesson in Japaneeeseeee. I can almost speak the language now...wow. One should receive college credit or at the very least a full c.e.u. for completing this novel. Seriously, I feel like I spent three weeks on 'Shogun'. In any event, a very eventful and satisfying read (listen in my case). When someone suggests you lay off the bigger than life, too good to be true Japanese business deal, believe it! Sayounara tomodachi.
Even better the second time around.

The city always has to be a character in these types of crime novels and that was my favorite aspect of the novel. The adventure of spending a night in L.A. trying to solve a murder, going into office towers, restaurants, homes of the rich, encountering dignitaries and celebrities, even going on a high speed chase. All of this ends pretty soon though, and the novel has a long ways to go before the plot wraps up.

The plot, of course is a vehicle for a message. Look around you, pay a little bit more attention, and you'll see that we're being invaded, and its mainly through our own negligence. The last scene is the main character tucking his daughter into bed, feeling really uneasy about the world she's going to grow into, a Japanese colony. I don't think Michael Crichton is anti-free trade in principle, but the market doesn't stop a man from selling or buying himself into oblivion, from what at first may even seem to be rational decisions. The critique is that Americans are interested only in huge, short term gains, and selling off resources, and vital technologies over to the Japanese, who are rather making their decisions not based only on profit, but with a deliberate view to undermine U.S. advantages. Crichton tries to warn that they will never treat us as equals, Americans are not able to buy Japanese companies as easy as Japanese companies buy American companies, and in the future we're only setting ourselves up to be treated as second class citizens by the new dominant class. Imagine restaurants in L.A: No Americans allowed. There's even a reference in the novel to an American university where a vital research lab is only accessible with a Japanese passport, though it must be noted that there was never any such thing in real life, and these fears back then, much more so now simply appear as alarmist.

The free trader counter argument is that it doesn't pay to be racist, and that the Japanese have a lot more profits to gain from being inclusive. I'm inclined to believe in the latter, but how long would it take? Decades, generations, and in the meantime what? What type of American lies at the end of this process? There is also a historical precedent that countries that stand to lose in a trade war have a habit of finding pretexts for wars. I have no idea how it would've played out, as the issue after all is a fossil, the Japanese economy imploded ironically at about the same time this book was published, but ultimately the book is a criticism of the U.S. much more than Japan.

For a straightforward whodunnit, Crichton also has to insert his trademark science fiction elements, and in this case we encounter the capability to alter video so well, and so quickly, that in this world photographic or video evidence of a crime can no longer be accepted in court. I don't think we're quite there yet, but its amusing seeing this type of technology in the early 90s.

The characterization just wasn't very good in my opinion. John Connor, the wise old detective, was too perfect, but if it wasn't for the kung fu scene, I probably wouldn't have cared. I liked him, but if John was too perfect, the main characters ex wife was too irredeemable. She was an absolute caricature of a selfish and ambitious woman who marries on a whim, leaves her husband who apparently isn't rich enough, completely neglects her newborn daughter, having left her with the husband, but then tries to take her daughter back after accusations of child abuse against her ex husband which she knows are unfounded threaten to maker her look bad. Her scenes could be amusing, like seeing a cartoon villain, but if the main character had cancer, it would've had more personality. The best character was Eddie Sakamura, a son of a Japanese industrialist living in the U.S. He's not a good person either, a chainsmoking playboy, owner of a restaurant, but also a corporate sponsored pimp sending out call girls to blackmail business rivals. Sure he's a scumbag but he has a few surprises up his sleeve over the course of the book, and I had to admire Crichton managing to capture how this guy would've talked, being street, but believable and not over the top. The main character was ironically completely forgettable. Is there a more generic name than Peter Smith?

Michael Crichton lived in Los Angeles rubbing shoulders with the rich, famous, and powerful and its amusing how he portrays them all as degenerates and opportunists, especially the media. There's one politician that looks like he's gonna be a good guy, an intelligent guy with good ideals. He ignores focus groups, and wants to tell the American people the difficult truths, to conserve rather than spend, but then it turns out he's not so above it after all and it proves to be his undoing. This book is a lot more about the U.S. than it was about Japan.

Най-силната реплика в тази книгата не принадлежи на автора. Изведена е в послеслова и е на легендарния Акио Морита от “Сони”: ”Ако не искате да ви купят, не се продавайте.” По-силна квинтесенция на алчността, корупцията и лекарството срещу тях и досега не съм срещнала. Остава в златния ми фонд.

Иначе самият роман е добър, крайтъновски, провокативен, информативен, а - на база дистанциятя на годините - и не малко спекулативен. Крайтън не ми е любимият “анализатор”, твърде клони към световната конспирация в книгите си, особено в късните, с изключение на три от тях. За целите на добрите ми спомени, ще причисля към този мой личен списък и настоящото заглавие.

Едно убийство във високите кръгове на корпоративните среди кара Крайтън на задълбае в японската бизнескултура и психология. Темата е интересна, има много фактология, напрежението не спада и за миг. Това, което обаче не ми хареса, е отношението към японците като извънземни със свръхсили, поставили си за цел с тиха сила и шпионаж да завладеят цялата благочестива американска икономика. Едва ли е било изцяло невярно, особено в онзи период, когато е писана книгата, и Япония още не е тресната от последвалата икономическа криза, която и сви перките. Но Крайтън го избива към едностранчивост и твърде повтарящото се убеждение кои са лошите, и не задълбава в образите и културата им, те остават като бегли щрихи.

Филмът не беше лош, но не беше и по-добър от книгата. От днешна гледна точка тя вече не е толкова актуална, но би била приятен прочит.

3,5⭐️

Easy read police suspense murder mystery by one of my favorite authors.

Ein sehr spannender Krimi, der interessante Einblicke in die japanische Wirtschaftspolitik gibt.

This book is now 25 years old, and while it holds up as a murder mystery the politics of it are a bit outdated. The late Michael Crichton wrote the book as the personal computer industry was in flux. Much of the industry was starting to be transferred to Asian markets. In addition, the US was facing increasing trade deficits with Japan, the auto industry was in trouble, almost all televisions were being built there as well.

In the quarter century since then the trade deficit has shifted to China and South Korea, US industrialists moved their own factories to Asia for the cheap labor, and once again we're faced with having a major trading partner in which leaders and consumers think in fundamentally different ways than Americans. As for Japan, they went through a major recession from which they still haven't fully recovered after several years.

When this was written there was quite a bit of general irritation directed at Japan. Crichton picked up on this irritation and, in more than a few ways, directed it out to the Japanese people themselves while still expressing envy about their culture.

The central story of the book is a murder mystery. The book is set in Los Angeles and during the opening of a new Japanese-owned corporate building a young white woman is found dead in a conference room in one of the upper floors. The Japanese managers refuse to allow the investigation to continue until they have a liaison officer (Lt. Peter Smith) who is encouraged to pick up a more experience former officer on the way to the scene named John Connor. Connor has lived in Japan and is fluent in the language. It's through his eyes that the Japanese culture is revealed, both good and bad. Connor frequently expresses envy for the cohesiveness of the Japanese while calling them the most racist nation on earth. Their business foresight is lauded while they're cursed for creating a market closed to American goods while dumping Japanese goods in the American market for cheaper than Tokyo prices.  Meanwhile, note the several times that the two investigators hit potholes as they drive around Los Angeles, the clear implication being that such things would never be allowed in Japan.

This split attitude runs through the entire book as the two work together to unravel the mystery while navigating the layers of Japan-born executives of the company that owns the building.

The mystery holds up, though much of it revolves around the search for original tapes of the crime and some technology that now seems commonplace. The ongoing lessons from John Connor on Japanese business practices and culture are interesting even if some of the interpretations are over the top.

Crichton tends to blame regulation, which would seem to have much less influence than poor trade negotiations, but Crichton was more than a little conservative so it's no surprise where his focus would be. In the years since the book was written the World Trade Organization (WTO) stepped in a few times to sanction Japan for dumping computer chips in the US market, meanwhile US corporations seem to be determined to continue a downward spiral of underpaying workers, overpaying executives, sending manufacturing to Asia, and then wondering why the American consumer can't afford their products. In those ways not much has changed over a quarter century.

Bloody awful. And it is racist, it just is, for God’s sake. But even if you can, to your shame, overlook the horrific way Crichton depicts the Japanese culture and people, all you’re left with is an incredibly anodyne and unsatisfying murder mystery.

Un thriller mozzafiato, angosciante e ansiogeno nel suo ritmo serrato, con frasi interrotte da telefonate misteriose, puntini di sospensione e pezzi di puzzle che si ricompongono solo nelle ultime righe. Ma è questo è davvero solo un giallo adrenalico?
Da un lato il corpo di un’affascinante giovane su un tavolo riunione durante una festa di inaugurazione di una grande azienda.
Dall’altro, la visione dell’autore nei confronti dei rapporti USA-Giappone, con un incessante rimarcare la sua prospettiva nei legami economici (a suo dire catastrofici e soverchianti) tra le due nazioni.
In entrambi i casi il libro è eseguito a regola d’arte: il lettore è ammaliato dalla prosa per scoprire l’assassino tra tecnicismi informatici; allo stesso tempo Crichton utilizza un racconto di finzione per dar voce alle proprie idee politiche in un romanzo completo di bibliografia finale, creando un tentativo di evangelizzare i suoi lettori. In diversi punti tradisce l’epoca in cui è stato scritto, ma non perde comunque il fascino, nonostante convinzioni non condivisibili.

This was a very fun book to read at the time and was turned into a very nice movie as well.

Though I have read only a couple of Michael Crichton's books, I am fan of his writing. His The Andromeda Strain and Sphere were highly enjoyable. So, with a lot of expectations I started with this book.

From the blurb, I could gather that it is a murder mystery centered on corporate espionage. The body of a young beautiful woman has been discovered in the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto Tower - a mighty Japanese conglomerate, in Los Angeles. This was during a party, attended by celebrities, senators - the usual who’s who.

The start of the story was excellent. It starts with two detectives from the Internal Affairs Division interrogating Lt. Pete J. Smith, of the Special Services Division of LAPD, who was involved in and ultimately solved the murder. I thought that something terrible is going to happen and my curiosity was piqued. In his investigation, Smith was helped by Capt. Connor – a man who has extensive knowledge of the Japanese people and some pretty useful Japanese contacts as well.

This book is not just a murder mystery written to entertain the readers – the author is actually trying to impress upon the readers, what he thinks is the harsh reality of “Japan’s economic behavior, and America’s inadequate response to it”.

Throughout the book, the author keeps emphasizing how the Japanese are taking over America as in Japan has launched an “economic conquest” of the country. Mostly through Connor and a few other characters, Crichton strives to show the fundamental difference in mind set between the Japanese and the Americans. Connor, who has spent some years in Japan keeps educating Smith about the Japanese way of doing business - their way of keeping American companies out of the Japanese market while at the same time they are acquiring important tech companies & land in the U.S., they have bought control over many American universities, the Japanese spend millions on lobbyists and politicians, have reporters in their pay roll and even bought influence in the police forces. Anyone who tries to come in their way are branded as racists and the Japanese don’t hesitate to destroy the reputation of the their detractors by setting off their pet journalists on them and in cases might send armed thugs who are of course Japanese. The Japanese motto of “Business is war” is not only mentioned a lot of times but demonstrated throughout the story.

It’s not just business, but according to Crichton the Japanese are a racist people who always look down upon other non-Japanese people. Connor says “ In many ways, the Japanese are wonderful people. They are hardworking, intelligent, humorous. They had real integrity. They are also the most racist people on the planet. That’s why they’re always accusing everybody else of racism……”

Crichton vents his disappointment at the indifference of the American public -- " In no other country in the world would you hear people calmly discussing the fact that their cities and states were sold to foreigners."

In the afterword, the author again reiterates the “adversarial trade”  practices of Japan and reminds the reader that Japan is a competitor to America.

Honestly speaking, I do not have any knowledge of Japanese trade practices in America in the 80’s and early 90’s – I would not comment on it. I felt his sermonizing took the thrust out of the mystery story and at times the lessons about cultural differences became tedious. To give the author his due, he did do a lot of research – at least the long list of books in the bibliography gives the impression. I felt that the author should have been subtle about his beliefs. May be Crichton thought that a subtle approach would not be sufficient to get his views across to the masses – I don’t know. I have mixed feelings about the book – the sermonizing was a bit too much but the element of suspense was definitely there.

As for recommending this book – I have tried to give an honest review, it’s for you to decide.