Jurassic Park - Dinosaurs + Japanese - Wide eyed sense of wonder + Early 90s xenophobia = Rising Sun. In other words: Crichton at his cheap-scariest.

3.5 stars rounded up. The plot twists at the end saved the story.

Listening to Michael Crichton -- at least judging by this one outing -- is very different than reading Michael Crichton.

I know, I know, listening to anything is different than reading, but I was shocked to discover how much lecturing Crichton does in his books. It goes far beyond the usual exposition of tech and ideas one would expect from a Sci-Fi writer. His lectures are long, over-blown, bordering on excruciating, but I think the magic of the written words allows those moments to be glossed over. Put voice to them, however, and even with an excellent performance by MacLeod Andrews, they take on a pedantic flavour that sours the characterization of every minor character Smith and Connor come in contact with.

And then there is the xenophobia. Crichton's xenophobia towards the Japanese is so pressurized it blows the top off the thermometer and sends mercury spilling everywhere, and it makes some portions of the story nearly unreadable.

Even so, the murder mystery is surprisingly compelling, and John Connor, especially, is a character I want to spend as much time with as I can. Rising Sun is far from Crichton's best, and it could be close to his worst, but I still found myself plowing through the audiobook version at top speed. He may not have been the nicest cat or the coolest cat, but he sure coudl spin a yarn -- when he wasn't pontificating.

4.0 to 4.5 stars. My favorite Michael Crichton novel. I remember reading this book when it first came out and thinking is was a terrific read. I plan to re-read it at some point to see if it has aged well.

Michael Crichton is a very interesting writer. He takes a subject that he is interested in, researches it fully and then crafts a story around the research.

The blurb for "Rising Sun" describes it as a business thriller. There aren't actually any thrills in it, but it is very interesting, as a description of how Japanese big business is buying corporate America.

I enjoy learning stuff while I'm reading, but if you just wanted a thriller, this might not be for you.

It started of well. A murder mystery, a young (kohai) and mysterious veteran detective tag along. But quickly it becomes a political thriller. I would say it lost its edge in the end. But a good read. The motion picture is also i guess lacked the required twist and turn to make it more interesting.

Really good, but dated in the cultural/political context.

Como amante del thriller, siento que este fue trabajado de una manera distinta a los que venía leyendo y eso lo hace único. No sigue el mismo hilo de resolución que los demás, sino que es único a su forma.

Me gustó mucho este libro, lo disfruté bastante, una lectura que te atrapa desde el primer momento, hasta el punto de no saber cuándo cortar la lectura (porque no está dividido en capítulos).

Me resultó interesante que haya dos detectives de los cuales uno era más novato y el otro especialista, aporta dos tipos de visiones.

Los idas y vueltas sobre el asesinato y el motivo, me cautivó, en especial por como mezclan la muerte con los negocios existentes entre los japoneses y los norteamericanos.

No le pongo 5 estrellas por la simple razón que hay momentos en que se habla demasiado del comercio y la forma de competir de los japoneses, lo cual me mareaba.

This would have been 5 stars if there were no cliffhangers left. Overall though a very good read. Twists and turns on every page. Keeps you intrigued the whole way through. Another Crichton classic

Honestly, just what I needed at the moment. I’m not a huge crime novel fan but sometimes as well placed crime thriller just hits the spot, kind of like a well placed gin and tonic on the right night.

Big fan of the Japanese-American relations theme, especially knowing that Sean Connery played Sempai to Wesley Snipes in the 1993 film adaptation.

This was my first novel by Crichton. I plan on riding this wave right into Andromeda Strain

3.5 stars

This was a really good crime thriller, but had far too much anti-Japanese sentiment throughout. Written in the 90s, it’s even harder to stomach now that we know the Japanese takeover of America warned throughout the book didn’t happen. Which is a real shame because otherwise, this book was great!

It was a very interesting read. I'm not too sure about it. Were things that stressful with Japan in the 90's?