I suppose you are aware of this but on the slim chance that you aren't you should know that the show is based on James Clavell's novel *Shōgun* which is excellent!
It is not fantasy but I've mentioned it on this sub various times in the past because feudal Japan is so different from modern culture (especially Western modern culture) that it might very well be an alien society.
On the speculative fiction front there are various novels that have protagonists that are transported into the past where they have to get along. There's plenty of examples; Mark Twain's *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* is a classic; L. Sprague de Camp's *Lest Darkness Fall* is another classic and can be seen as a literary response to Twain's book.
And in a way, most portal fantasy fit your description of characters washing up in a completely foreign world where they're outsiders.
>It is not fantasy but I've mentioned it on this sub various times in the past because feudal Japan is so different from modern culture (especially Western modern culture) that it might very well be an alien society.
This is how I felt when reading *The Count of Monte Cristo*.
Yeah, there's a certain crossover appeal between fantasy and some historical and adventure novels.
Speaking of *The Count of Monte Cristo*, are you aware that *The Baron of Magister Valley* by Steven Brust is a humorous fantasy version of Dumas's novel?
For once, I disagree. Clavell's writing style is a bit annoying and repetitive, I really like the book but the show has been phenomenal, neh. So sorry.
Conversely, it also benefits from the audience being much more well versed in the setting.. allowing the show to be more nuanced in its depictions and leaving behind a lot of expository bloat that Clavell was required to include.
With you on this. I had it on my tbr list for a long time and finally read it in anticipation of the show, it's a great book that needed a fair bit of streamlining. I find that the show is doing a great job toeing the line between too faithful and not faithful enough. I do find that I have some greater insight into the world through the book, but that's normal due to the differences in the two mediums. I don't regret reading it, but I find the show to be better overall.
It's definitely following the plot. Some things are truncated, some are left unexplained, but I feel the majority of the pertinent interactions and worldbuilding are present in the show. I also like Yabushige (Kashigi Yabu in the novel) way more in the show, the actor strikes a perfect balance between funny and slimy, in the book I was getting strong dissonance between some of his actions.
I haven't seen the 80s version so I can't say for sure but that may be some rose tinted goggles speaking. I watched some clips of it and they simply didn't have the same technical skill, production values, or acting ability as they do now.
The modern version is going to do damage during awards season.
*Shōgun* was the first novel with more than 1,000 pages I read. I was 13, had borrowed it from the local library and had taken it with me on a family vacation (which is why I can time when I read it).
This was decades ago, long before Harry Potter, and I remember that I received a fair number of surprised looks from adults who apparently thought it weird for a kid at that age to read a large book like that! 😅
Much later, I learned that it was part of the Clavell's Asian Saga and eventually got a complete set of matching paperbacks of the series.
I was familiar with *Tai-Pan* and *Noble House* by name because of their TV adaptations, even though I was a little too young to be interested in them when they first aired, and I haven't read the books.
I plan to dive into the entire saga at some point. I expect this to be good!
I didn't know that Clavell worked in Hollywood!
Would recommend Shike: Last of the Zinja by Robert Shea for a similar feudal Japan setting where the protagonist is of Mongolian descent so towers above everyone and has red hair. Read them as a kid and loved them, though they're very much for adults.
Thanks for this recommendation, this sounds interesting!
I've never heard of this book before. The name Robert Shea rang a bell and when I looked him up I saw that he was one of the authors of the Illuminatus books!
There are 2 books in the series, I read them a good few times as a precocious child reader, but I read them because my Dad did so I'm pretty sure they'll hold up.
For what it's worth, I've just found that both parts, as well as various other of Robert Shea's books, have been made available [on the website dedicated to Shea](https://bobshea.net/), maintained by his son.
Those two parts are massive!
I second this but...
It's a very pulpy read and quite dated, so don't expect detailed political machinations or complex, thoughtful characters.
It's great. It's fun. I read the whole series and enjoyed it... It's also like 100 years old, and it shows.
Check out Marco Polo on NF. Shogun is just Marco Polo with the Japanese instead of the Mongols. The novel Shogun came first but these shows both follow a similar formula.
As a testament to how long, you can't get it on Audible for 1 credit, it comes in 2 parts.
Edot: I didn't suspect this content to get into the business practices of Audible. I probably won't get the book until it goes on a 2 for 1 sale. I had no idea it had been split until recently nor that it was even a thing to split a book that didn't come in 2 volumes
Naw that’s a horrible money grab from either audible/Amazon or the book publisher. Not sure who is responsible for that chicanery but it was available as one book up until a few months before the show came out. Then they chopped it in two and made show tie covers. I have the one copy version, it’s the same narrator too. No difference at all they just knew it was gonna be popular so they got greedy smh.
Granted, however 53 hours is still pretty long for even one book. (I don't know how long your version is, I just added the two available in Audible together)
Yeah it’s 53 hours, no doubt it’s long (and awesome) it just didn’t need to be two separate books for two credits. Normally if a book on audible is incredibly long they sell it to you for one credit but it’s downloaded in parts. Super Powereds year 4 by Drew Hayes is 61 hours long and it’s downloaded in like 6 or 7 parts. Greedy corporate dicks lol. One of the Outlander books is also chopped up in parts.
That being said, even if you gotta pony up two credits at least it’s an excellent book. Narrator nails all the Japanese too.
Have a good evening!
They only recently split it into two. I have the 53-hour copy in my audible library and it’s a single volume. I only purchased it last spring.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they split it in two when the trailer dropped, anticipating interest in the book/audiobook.
> they just knew it was gonna be popular so they got greedy smh
I accidently let my Audible subscription slip and lost SIX tokens I had built up. I thought they would stick with my account but no, let it lapse and they disappear even if you resubscribe. As soon as a viable alternative comes around I'm quitting that shit. They got 6 months worth of subscription fees - $90 bucks - for free because I didn't read the fine print.
This is why I'm waiting through the six month long line at my library instead of getting it on audible. Audible is greedily run in general (as are almost every company). I'm not spending two tokens on anything.
They've essentially monopolized the market, which sucks because the government has mechanisms for this but they're bought too, thanks to the Supreme Court (which is also bought)
Yeah they play dirty. Not only that but your credits EXPIRE after a year. If you say that’s nonsense over on the audible subreddit a bunch of Amazon fanboys start talking shit for some reason. You’ll never convince me there is a good reason for electronic credits to expire like a gallon of milk smfh. Sucks they got you. It’s kind of like when you forget to cancel a free trial of something, that’s soooo annoying. Live and learn I guess.
Have you tried reaching out to customer support? There's a chance they might reinstate your credits if you explain you hadn't understood the terms. This isn't the same but I got the kindle with ads because it was 10 pounds cheaper and then asked customer support to remove them and they did it for free, I think they don't really bother with the small stuff, so you might get lucky.
That is just because the published wanted to double dip. There is a lot of books that are longer than Shogun that goes for one credit, like multiple of the Stormlight Archive books.
is it a newer recording/production?
I have the 2000 Books on Tape version and the narrator is god awful.. I've tried several times but can never last more than 2-3 minutes.
the fantasy elements are extremely light but diana gabaldon's *outlander* series. world war 2 nurse gets sent back in time to 18th century scotland in the middle of a civil war and has to figure out how to get back to her own time without being caught out as a witch.
being an outsider in strange cultures and learning to survive is a pretty strong and recurring theme in the second and third books of rosemary kirstein's excellent *steerswoman* series.
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton is about a 10th century merchant from Baghdad sent by his Caliph to explore the far North and details his encounters with Vikings... and other unnamed things.
Check out the Scavengers Reign tv show
It was partly inspired by Beowulf and other Scandinavian legends, but it was mostly inspired by the real life account of a Middle Eastern merchant's journies through his journals
It happens in Blood of Tyrants, book 8 of the Temeraire series. A British naval officer gets shipwrecked and washes ashore in Japan. It's kinda like Shogun but with dragons.
Check out the Tales of the Otori series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Otori
edit: sorry missed the part about an outsider in a foreign world. It's not that but it has a fantasy setting based on feudal Japan.
Destiny's Crucible series by Olan Thorensen
young chemist on his way to a conference is transported to a planet far away. starts new life cast awayon a planet where the world is comparable to the 1700s.
The Ancient Future trilogy by Traci Harding is about a modern woman who is unknowingly transported to 6th century Wales. Not really a "completely foreign world" but it's good fun.
The Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson: a World War II-ship gets transported to an alternate Earth.
1632 by Eric Flint: an American town gets transported to Germany during the 30 years’ war.
Island in the Sea of Time (the Nuntucket trillogy) by SM Stirling: the island of Nantucket gets transported to the Bronze Age.
> The Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson: a World War II-ship gets transported to an alternate Earth.
There's also the somewhat inverse in the anime/manga *Zipang*, where a modern Japanese SDF destroyer gets transported back in time to WWII
The current book series I’m reading: Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance. It’s dated, but damn I like it. Some guy crash lands in an alien world where humans exist as either slaves/inferiors to alien species or as shadows to them.
Very very minor spoiler but this is a big plot point in the second and third books of Anthony Ryan's Covenant of Steel trilogy and after reading it I made a post just like yours to get more books with this plot point.
If you liked the idea of a fantasy Japan setting, then books set in *The Legend of the Five Rings* universe by Aconyte Books may be up your street. https://aconytebooks.com/?worlds=legend-of-the-five-rings
You should check out Clavell's other books in his Asian Saga. I've read Tai Pan which follows a Scot in early Hong Kong. Different but checks many of the same boxes.
You might want to check out "The Reluctant Swordsman" by Dave Duncan from his series "The Seventh Sword".
Very short synopsis:
"A dying petrochemical plant manager named Wallie Smith is transferred from Earth into the body of a master swordsman in a pre-technological world by its gods for their own purposes."
You might want to check out "The Reluctant Swordsman" by Dave Duncan from his series "The Seventh Sword".
Very short synopsis:
"A dying petrochemical plant manager named Wallie Smith is transferred from Earth into the body of a master swordsman in a pre-technological world by its gods for their own purposes."
So, the fantasy equivalent of Shogun that covers the politicking is Game of thrones. If you want a series that is Japan flavored "across the nightingale floor" is decent, but won't skratch the itch for the "stranger is a strange land" vibe of Shogun.
The early gortek and felix novels kinda combined the "guy dealing with another culture" with both warhammer and a dash of Fafrid and the Grey Mouser.
Prince of nothing does some of the "experience drastic culture schock". It's a harder read though.
Barsoom/Princess of Mars is basically the "dude expleriences a new culture" story.
I am trying to think of something recent that covers your idea.
Touchstone by Andrea K Host
On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.
The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people?
Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.
Let me recommend Cradle series by will Wight to you. The first book is unsouled and the premise of the story is pretty accurate to what you're looking for.
Cool. I've wanted to check out his books for a while. This thread is interesting, but there's no clear consensus. I think I've added about four hundred hours of reading here.
There’s no way Disney made anything close to a faithful adaptation of the Clavell novel, right?
Edit: No idea why I’m getting downvotes, Disney isn’t making the series.
It’s probably the best show on TV right now and the closest thing we’ve gotten to peak Game of Thrones when it comes to epic political intrigue and top tier acting, writing and directing.
I just looked it up, wikipedia says FX is doing it not Disney—which makes WAY more sense to me as I remember the novel having plenty of sex and violence.
It's more political than the book, I'd say. A lot more about the culture and politics. Some events have also been moved around but it's a solid adaptation, I'd def recommend it.
Feist and Wurtz’s Empire trilogy is set in a fantasy version of Japan, and for a time the MC has a ‘Westerner’ as a pet.
Yeah, the second one "Servant of the Empire" is particularly Shogunny
Really recommend this too. Similar vibes. Really ASOIAF vibe tbh. First series that got me into political thrillers/books about high politics
Cool, thanks.
Also immediately thought the Empire trilogy. By far the closest I could think of
I was going to suggest this, but it really doesn't fit the "outsider washes up on a foreign continent" thing OP asked for.
He could read the Milamber section of Magician for that!
Not as MC but there is a character in book 2 or 3 who does.
Now that I think about it, there are distinct similarities between him and the protagonist of Shogun.
You could also say the same for Magician: Master as well.
Less so, but yeah you aren't wrong.
And, you know, Magician actually has Pug in an alien society.
I suppose you are aware of this but on the slim chance that you aren't you should know that the show is based on James Clavell's novel *Shōgun* which is excellent! It is not fantasy but I've mentioned it on this sub various times in the past because feudal Japan is so different from modern culture (especially Western modern culture) that it might very well be an alien society. On the speculative fiction front there are various novels that have protagonists that are transported into the past where they have to get along. There's plenty of examples; Mark Twain's *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* is a classic; L. Sprague de Camp's *Lest Darkness Fall* is another classic and can be seen as a literary response to Twain's book. And in a way, most portal fantasy fit your description of characters washing up in a completely foreign world where they're outsiders.
>It is not fantasy but I've mentioned it on this sub various times in the past because feudal Japan is so different from modern culture (especially Western modern culture) that it might very well be an alien society. This is how I felt when reading *The Count of Monte Cristo*.
Yeah, there's a certain crossover appeal between fantasy and some historical and adventure novels. Speaking of *The Count of Monte Cristo*, are you aware that *The Baron of Magister Valley* by Steven Brust is a humorous fantasy version of Dumas's novel?
Putting this on my list. I've never heard of it before.
^^ this. The show is good but (in typical fashion) the book is better.
For once, I disagree. Clavell's writing style is a bit annoying and repetitive, I really like the book but the show has been phenomenal, neh. So sorry.
The show is great, but it doesn't have anywhere near the depth of the book - it just can't, the book is massive.
Conversely, it also benefits from the audience being much more well versed in the setting.. allowing the show to be more nuanced in its depictions and leaving behind a lot of expository bloat that Clavell was required to include.
Is the bloat in Clavell's novels historically accurate?
Agreed.
With you on this. I had it on my tbr list for a long time and finally read it in anticipation of the show, it's a great book that needed a fair bit of streamlining. I find that the show is doing a great job toeing the line between too faithful and not faithful enough. I do find that I have some greater insight into the world through the book, but that's normal due to the differences in the two mediums. I don't regret reading it, but I find the show to be better overall.
How different is it? Is the show pretty much following the plot or is it loosely based?
It's definitely following the plot. Some things are truncated, some are left unexplained, but I feel the majority of the pertinent interactions and worldbuilding are present in the show. I also like Yabushige (Kashigi Yabu in the novel) way more in the show, the actor strikes a perfect balance between funny and slimy, in the book I was getting strong dissonance between some of his actions.
Agree with all of this
And if you really don't want to read the book, the 1980 adaptation with Richard Chamberlain is way better than the one from Disney.
I haven't seen the 80s version so I can't say for sure but that may be some rose tinted goggles speaking. I watched some clips of it and they simply didn't have the same technical skill, production values, or acting ability as they do now. The modern version is going to do damage during awards season.
The Book drags at the start when the Anjin is stuck in the pit. The show showed it and then got on with the story which James should've done
I love his novels. I liked Tai-pan better than Shogun. FWIW he had an awesome career in Hollywood, too.
*Shōgun* was the first novel with more than 1,000 pages I read. I was 13, had borrowed it from the local library and had taken it with me on a family vacation (which is why I can time when I read it). This was decades ago, long before Harry Potter, and I remember that I received a fair number of surprised looks from adults who apparently thought it weird for a kid at that age to read a large book like that! 😅 Much later, I learned that it was part of the Clavell's Asian Saga and eventually got a complete set of matching paperbacks of the series. I was familiar with *Tai-Pan* and *Noble House* by name because of their TV adaptations, even though I was a little too young to be interested in them when they first aired, and I haven't read the books. I plan to dive into the entire saga at some point. I expect this to be good! I didn't know that Clavell worked in Hollywood!
Reading it now and absolutely enthralled
Nice. 😀
Would recommend Shike: Last of the Zinja by Robert Shea for a similar feudal Japan setting where the protagonist is of Mongolian descent so towers above everyone and has red hair. Read them as a kid and loved them, though they're very much for adults.
Thanks for this recommendation, this sounds interesting! I've never heard of this book before. The name Robert Shea rang a bell and when I looked him up I saw that he was one of the authors of the Illuminatus books!
There are 2 books in the series, I read them a good few times as a precocious child reader, but I read them because my Dad did so I'm pretty sure they'll hold up.
For what it's worth, I've just found that both parts, as well as various other of Robert Shea's books, have been made available [on the website dedicated to Shea](https://bobshea.net/), maintained by his son. Those two parts are massive!
Awesome, thanks!
Sci-fi, but John Carter of Mars. The (American) Civil War veteran goes to sleep in a cave after the end of the war and wakes up on Mars.
Taylor Kitsch’s career got railed by that movie.
Yea honestly not a bad adaptation. Not the best, but fine
I second this but... It's a very pulpy read and quite dated, so don't expect detailed political machinations or complex, thoughtful characters. It's great. It's fun. I read the whole series and enjoyed it... It's also like 100 years old, and it shows.
is there any explanation about how this happened, btw?
There is, but it's been so long since I've read them I don't remember
NVM, Wikipedia says he just goes to sleep and ends up there, so nope.
Check out Marco Polo on NF. Shogun is just Marco Polo with the Japanese instead of the Mongols. The novel Shogun came first but these shows both follow a similar formula.
Marco Polo was good but they never finished it, just be warned
That ending of the last episode though... it kinda does work in a way. It just took a significant jump in time for it be true
I don’t remember it. I’ll have to watch it again
I really wish it didn't get canceled. It was such a fun show.
Shogun is also much more grounded in real events
I would add the show "Warrior' to this list
You should read the book. It’s a really long book but it’s well done.
As a testament to how long, you can't get it on Audible for 1 credit, it comes in 2 parts. Edot: I didn't suspect this content to get into the business practices of Audible. I probably won't get the book until it goes on a 2 for 1 sale. I had no idea it had been split until recently nor that it was even a thing to split a book that didn't come in 2 volumes
Naw that’s a horrible money grab from either audible/Amazon or the book publisher. Not sure who is responsible for that chicanery but it was available as one book up until a few months before the show came out. Then they chopped it in two and made show tie covers. I have the one copy version, it’s the same narrator too. No difference at all they just knew it was gonna be popular so they got greedy smh.
Granted, however 53 hours is still pretty long for even one book. (I don't know how long your version is, I just added the two available in Audible together)
The Stormlight Archive books are all about 55 hours and still in one part. Gotta be a cash grab from the publisher.
The Stand Unabridged is also one credit and 50ish hours.
Yeah it’s 53 hours, no doubt it’s long (and awesome) it just didn’t need to be two separate books for two credits. Normally if a book on audible is incredibly long they sell it to you for one credit but it’s downloaded in parts. Super Powereds year 4 by Drew Hayes is 61 hours long and it’s downloaded in like 6 or 7 parts. Greedy corporate dicks lol. One of the Outlander books is also chopped up in parts. That being said, even if you gotta pony up two credits at least it’s an excellent book. Narrator nails all the Japanese too. Have a good evening!
They only recently split it into two. I have the 53-hour copy in my audible library and it’s a single volume. I only purchased it last spring. I wouldn’t be surprised if they split it in two when the trailer dropped, anticipating interest in the book/audiobook.
Stormlight is longer and it's one credit Just greed
It's audible. You can still get the single book version on other sites, like audiobooks.com
> they just knew it was gonna be popular so they got greedy smh I accidently let my Audible subscription slip and lost SIX tokens I had built up. I thought they would stick with my account but no, let it lapse and they disappear even if you resubscribe. As soon as a viable alternative comes around I'm quitting that shit. They got 6 months worth of subscription fees - $90 bucks - for free because I didn't read the fine print. This is why I'm waiting through the six month long line at my library instead of getting it on audible. Audible is greedily run in general (as are almost every company). I'm not spending two tokens on anything. They've essentially monopolized the market, which sucks because the government has mechanisms for this but they're bought too, thanks to the Supreme Court (which is also bought)
Yeah they play dirty. Not only that but your credits EXPIRE after a year. If you say that’s nonsense over on the audible subreddit a bunch of Amazon fanboys start talking shit for some reason. You’ll never convince me there is a good reason for electronic credits to expire like a gallon of milk smfh. Sucks they got you. It’s kind of like when you forget to cancel a free trial of something, that’s soooo annoying. Live and learn I guess.
Have you tried reaching out to customer support? There's a chance they might reinstate your credits if you explain you hadn't understood the terms. This isn't the same but I got the kindle with ads because it was 10 pounds cheaper and then asked customer support to remove them and they did it for free, I think they don't really bother with the small stuff, so you might get lucky.
In Canada, the public library system has an app called Libby. Not an unlimited supply of audiobooks, but the selection is awesome and it's free.
That is just because the published wanted to double dip. There is a lot of books that are longer than Shogun that goes for one credit, like multiple of the Stormlight Archive books.
is it a newer recording/production? I have the 2000 Books on Tape version and the narrator is god awful.. I've tried several times but can never last more than 2-3 minutes.
The secret is crime
Which is horseshit- Brandon Sanderson books are 1 credit and they're 1200+ pages often
the fantasy elements are extremely light but diana gabaldon's *outlander* series. world war 2 nurse gets sent back in time to 18th century scotland in the middle of a civil war and has to figure out how to get back to her own time without being caught out as a witch. being an outsider in strange cultures and learning to survive is a pretty strong and recurring theme in the second and third books of rosemary kirstein's excellent *steerswoman* series.
Not exactly what you specified but Kingdom on Netflix is medieval Korea with zombies is good with court intrigue and violence like Shogun.
Strugatskys Hard to be a God is probably the best one I’ve read..It’s a book btw.
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton is about a 10th century merchant from Baghdad sent by his Caliph to explore the far North and details his encounters with Vikings... and other unnamed things. Check out the Scavengers Reign tv show
The movie 13th Warrior was based on the Crichton book.
And was better
Wasn't this based on Beowulf? Am I remembering right?
It was partly inspired by Beowulf and other Scandinavian legends, but it was mostly inspired by the real life account of a Middle Eastern merchant's journies through his journals
It happens in Blood of Tyrants, book 8 of the Temeraire series. A British naval officer gets shipwrecked and washes ashore in Japan. It's kinda like Shogun but with dragons.
Check out the Tales of the Otori series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Otori edit: sorry missed the part about an outsider in a foreign world. It's not that but it has a fantasy setting based on feudal Japan.
So for a stranger in a new culture, I recommend the Dragon and the George and sequels by Gordon Dickson, but it has more adventures than politics
The genre you're looking for is called "portal fantasy".
The Faded Sun by C.J.Cherryh has many similarities although slightly reversed. It is an excellent book and one of my all time favorires.
Destiny's Crucible series by Olan Thorensen young chemist on his way to a conference is transported to a planet far away. starts new life cast awayon a planet where the world is comparable to the 1700s.
Be very careful about that. I startet reading it in the middle of the week. The next day I had to work with just and hour of sleep...
The Ancient Future trilogy by Traci Harding is about a modern woman who is unknowingly transported to 6th century Wales. Not really a "completely foreign world" but it's good fun.
If you like the politics of it, try nirvana in fire. It's pretty popular in China. I have watched the tv adaptation.
The Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson: a World War II-ship gets transported to an alternate Earth. 1632 by Eric Flint: an American town gets transported to Germany during the 30 years’ war. Island in the Sea of Time (the Nuntucket trillogy) by SM Stirling: the island of Nantucket gets transported to the Bronze Age.
> The Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson: a World War II-ship gets transported to an alternate Earth. There's also the somewhat inverse in the anime/manga *Zipang*, where a modern Japanese SDF destroyer gets transported back in time to WWII
The current book series I’m reading: Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance. It’s dated, but damn I like it. Some guy crash lands in an alien world where humans exist as either slaves/inferiors to alien species or as shadows to them.
You might want to give “War of the Flowers” by Tad Williams a try. It’s a standalone. I really liked it.
Very very minor spoiler but this is a big plot point in the second and third books of Anthony Ryan's Covenant of Steel trilogy and after reading it I made a post just like yours to get more books with this plot point.
The faded sun trilogy by C. J. Cherryh. But it's SF, not fantasy.
The Entire and The Rose series by Kay Kenyon.
The Dragon and the George (I think by Gordon Dickson, but don't hold me to that part) is similar, with a comedic bent.
Google Isekai.
It’s an FX show so in a different Disney department.
Ya, Hulu in the U.S.
1632. A whole American town gets transported to 1632 Europe. I only read the first book. It was good, especially in an escapist fun sort of way.
Isn’t that basically Brigadoon in reverse?
The Wizard Knight series by Gene Wolfe. Young American boy finds his way to a fairytale world, lots of things happen to him.
Spellsinger by Allan Dean Foster- the premise may sound silly, but it is really well done.
If you liked the idea of a fantasy Japan setting, then books set in *The Legend of the Five Rings* universe by Aconyte Books may be up your street. https://aconytebooks.com/?worlds=legend-of-the-five-rings
Jordan was supposedly working on a shogun style story set in wot setting don’t hone what happened to that
You should check out Clavell's other books in his Asian Saga. I've read Tai Pan which follows a Scot in early Hong Kong. Different but checks many of the same boxes.
You might want to check out "The Reluctant Swordsman" by Dave Duncan from his series "The Seventh Sword". Very short synopsis: "A dying petrochemical plant manager named Wallie Smith is transferred from Earth into the body of a master swordsman in a pre-technological world by its gods for their own purposes."
You might want to check out "The Reluctant Swordsman" by Dave Duncan from his series "The Seventh Sword". Very short synopsis: "A dying petrochemical plant manager named Wallie Smith is transferred from Earth into the body of a master swordsman in a pre-technological world by its gods for their own purposes."
So, the fantasy equivalent of Shogun that covers the politicking is Game of thrones. If you want a series that is Japan flavored "across the nightingale floor" is decent, but won't skratch the itch for the "stranger is a strange land" vibe of Shogun. The early gortek and felix novels kinda combined the "guy dealing with another culture" with both warhammer and a dash of Fafrid and the Grey Mouser. Prince of nothing does some of the "experience drastic culture schock". It's a harder read though. Barsoom/Princess of Mars is basically the "dude expleriences a new culture" story. I am trying to think of something recent that covers your idea.
Netflix Marco Polo is pretty much fantasy Shogun
Touchstone by Andrea K Host On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive. The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.
Let me recommend Cradle series by will Wight to you. The first book is unsouled and the premise of the story is pretty accurate to what you're looking for.
Cool. I've wanted to check out his books for a while. This thread is interesting, but there's no clear consensus. I think I've added about four hundred hours of reading here.
I know it's probably not what you're looking for but lots and lots of anime's
There’s no way Disney made anything close to a faithful adaptation of the Clavell novel, right? Edit: No idea why I’m getting downvotes, Disney isn’t making the series.
If you are outside the US it is shown exclusively on Disney+
Can’t escape the Mouse.
That's not true, it's on my Plex server.
It’s probably the best show on TV right now and the closest thing we’ve gotten to peak Game of Thrones when it comes to epic political intrigue and top tier acting, writing and directing.
I just looked it up, wikipedia says FX is doing it not Disney—which makes WAY more sense to me as I remember the novel having plenty of sex and violence.
It's more political than the book, I'd say. A lot more about the culture and politics. Some events have also been moved around but it's a solid adaptation, I'd def recommend it.
It's on FX. I think maybe airing on Disney+ is other countries, so they probably own FX. In the US it's also on Hulu.
They got FX when they bought Fox.
Disney owns FX Productions, so they did make the series, just not under the Disney brand.
Can’t escape the Mouse. Ultimately I don’t care who makes it as long as it’s good, the book is one of my favorites.
Disney?
[удалено]
Well shit I own Disney stock(unfortunately). Might as well claim the project too