Rising Sun

A Novel

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting thriller of corporate intrigue and cutthroat competition between American and Japanese business interests.

On the forty-fifth 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.

Rising Sun was made into a film, starring Sean Connery.

©1992 CrichtonSun LLC (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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

Great Book!

I've seen the movie, but that didn't take away from the book at all what so ever. Great 'whodunit' with more twists and turns than you'd ever expect! Also the way MC weaves real information into a great story is unbeatable. Definitely recommend.

Intriguing and Interesting Story

I hadn't read a Crichton for several years. Picked this one because it was said to be a bit different than his usual fare. It was and I liked it. The book is a fictional account of murder and mayhem in the US as a result of Japanese influences. The mystery of the murder is a good one and will keep you guessing. There is quite a lot of technological activity, most pointedly new advances in video "photoshopping" techniques which I found interesting. All in all, a good read, despite a few loose ends that I wished had been better concluded.

The epilogue, which features Crichton himself, offers a bit of factual theorizing on the precarious edge the US is walking in its relationship with Japan. Crichton suggests that as a debtor nation, the US is slowly but surely becoming far too beholden to Japan and sadly, powerless to do anything about it. Try this one. It is different and good!

Great listen

Listened in 20-40 min blocks. First book on tape, narrator does a great job with different voices, and brings the book to life. Good mystery! Crichton never lets me down.

Good mystery with many tangents

The writing was very good, and the mystery was well-delivered, even with the tangents regarding Japanese culture and business. The tangents on Japanese culture were necessary to the plot, but these and others would go on to lengthy explanations that would slow the story, so it became half story, half business lesson. Still, the story was entertaining overall, and its delivery made me curious for the next plot twist.

seemed kinda racist

30 years later, japan hasn't taken over our country and I'm not aware of any efforts to keep that from happening. lots of parallels with other xenophobic arguments with other countries. maybe they're will always be another boogeyman

rising sun

while this is extremely well written suspense story it points out some very pungent facts about the Japanese culture and view of both business and other cultures. It also points out some serious flaws western attitudes that may well leave us vulnerable in the future. Still very enjoyable, but then we are talking Michael Crichton

Far exceeded expectations

Wow - what a great book with compelling narration! It's Chricton, so I expected suspense. I wasn't expecting such thought provoking ideas about our global economy and society... even listening to this book in 2021, when it was written in 1992. Listening to thoughts about what Japan would become, and having the "crystal ball" of time to know how it turned out - fascinating. It's much like what we see today with China. And oh, btw, there's a great mystery here too. The narrator is so good with both English and Japanese references, I've since gone on to listen to all his other books. Worth the purchase, not just a credit

Dated

dated but still good. If you enjoy MC it's worth a listen but his other works are a bit better.

Very engaging.

Well written that not only engages you but makes you think about the international economic ramifications between US and Japan. Found myself sitting in the car after arriving at my destinations waiting to hear the next twist in the story.

I wish I knew some Japanese.

I greatly enjoyed cross-cultural drama. He did a fine job with that. The story is okay but not one of my favorites of his.