47 Ronin vs Shōgun: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Samurai, Japan, Fiction
47 Ronin
A classic tale that will captivate lovers of Japan, history, and epic adventure alike. Japan's most celebrated tale of chivalry, loyalty and revenge—and the basis for a Hollywood feature film starring Keanu Reaves—47…
vs
Shōgun
“Blackthorne was suddenly awake.”
After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen--Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Readers rate Shōgun highest: Shōgun 4.4 · 47 Ronin 3.9.
- 47 Ronin is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 20 for Shōgun.
- Shōgun has the widest readership — 220200 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| 47 Ronin | Shōgun | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.4 (220200) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (2) | 4.3 (507) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (6) | — |
Reception
| 47 Ronin | Shōgun | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 6 | 220200 |
| Editions | 3 | 23 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 246809 |
| Reading it now | — | 21848 |
| Written reviews | — | 9290 |
| Wikipedia attention | 24068 | 20632 |
| Pages | 256 | 1129 |