Holy shit this book is phenomenal. It's 1150 pages of pure genius. I am 500 pages in, and it is by far the best book I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, I've read plenty of books from bore-you-to-death-nerd-stuff to SOF-porn. I'm not as well read as many on this board, but I get around. It is truly a work of art. The sheer number of characters and the skill it takes to give even the insignificant ones such quality would put this book as a solid read, but the intermingling of so many different Machiavellian plots is something I would think would take an entire saga. No lie, it is really tough to put down even after hundreds of pages. On top of this, the author masterfully weaves the clash of two totally different cultures. Finally, its historical fiction closely resembling the end of the Warring States period in Japan (really only the names are changed) which likely required mind-boggling amount of research. James Clavell is a literary genius and deserves all the awards for this book.
On a practical note, anyone interacting with different cultures would do well to read this book.
BLUF: Shogun could be described as The (reluctant) Last Samurai meets Game of Thrones