Amanda M. Castro is a Network TV writer at Collider and a New York–based journalist whose work has appeared in Newsweek, where she is an Associate Editor, and The U.S. Sun, where she previously served as a Senior Consumer Reporter.
She specializes in network television coverage, delivering sharp, thoughtful analysis of long-running procedural hits and ambitious new dramas across broadcast TV. At Collider, Amanda explores character arcs, storytelling trends, and the cultural impact of network series that keep audiences tuning in week after week.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Amanda is bilingual and holds a degree in Communication, Film, and Media Studies from the University of New Haven.
Shōgun proved that historical drama need not choose between intimate character stories and massive political stakes. FX’s adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 novel dropped viewers into Japan in 1600, where English pilot John Blackthorne finds himself caught between Lord Yoshii Toranaga and his political enemies. The show’s tortuous power plays, compelling battles, cultural clashes, and complex relationships turned the centuries-old tale into one of the most successful TV shows in modern history.
The problem with an obsession with a perfect show is having to think about what to watch or read next. Luckily, as far as historical fiction is concerned, there is a multitude of stories that reveal the same themes that made Shōgun so intriguing, regardless of the time and place.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Image via Patrick Léger / Bloomsbury / Head of ZeusMin Jin Lee's Pachinko uses a broad historical view, similar to what made Shōgun interesting, but it spans nearly eight decades. This book officially begins in Korea in 1910, right after Japan annexed the country. It tells the story of Sunja and her people’s journey to Japan amid many obstacles, including war, poverty, discrimination, family expectations, and the questioning of one’s identity. The plot starts with the hard choice one woman faces and expands into a family story of Koreans living in Japan, with the action taking place in Korea and Japan from the beginning of the 20th century to 1989. Sunja’s family frequently has to change its way of life due to circumstances beyond its control.
Pachinko is a good choice for anyone drawn to Shōgun’s examination of culture, power, and what happens when people are caught between competing worlds. Even though Lee's work is less focused on samurai fights and politics than Clavell's, it is still interested in how ordinary people cope with systems designed to fail them.
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
Image via Noriyoshi Ohrai / Kodansha InternationalIf samurais were your thing in Shōgun, Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi will be the book for you. It takes place immediately after the Battle of Sekigahara, fought in 1600, and follows the protagonist, Shinmen Takezō, as he embarks on a journey initiated by a monk named Takuan, who pushes the young man to confront himself and understand who he has been and who he needs to become. His journey leads him to adopt the name Miyamoto Musashi and wander Japan to train himself, fight rival samurai, and develop his philosophy while socializing.
There is also a particularly strong historical connection here. Shōgun is set in the same period, with Yoshii Toranaga modeled on Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the series builds toward the political consequences of the Battle of Sekigahara. Musashi picks up in the aftermath of that battle, offering readers a much more intimate look at the era's warrior culture.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Image via Sceptre / Hodder & StoughtonDavid Mitchell’s work The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet depicts political chaos in 17th-century Japan rather than the regulated society of Nagasaki in 1799. Jacob de Zoet arrives at Dejima, a Dutch East India Company trading post, to earn money for his future. Instead, he becomes involved in all forms of vice, spiritual problems, international trade, and unrequited love for Orito Aibagawa, a midwife and medical student. When Orito is taken to a mountain temple, Jacob becomes entangled in strange events involving a sect and the women held captive there.
The book makes sense for Shōgun fans because Mitchell understands that historical fiction works best when the setting feels like a living force. Jacob is yet another European outsider attempting to comprehend Japan; however, Mitchell grants the Japanese characters their own agency, expertise, and conflicts. The book also explores the complex relations between Japan and the European powers, mimicking Shōgun’s interest in trade, religion, and rival foreign interests.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Image via MondadoriShelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun is set in 14th-century China, when the Mongol Yuan Dynasty is falling apart, and the Red Turban Rebellions are underway. A fortune-teller predicts that a peasant boy will achieve greatness, yet his sister has no future — a prophecy that seems to work against the boy's death. However, she won’t accept this, so she chooses his name, Zhu Chongba, instead of her own. Making her way to a Buddhist monastery, she enters the world of the Red Turbans. Through military victories, she climbs the hierarchy, but her new position puts her in front of the necessity to face the demands that her gender and identity create.
This mix of warfare, political games, personal aspirations, and complex concepts of power makes Parker-Chan's book popular among readers of Shōgun because it offers the ruthless experience they seek. Like Toranaga, Zhu knows that survival often depends on anticipating what others want, even before they do. Parker-Chan also offers a different angle on the epic, including gender and queer identity, as well as issues of empire and fate.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Image via Fourth Estate / HarperCollinsHilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall leaves Asia entirely, landing in the dangerous court of Henry VIII. The storyline traces the life of Thomas Cromwell, who has risen from a corner shop worker to one of the most influential people living during this period in England. Cromwell experiences firsthand the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, Henry's quest for Anne Boleyn, and the turmoil of the Reformation in England. Instead of simply presenting famous characters and events of Tudor history, Mantel allows the reader to see the reasoning behind Cromwell's actions. For everybody has his or her hidden agenda, accurate information is rare, alliances can suddenly change, and one mistake can ruin a person’s life.
As a result, Wolf Hall is an excellent pick for those who have enjoyed Shōgun merely for its political scheming. Although Toranaga and Cromwell live in completely different eras, both stories emphasize a crucial point about power: namely, that it never fully belongs to the person who is seated on a throne. For Shōgun fans hungry for another story where every conversation can double as a political maneuver, Cromwell’s court is a dangerous place to visit.
- Release Date
- 2024 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- FX, Hulu
- Directors
- Fred Toye, Jonathan van Tulleken, Charlotte Brändström, Takeshi Fukunaga, Hiromi Kamata
-
Yoshii Toranaga
-
Cosmo Jarvis
John Blackthorne
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.