King Rat is an interesting little story in its own right and is the only one which has the weight of experience behind it
Shogun isn't really part of the Asia saga at all, the Blackthorne tie-ins later feel decidedly forced, like the throwaway, 'Anjin is quite an unusual name' thing from the end of Noble House which is pretty cringeworthy.

As a standalone novel, Shogun is great, however, in my opinion Tai-pan is the best part of the saga.
( WormuIus, Thu 16 Jun 2011, 14:14, archived)

That's a fair viewpoint
Shogun best as a stand alone, and Taipan as the saga. Never really liked Noble House, though I liked the ties in with King Rat.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 16 Jun 2011, 14:20, archived)