"China Dawn" is a novel that can't decide what story it wants to tell. The author beings with a story set in the present day, then explains the background from before World War 2 where it began, only to have a very predictable ending in the present.

The author spent about 300 pages with details that were extraordinarily unnecessary. He introduced several characters that have nothing to do with the outcome of the final story and left me scratching my head.

The final complaint about this novel I have is the author should avoid using Japanese phrases. He used so many phrases incorrectly that it was almost laughable. It's clear he's learned about 10 words in Japanese, it would just have been nice if he used them correctly.

I give it two stars for its depiction of pre-World War II Shanghai, but beyond that, the author tortured me with about 250-300 pages of detail that, however interesting, were irrelevant.