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Childhood's End

by Arthur C. Clarke

3.96 · rating details · 14,582 ratings · 796 reviews

Childhood's End is an sf novel by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, which narrates a fictional evolution of the human species. It was originally published in 1953 but 1st appeared as a 1950 short story titled "Guardian Angel" in Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine. The original publication is the novel after the prologue, Earth & the Overlords, with some different text in ce...more

256 pages

Published (first published 1953)

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Dec 23, 2011

Terence rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Clarke fans (of course), big-idea SF fans

Shelves: sf-fantasy

When I was in 8th grade, I wrote a story about humans evolving and becoming “luminous beings” (similar, I suppose, to those Yoda mentions in The Empire Strikes Back), and I was reminded of this when I read the ending to Childhood’s End. Humanity’s last generation joins a vast collective intelligence that has been assimilating civilizations for countless eons, and in the process consumes the Earth and all other life on it. (As I recall, my process wasn’t quite so genocidal; in fact, it took place...more

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Aug 18, 2008

Matt rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction, literature

I've done a lot of odd jobs over the years. At one point, back before I got my degree and I was still working to put my wife through school, I worked as a delivery driver for a company that sold construction supplies - 50 lb boxes of powdered Kool-Aid, portable generators, hammers, safety harnesses, 2x4's, circular saws. It was one of those barely above minimum wage jobs generally populated by people who for whatever reason find themselves unable to get anything else and competing against a la...moreI've done a lot of odd jobs over the years. At one point, back before I got my degree and I was still working to put my wife through school, I worked as a delivery driver for a company that sold construction supplies - 50 lb boxes of powdered Kool-Aid, portable generators, hammers, safety harnesses, 2x4's, circular saws. It was one of those barely above minimum wage jobs generally populated by people who for whatever reason find themselves unable to get anything else and competing against a large number of similar people where the decisive advantage is often no more than you show up everyday.

My colleagues were an interesting mix: an ex-door gunner on a SOCOM gunship, a teenage kid dreaming of rapping his way off the street, the musician whose real job was Jazz and who’d played everywhere in N’awlins, a bow-kneed redneck that could still remember fondly when racism was acceptable but couldn’t manage to make his hatred stick because he didn’t really believe it, and the black racist ex-boxer would be preacher who once told me with an apologetic smile that white people couldn’t get into heaven because they had no souls. One of my colleagues was an aging chain smoking gray haired country boy missing half of his teeth and so learning disabled as to need my help with basic addition.

He probably knew more about literature than many of the professors I've had, or at the least he was more interesting to talk to and his opinions were less rote. I found this out after he came in one day aglow after seeing 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'. He absolutely needed someone to talk about the experience with, and by that time I was unable to hide the fact that I was an "egghead" so I was probably the only person he knew that was qualified. Turns out, he'd lived a rather interesting life. He was fluent in Spanish and had spent his youth working construction on hotels up and down the Central and South American coasts. And, he'd read everything. As I came to realize that this redneck knew something about books, despite as best as I could tell never completing high school, I started inquiring into his tastes. What I found remarkable was not so much that he'd read everything I'd ever read and then some, but that on those things we'd both read he shared much of the same opinion. At some point in one of the conversations Arthur C. Clarke came up, and he said, "Well, I liked 2001, but I really think that 'Childhood's End' is his real masterwork."

Not only do I agree, but I lack the ability to give a better recommendation.

I don't recommend the works of Clarke in general, and certainly not to anyone who isn’t a fan of science fiction. His works - even the better ones - always suffer from seeming to be short stories turned into novels. He also displays a strange combination of fascination with but complete incuriosity towards religion and spirituality that can probably be infuriating at times to the religious and non-religious alike. But this work rises above its defects and is well worth your time.(less)

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Dec 04, 2011

Steve rated it

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Shelves: sci-fi-and-fantasy

Oddly, I finally got spurred into reading this great book while watching a documentary on UFOs, featuring Dan Aykroyd! Aykroyd is evidently quite a UFO buff, and during the documentary the discussion (What do UFOs want?) touched upon Clarke's book, Childhood's End. Well, I’m into UFOs. Saw one (at close range) when I was 13 or so. So I went and dug this puppy out of my large “To Read” box downstairs. (My wife says there’s more than one box.)

I’m glad I did, though the book is one...moreOddly, I finally got spurred into reading this great book while watching a documentary on UFOs, featuring Dan Aykroyd! Aykroyd is evidently quite a UFO buff, and during the documentary the discussion (What do UFOs want?) touched upon Clarke's book, Childhood's End. Well, I’m into UFOs. Saw one (at close range) when I was 13 or so. So I went and dug this puppy out of my large “To Read” box downstairs. (My wife says there’s more than one box.)

I’m glad I did, though the book is one of the most profoundly sad books I've ever read. It’s one of those reading experiences that will stay with me forever. Childhood’s End is also a prime example of Science Fiction at its best. The novel makes you think, and takes you into unexpected areas that defeat your expectations of what you think Science Fiction is. In this case, you have a bundle of traditional science fiction tropes, Mankind on the verge of exploring the stars, impending nuclear confrontation, and, suddenly, a sky filled with very large alien ships, commanded by “Overlords.”

But Clarke takes it further. There were times, given the deliberate imagery (you’ll see what I mean once the Overlords reveal themselves) that I thought I was reading a religious allegory. Imagery from Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante, the Bible, and even a Billy Graham like figure in the early pages, as if to underscore what is to come, left me surprised and impressed at the range of Clarke’s mind. None of this is done ham handedly, but is weaved quite thoughtfully into a larger story of Man’s End.

Very briefly, and without revealing too much, the story is told in three phases. The human race is probably on the verge of nuclear disaster, when the Overlords show up in large ships positioned over the major cities of the world. Soon, the Overlords take most of humanity’s troubles, famine, war, crime, poverty, away. But there is a price, as some warn (see the Billy Graham figure (“Alexander Wainwright”) that part of what makes us human is our ability to choose – and make mistakes, even horrendous ones. Because, wrapped up in our complicated nature are also the desires to strive and create. The seemingly benevolent Overlords have robbed us of something essential. How this plays out over the course of 100 years (the remaining two sections of the novel) is the story of our End. It’s not an obvious one, but its suddenness is a strong reminder of how fragile civilization can be.

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Feb 11, 2011

Jackie rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction, dystopian

Childhood's End has been sitting on my bookcase for quite a while. I made a promise to my friend Jason: we traded favorites and he fulfilled his end of the bargain by reading my favorite scifi novel, so I read his.

In recent times, I've shied away from scifi novels published 50+ years ago as I've been sucked into a good sounding stories only to be disappointed. I don't doubt that these novels were fantastic at the time they were written. It's hard to stand up to time in the scifi g...more

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Apr 11, 2008

D_Davis rated it

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Shelves: science-speculative-fiction

Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, is a prototypical alien invasion story. It is safe to assume that just about every book or movie featuring such a scenario made after Clarke's Hugo award nominated novel owes some deal of debt to it.

Humongous spaceships appear in the skies over the Earth's major cities, and throughout the course of many generations the seemingly benevolent alien Overlords solve all of humankind's problems. They create a so-called “Utopia,” in which crime, hunger, h...more

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Jan 21, 2008

Joshua rated it

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Shelves: sci-fi-and-fantasy

I've always felt a bit mixed about Childhood's End . While at times the writing felt bogged down and a little sluggish, the ideas and concepts Clarke comes up with are astounding and thought provoking. This is a story not just about man's first contact with an alien species and creating a utopia, but also about man's eventual evolution and transformation, by breaking off the shackles of its previous existence.
Clarke has always been intrigued by the idea of transcending ones body and achi...more

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Jan 07, 2012

Lana rated it

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Shelves: fiction

This book is very interesting. It talks about alien spaceships who come to Earth and just float above the cities for a couple of generations until people get used to their presence. For the first 50 years the inhabitants of the ships don't really show themselves but still communicate with one chosen individual who then sends their messages to the people and also using the media. They are called the Overlords and their presence makes national governments dissolve into one world government accordi...more

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Jan 29, 2012

Elizabeth rated it

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I am a fan of science fiction, and I wanted to read Childhood's End after hearing it is supposedly one of the best novels in the sci-fi genre. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I just didn't enjoy it.

I won't belabor this review by posting a synopsis; I'll just summarize my general impression of the book (SPOILERS ahead).

First off, the characterization is extremely weak. I understand that some science fiction is more plot driven than character driven, but I still th...moreI am a fan of science fiction, and I wanted to read Childhood's End after hearing it is supposedly one of the best novels in the sci-fi genre. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I just didn't enjoy it.

I won't belabor this review by posting a synopsis; I'll just summarize my general impression of the book (SPOILERS ahead).

First off, the characterization is extremely weak. I understand that some science fiction is more plot driven than character driven, but I still think it is important to write good characters. None of the characters in this book were all that dynamic or multi-layered. The human characters were very similar to one another. The same can be said of the aliens (the overlords).

Prior to reading this novel, I was unaware that Clarke was an atheist. However, his disdain for God and religion in general becomes clear throughout the novel. The overlords are described as having horns and a tail. It's interesting that the race that comes to save the humans from themselves is given the physical attributes of the devil. After the overlords come to Earth, all religions are eliminated as false by the overlords (who are apparently omniscient themselves). Here is a direct quote from the book regarding religion: "Within a few days, all mankind's multitudinous messiahs had lost their divinity. Beneath the fierce passionless light of truth, faiths that had sustained millions for twice a thousand years vanished like morning dew."

Despite showing a level of condescension toward people who believe in God, Clarke seems very interested in the paranormal. Despite the overlords having dismissed all religion as fantasy, they are extremely interested in psychic phenomenon. At one point during the book, an overlord is sent to a man's home to stay so he can study the myriad of books the man has on the topic of the paranormal. In the same chapter, this man has a party in which he and his guests use a Ouija board. I found the whole scene (complete with a woman fainting) to be silly and it took away from the seriousness of the rest of the novel.

My final complaint is with the book's ending. We learn that humanity's final stage in evolution is for its children to join the overmind. In joining the overmind (a vast cosmic intelligence), the children become essentially mindless zombies. They lose all aspects of individuality and uniqueness. Oh yeah, and the earth is destroyed. I'm not sure how this is supposed to be humanity's triumphant evolution, as it just seems sad and fatalistic to me.

While there were some interesting ideas in the book, it was just not an enjoyable reading experience for me. I didn't relate to any of the characters (or care about them for that matter), I didn't agree with the author's dim view on religion and God, I thought the plot progression was slow for the majority of the book, and the ending was anti-climactic and downright depressing. All in all, I would not vote for this book to be considered one of the best science fiction has to offer. I might give Mr. Clarke another try, but this one certainly did not impress me.
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Jul 17, 2011

Jordan rated it

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Shelves: sci-fizzle

Unlike Isaac Asimov, Clarke's characters have depth, nuance and reality to them. In addition to this, his stories are filled with the wonderful hard sci-fi crack you are used to from Asimov.

Childhood's End has quite a few twists and turns, and you'll notice a lot of similarities to V during this alien invasion, similarities which Clarke notes in the introduction. Fortunately, Clarke's aliens are not trying to find and extract the human soul. The twists weren't the ones I expected - an...more

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Dec 16, 2009

Manny rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I see that a lot of my GR friends have read this fine book. I just wondered if any of you have had the thought that's occurred to me several times over the last two or three years.

One of the things I find most confusing about the current state of the world is that you can view it in two diametrically opposed ways. On the one hand, there's the terrifying stuff you see most days in the paper. Not only are we using up our irreplaceable natural resources, we're doing it in a way that's w...moreI see that a lot of my GR friends have read this fine book. I just wondered if any of you have had the thought that's occurred to me several times over the last two or three years.

One of the things I find most confusing about the current state of the world is that you can view it in two diametrically opposed ways. On the one hand, there's the terrifying stuff you see most days in the paper. Not only are we using up our irreplaceable natural resources, we're doing it in a way that's well on track to destroy most of our planet's ability to sustain life. People keep saying that we better do something about it, and no one does. The Western world spends trillions of dollars sorting out the largely artificial banking crisis, but when it comes to finding a few tens of billions of dollars to do something about climate change, it's mostly excuses. At least, so far.

So that's one side of the story. On the other side, we have people like Ray Kurzweil, who point out that, over the last fifty thousand years or so, technology has moved forward at an exponentially increasing rate. Each advance takes half the time of the preceding one. It follows that we are now close to the Singularity, when machines will become smarter than people, and it is no longer possible for us to guess what will happen next. I think that Kurzweil's concrete figures are wrong, but I am much less certain that I disagree with his basic argument. The story so far in Artificial Intelligence has frequently been that people make optimistic predictions and get laughed at, but do in fact deliver in the end. The clearest example of this pattern is computer chess. As recently as 1985, I remember all sorts of very clever people, both computer scientists and chess players, explaining why machines would never even reach Grandmaster standard. It's now clear that they are stronger than any human players.

But, when I think of Childhood's End, I wonder: is it possible that both sides are right? Maybe we're destroying the Earth, but it doesn't matter any more than it does at the end of this book; the next stage of evolution, which is almost here, will have completely different priorities. Once the tree has grown, who cares about the seed it sprouted from?

If you're one of the people currently negotiating in Copenhagen, please don't pay any attention to me. I'm just free-associating.

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Mar 17, 2009

Zigger rated it

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I always feel so terrible when I read, or attempt to read, Arthur C. Clarke. But I also feel terrible when I don't. I like fantasy. I like science fiction. Arthur C. Clark is a genius, a pioneering, farsighted sci-fi icon. I should like reading his books. And so I try every once in a while, in the same spirit that I eat half a banana once or twice a year. I like fruit. Bananas are good for you. But I have yet to finish either a banana or an Arthur C. Clarke book.

It's me. It must be. ...more

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Apr 23, 2008

Clinton rated it

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Shelves: sci-fi

In honor of the late, great Arthur C. Clarke, I picked up one of his books I'd never read: Childhood's End. The book recounts the story of an alien civilization that comes to Earth and rules over it for 150 years, before mankind's true destiny is revealed.

I won't get into the overall story of the book itself - it's a quick read and certainly worth picking up. One of the most interesting things to me about the book was that Clarke wrote it in 1953, but it's set between about 1970 an...moreIn honor of the late, great Arthur C. Clarke, I picked up one of his books I'd never read: Childhood's End. The book recounts the story of an alien civilization that comes to Earth and rules over it for 150 years, before mankind's true destiny is revealed.

I won't get into the overall story of the book itself - it's a quick read and certainly worth picking up. One of the most interesting things to me about the book was that Clarke wrote it in 1953, but it's set between about 1970 and 2120. It's fascinating to read what a sci-fi author, writing 60 years ago, THINKS will be the great technological innovations of his future (our present). As an example, here's a passage from the book. The timeframe for this passage is about 50 years from now, but keep in mind it was written 55 years ago:

"Do you realize that every day something like five hundred hours of radio and TV pour out over the various channels? If you went without sleep and did nothing else, you could follow less than a twentieth of the entertainment that's available at the turn of a switch! No wonder that people are becoming passive sponges - absorbing but never creating. Did you know that the average viewing time per person is now three hours a day? Soon people won't be living their own lives any more. It will be a full-time job keeping up with the various family serials on TV!"

Clarke, how right you were. Your timing was a little off - we hit this point in the mid-80s! And according to a Nielsen Media report published in 2006, the average American watches 4.5 hours of TV a day. And of course, in a world where everyone has cable, the number of programs you could watch for outstrips the amount of time you have. For that matter, you could probably spend 24 hours a day just watching tournament bass fishing if you wanted to. Add the Internet to the mix, and the formula becomes much more complicated.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting how off Clarke was with his predictions. Often you think of sci-fi authors as building these fanciful worlds that could never come to be, at least not in our lifetimes. In this case, I think it came to be far too quickly!(less)

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Jun 01, 2007

Illyria rated it

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Shelves: sf, 2007

Childhood's End is signature Arthur Clarke in that it blends hard science and wild fantasy and elements of metaphysics and mysticism; if you've read Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God" you get the picture.

The story begins with the arrival of an alien race with superhuman powers, whose subtle and not-so-subtle interference in the lives of Men changes the course of human history. Take for instance their first demand: an end to all cruelty to animals. This is enforced b...moreChildhood's End is signature Arthur Clarke in that it blends hard science and wild fantasy and elements of metaphysics and mysticism; if you've read Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God" you get the picture.

The story begins with the arrival of an alien race with superhuman powers, whose subtle and not-so-subtle interference in the lives of Men changes the course of human history. Take for instance their first demand: an end to all cruelty to animals. This is enforced by causing all spectators of a bullfight to suffer a sudden inexplicable pain once the toreador stabs the bull with the first lance. (And in true Clarkian humor, he added that the Guardian suggested the Spaniards to take up cricket as their national sport).

Earthlings, after some misgivings due the secrecy and mystery cloaking the Overlords (or so the people of Earth refer to these extraterrestrial beings) accept their presence because their rulings bring about what has hitherto been impossible to attain: peace, prosperity, comfort and ease for everyone on Earth.

But such bounty comes at a high price. The culture of Men dwindles, teetering on the verge of death. Space exploration, still at its infancy when the Overlords arrived, virtually grinds to a halt. When a community called New Athens is founded to rekindle the verve for creativity and aethetics appreciation, it turns out to be the cradle for what eventually marks the end of humanity, the death of the human race, the deletion of the blue planet.

Although the change of POV is a little unsettling at first (I think it's also one of trademark Clarke--rendering it rather impossible for character exploration and development) and it's quite a bumpy read at the beginning, the book gets more and more engrossing about two-thirds in. The description of faraway stars and their denizens is simply breathtaking, and the report of the last man on Earth as the planet nears its destruction is nothing short of poetic.

Like many Clarke's writing this is a book to open our mind to the possibilities presented by nature, as interpreted by the, admittedly, limited vocabulary of science. Although I don't particularly agree with Clarke's assumption that with plenty and peace the human culture with all its facets will languish and eventually die out, I still love the way he provokes me to think about mankind and its longing for the stars, while around us there are facets of the universe still left unexplained and unexplored, even dismissed to the realm of the occult and the unscientific.(less)

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Apr 21, 2011

John Karabaic rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 24, 2008

Nancy rated it

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Shelves: sf-fantasy

I was expecting this book to bore me to tears. Since the book is a classic, I had to give it a try. Clarke's sophisticated, yet easy to read prose had me riveted! While lacking to some degree in human character development, the plot, descriptions and depth of the story more than compensated. I wish Clarke had expanded on the details about how crime, poverty, class consciousness, religion and menial labor were eradicated.

The book left me feeling moved, vaguely sad, yet hopeful about ...more

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Jan 18, 2011

figura4 rated it

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Shelves: fantascienza

E’ incredibile la quantità e la grandiosità delle idee contenute in questo romanzo di 200 paginette scarse.
Si inizia con una delle scene più suggestive e memorabili che la SF abbia mai proposto: enormi navi aliene che compaiono nei cieli delle maggiori città della Terra, stravolgendo per sempre la concezione del mondo nella mente degli uomini. Prima di dire “ma questa l’ho già vista un milione di volte!” guardate bene la data di pubblicazione del romanzo, e pensate un attimo a chi è che può rive...more

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Jan 16, 2009

Shaun Duke rated it

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Most of us who read SF have read works by Clarke or have at least heard about him. He is, after all, one of the most popular 'golden age' SF authors. So, by saying this I want it to be clear that Childhood's End is a classic. It was written in a time when SF had practically no foothold whatsoever in the mainstream market. Like Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Childhood's End was written in installments and published in magazines. I didn't know this when I first started reading it, but now that I do k...moreMost of us who read SF have read works by Clarke or have at least heard about him. He is, after all, one of the most popular 'golden age' SF authors. So, by saying this I want it to be clear that Childhood's End is a classic. It was written in a time when SF had practically no foothold whatsoever in the mainstream market. Like Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Childhood's End was written in installments and published in magazines. I didn't know this when I first started reading it, but now that I do know this it makes some of my dislikes for the book less pronounced. I have to now take into account that rather than a full fledged novel, this book is more like a set of connected short stories all set in the same universe on the same plotline.
The synopsis is this:
Set in a not so distant future (at least when it was written) an alien race known as the Overlords comes to Earth in giant ships (think Independence Day, only not violent). They establish themselves as overseers of Mankind, ridding the world of war, famine, prejudice, racism, etc. All this is done without violence. The Overlords could easily wipe out Mankind, but that is not their goal. They are there to establish a long lasting peace, a veritable utopia where none go hungry and everyone can live a life of leisure.
But something else is going on, something that Mankind is not prepared for and could very well make them extinct...
That synopsis is somewhat vague simply because I cannot give anything at all away or it would ruin the ending of the book. I can tell you this, you will have one of two reactions to the end: you'll either feel sad and sympathetic, or you will be angry.
Now, stylistically speaking Clarke is a very good writer--one of the best really when you think about it. He is able to draw you into the characters deep enough to care about them even though you know them for such a short time (remember, written in short story installments).
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the ending. To me it seemed far too sudden and I can't imagine reacting in the way the characters did to the final twist. This isn't to say that the ending is unbelievable, although scientifically speaking from a more modern view it does seem tremendously unlikely, but it is saying that the ending seemed somewhat out of place. Many in my lit class discussed this same subject. Some liked the ending, others didn't. I personally didn't much care for the ending.
Regardless, this is a classic. A must read. If you are into the foundations of SF, as I am, then you should probably pick this one up, along with Foundation by Isaac Asimov and early works by Poul Anderson and the like. For a classic it is good; but from a modern prospective it lacks due to various circumstances. Still, I'm glad I read it.(less)

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Dec 24, 2008

Jessi rated it

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I ended up reading this book after a chain of events that actually started in a parenting community. Anyway, reading this was like going back to my first beloved genre, science fiction.

I liked the book a lot at first even though it was a little difficult to follow, but towards the end, I got a strong sense of depression. I probably would've thought a lot differently about this book if I had read it back in high school, but now that I have a child, the story left me feeling empty. The...more

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Jan 28, 2012

Noah rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi

A rather amazing piece of fiction. I originally picked up this book because it was said to have influenced an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion, but when I nabbed it from the library I found that it was also recommended by CS Lewis. After finishing the book I now see how it would attract these two types of readers as well as sci-fi readers in general and, in some ways, definitely works to bridge gaps between genres (though in this way not being in any one of those genres fully).

Th...moreA rather amazing piece of fiction. I originally picked up this book because it was said to have influenced an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion, but when I nabbed it from the library I found that it was also recommended by CS Lewis. After finishing the book I now see how it would attract these two types of readers as well as sci-fi readers in general and, in some ways, definitely works to bridge gaps between genres (though in this way not being in any one of those genres fully).

The idea of Childhood's End, to me, is very compelling. I don't just mean the contact between a more intelligent species of aliens and humans, but the very reason that they're there. I don't want to give the ending away, because it really is rather spectacular, but I found it interesting to see that when Clarke writes within a more fantastic genre his writing becomes something rather amazing. I think this quote (no spoilers) will show kind of what I mean:

"It was after another twenty minutes of slow descent that the invisible fingers of the scanner beams caught the first glimpse of the ocean bed. Far beneath, a range of low hills was passing, their outlines curiously soft and rounded. Whatever irregularities they might once have possessed had long ago been obliterated by the ceaseless rain from the watery heights above. Even here in mid Pacific, far from the great estuaries that slowly swept the continents out to sea, that rain never ceased. It came from the storm-scarred flanks of the Andes, from the bodies of a billion living creatures, from the dust of meteors that had wandered through space for ages and had come at last to rest. Here in the eternal night, it was laying the foundation of the lands to be."

Now, I'm not a Clarke fan in general, and I've only read one other of his books (Rama) but I found this (and some of the particular scenes towards the end) to be rather unlike what I know of him. Something seemed to really connect with him in writing this book, something that touched his imagination and creativity that raised it above the purely scientific and material and found the unexplainable. It was really fun to read, in this way, a scientist's vaunt into the fantastic and the strange, and I was sad to read in his preface to this edition that he had come away from such things. There was something to this book that went beyond most sci-fi I've ever read.

And as for my four, instead of five, stars: the middle of the book seems to border on satire, and I really can't abide the genre. I think it worked generally for the tone of the book, but it was not fun or interesting to read. One of Clarke's problems is that he doesn't know how to flesh out characters and, in a way, they all border on satire. (less)

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Dec 06, 2011

Christopher rated it

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An incredibly thought-provoking novel by the late, great science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke. In this novel, Clarke explores two ideas that seem contradictory and, yet, work beautifully. First, he explores the idea that a truly utopian, paradisal world may not be a good thing for humanity. The first two-thirds of the novel explore this by showing how as humanity's alien masters, known as the Overlords, end all wars and disease, they also destroy man's desires for pursuing anything of cultur...more

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Nov 21, 2011

Mike Jensen rated it

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This review is not for sci-fi fans, but for those who had this book recommended to them, as did I. Faults: No protagonist. The people you meet are hard to like. Readers do not know what is happening for many pages at a time. No discernable style. This is considered a sci-fi classic. Why?

The friend who recommended the book answered these complaints saying that evolution is the protagonist (which I got, but find it an inadequate protagonist), liking characters is not the point, he is n...more

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Oct 31, 2011

Terry rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction, speculative-fiction, fiction

After some reflection, I feel that Childhood's End is the best science fiction book I have yet read. It both projects into a future past without dating itself and gracefully skips over underdeveloped characters (they simply aren't important) and the details of the future envisioned but without the sense that the reader is left in the dark or that things are being glossed over.

Childhood's End is marked by a simple premise: that a biologically and technologically superior species of ali...more

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Sep 28, 2011

David Sheppard rated it

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{Warning: lost of spoilers.}

I read Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End many years ago. I also read it to my son when he was eight. So why did I come back to a book that was originally published in 1953, read it yet again, and feel it necessary to write a review?

What got me thinking about Childhood’s End again is the emergence of the Internet as force for change within the Global Community. Also, my limited experience teaching university students impressed upon me the impac...more

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Sep 21, 2011

manuti rated it

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Este mes ha tocado una impresionante novela de ciencia-ficción, no sé como la había dejado de leer con lo fanático que soy de este género, pero todos cometemos errores.

Una vez subsanado el error, paso a comentar la novela. Aunque no es una novela de acción ni de grandes epopeyas, si que es lo que para mí es la base de la ciencia-ficción que especula con lo que podría ocurrir con la llegada de una civilización extraterrestre muy superior a nosotros (si, como en V o Independence Day).
...more

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Sep 19, 2011

Ranga Kamaladasa rated it

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If not for a few points here and there it would be hard to believe that this book was written in 1953. This is no doubt a sci-fi classic. And for those of you who are bored to death or even angry at the constant stream of dystopian first contact fiction and films that are masquerading as science-fiction, this may well be a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps this is not Arthur C. Clarke's best book on human nature, as most of the characters are portrayed as extremely honest and gullible. Even...more

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Jul 31, 2011

Alexander Arsov rated it

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Shelves: arthur-clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Childhood's End

Del Rey, Paperback, 1990.
12mo. viii, 212 pp. Foreword by Arthur Clarke, 1989 [iv-viii].

First published, 1953.
First published with new foreword and new first chapter, 1990.

Contents

Foreword

Part 1: Earth and the Overlords
Part 2: The Golden Age
Part 3: The Last Generation

======================================================

I have to say that I am a l...more

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Jun 19, 2011

Ethan rated it

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This review is for the 1989 revision in which the first two chapters have been altered (according to the introduction).

It's a fascinating book, sort of split into two halves, with the overlying (no pun intended) theme of the Overlord occupation. Clarke's prose is clean, the characters are interesting (although people who are looking for today's character-driven fiction will be disappointed), and there was enough action and plot-twistiness to keep me interested right up until the end. ...more

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Apr 18, 2011

John Tye rated it

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The depiction in science fiction of technological and cultural development quickly and almost invariably takes on a quality of quaintness, and this holds true for the future shown in Childhood's End. In common with many of its contemporary works, the novel displays an overly optimistic outlook on progress in energy and propulsion while vastly underestimating the rate of innovation in information technology. The novel becomes, in this sense (and like many of its vintage), an interesting archaeolo...moreThe depiction in science fiction of technological and cultural development quickly and almost invariably takes on a quality of quaintness, and this holds true for the future shown in Childhood's End. In common with many of its contemporary works, the novel displays an overly optimistic outlook on progress in energy and propulsion while vastly underestimating the rate of innovation in information technology. The novel becomes, in this sense (and like many of its vintage), an interesting archaeological relic, a window into the biases of its time.

At the time of the novel's publication in 1953, the preceding half century had seen progression from first powered flight to an imminent space age (Sputnik was still a few years off)--not to mention the jet, which promised a revolution of its own. Extrapolating that rate of development over the next fifty years, it's easy to understand the tendency to overestimate advances with respect to moving things about the planet and into space.

Meanwhile, computers remained bulky, isolated things bound by the limits of vacuum tubes (the transistor was still in the lab) and mercury delay lines. At the time, nuclear rockets would have seemed as plausible as the Internet. And so, Clarke's novel treats us to a world in which you can zip around the world in your flying car--which is convenient, since you'll need to schlep all the way to London to look up some basic astronomical data.

Interestingly, despite the sense that technology will advance by leaps, little consideration appears given to certain core social institutions. We see a wholesale transplantation of the sensibilities of the fifties into the imagined future, with gender roles and family dynamics intact--curiously, since Clarke specifically mentions the perfection of an oral contraceptive (still a number of years off in 1953) and a dissolution of puritanical sexual mores.

In hindsight, these matters make Childhood's End an easy target for nitpicking, but fortunately, they don't in a large way detract from the story's actual, narrower focus. Clarke's novel, like most enduring works, is largely a psycho- and sociological study, the scenario simply a device for exploring matters of human nature. Clarke's characters explicitly draw an analogy between their situation and British imperialism in India. The novel posits an overwhelming force--in this case, the mysterious alien Overlords--imposing what amounts to a utopian system upon earth, doing away with strife, disease, poverty and economics of scarcity. The costs are freedom in the absolute sense, and to a degree cultural vitality, but on the whole, it is suggested people are in a way freer than ever.

The philosophical treatment is quick and light, sufficient to give the novel value as more than mindless entertainment, but not so much as to bog down the narrative in speculation: questions are raised more than answered or explored in depth. Would people be so complacent as depicted? Would religion fade away so quickly and easily? Almost assuredly not, but perhaps for the sake of argument we can indulge the proposition.

The novel treats a compelling theme and the mystery of the secretive benefactors' motives maintains tension. Unfortunately, the great reveal is something of a letdown. It's a bit bizarre, but mostly it's just less interesting than the mystery itself. Still, the novel as a whole deserves its claim as a classic, and thankfully Clarke sees no need to write self-indulgent prose, resulting in a quite readable work.(less)

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Mar 26, 2011

Chris Kelly rated it

· review of another edition

I have somehow managed to make it past the age of thirty, with very little personal contact with the legendary Arthur C. Clarke outside of his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on the seminal film, "2001". I recently changed that by picking up his first novel, Childhood's End. Within the first ten pages it became apparent that I have done myself a great disservice.

Childhood's End is a century-spanning alien "invasion" story that tells the tale of a mysterious r...more

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Feb 22, 2011

Grant Mathews rated it

· review of another edition

Decent book.

I feel like it was structured around two big 'reveals'. To avoid spoilers, I won't mention them directly, but they were pretty obvious. I really liked the first one - it held up to it's promise - but the second one came too close to 2001 to really feel original or interesting.

The characters were boring.

This seems like a flaw to me for most sci-fi: really boring characters. I swear, they're as flat as cardboard. One of them is faced with the prospect of ...more

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About Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke won the Nebula Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979; the Hugo Award of the World Science Fiction Convention in 1974 and 1980, and in 1986 became Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 1989.

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Quotes from Childhood's End

“Science is the only religion of mankind.” — 23 people liked it

“As Solomon himself had remarked, 'We can be sure of talent, we can only pray for genius.' But it was a reasonable hope that in such concentrated society some interesting reactions would take place.

Few artists thrive in solitude and nothing is more stimulating than the conflict of minds with similar interests. So far, the conflict had produced worthwhile results in sculpture, music, literary criticism and film making. It was still too early to see if the group working on historical research would fulfil the hopes of its instigators, who were frankly hoping to restore mankind's pride in its own achievements.

Painting still languished which supported the views of those who considered that static, two dimensional forms of art had no further possibilities. It was noticeable, though a satisfactory explanation for this had not yet been produced that time played an essential part in the colony's achievements.” — 3 people liked it

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