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Loading... Childhood's End (1954)by Arthur C. Clarke
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» 48 more SF Masterworks (11) Books Read in 2020 (182) 1950s (58) Top Five Books of 2020 (449) Overdue Podcast (87) SF Masterworks (10) Read (54) Books Read in 2023 (2,078) The 5 Parsec Shelf (11) Elevenses (245) Books Read in 2013 (846) Books Read in 2014 (1,588) Books Read in 2009 (123) Five star books (1,308) Books Read in 2004 (135) Science Fiction (30) um actually (42) SF - To Read (15) Favorite Childhood Books (1,536) Unread books (937) No current Talk conversations about this book. ![]() ![]() Confessional: this review will be very brief. As I have said before, I am not a fan of science fiction. Boo. The first section of Childhood's End is based on a short story called "Guardian Angel". Earth is controlled by the Overlords. They provide security, peace and prosperity but their interests lie in human psychology, mysticism, telepathy, the occult, second sight, and psychic phenomena. Fact meets fiction. The other aspects of Childhood's End I found curious were the social commentaries Clarke was making about the human race. When we cannot pronounce a name that is unfamiliar to use (like Thanthalteresco) we come up with nicknames (like the Inspector). The Overlords are like parents, banning something (space) because they think their children (humans) are not ready for it. My favorite part was when Jan Rodricks, a Cape Town engineering student, pulled a Trojan Horse stunt and stowed away in a giant whale replica to visit the Overlords on their turf. The moral of the story could be that without conflict there is no passion. Without passion there is only apathy and with apathy comes boredom. With boredom comes the need to rile things up. Billed as one of his best works along with the short story The Final Theorem, it offers a version of the last days of humanity, but doesn’t evoke the same mystery and wonder as the Odyssey series. Perhaps in part because of being far more locked into older sci fi tropes and social observations that felt extremely dated.
I'm not sure Childhood's End is the first book my dad gave me, but it was one of the first, and it's certainly the one I remember most vividly. And it's probably a book that changed my life. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inDas groĂźe Arthur C. Clarke Lesebuch. Die sieben Sonnen - Die letzte Generation - Im Mondstaub versunken. by Arthur C. Clarke Has the adaptationInspiredAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Science Fiction.
HTML:In the Retro Hugo Awardâ??nominated novel that inspired the Syfy miniseries, alien invaders bring peace to Earthâ??at a grave price: "A first-rate tour de force" (The New York Times). In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankind's largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development. Their purpose is to dominate Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly benevolent: end war, poverty, and cruelty. Their presence, rather than signaling the end of humanity, ushers in a golden age . . . or so it seems. Without conflict, human culture and progress stagnate. As the years pass, it becomes clear that the Overlords have a hidden agenda for the evolution of the human race that may not be as benevolent as it seems. "Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master." â??Los Angeles T No library descriptions found.
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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