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Loading... Childhood's End (1953)by Arthur C. Clarke
  
» 31 more SF Masterworks (28) Elevenses (224) Books Read in 2013 (763) Books Read in 2014 (1,383) Favorite Childhood Books (1,383) Overdue Podcast (137) Books Read in 2009 (77) SF Masterworks (16) Read (101) The 5 Parsec Shelf (15) Science Fiction (30) 1950s (146) Unread books (903) No current Talk conversations about this book. I cannot put this down or put it away. Something about it compels me to read and reread, enjoying the way Clarke builds the story. The Prologue, the first chapter, is one of the most riveting intros I've ever read. But maybe that's just me. (  )1   luskwater | Feb 11, 2019 |  Un clásico totalmente recomendable ( ) maxtrek | Jan 30, 2019 | Science fiction on a huge scale. As Clarke himself admits at the end, it is overly mystical; apparently it was written when "paraphysics" studies were taken more seriously. Worse than that, the story suffers from long info-dumps. In fact, there is hardly any story or characters. To his credit, Clarke's vision of a grand universe, with alien overlords (and their own overlords) looking over the destiny of all humanity, still sustains interest. (  )1 breic | Jan 12, 2019 | Loved the story, but didn't love the politics. I guess that comes with the territory of '50s white guy sci-fi. I almost want to give it a 3, but some of the little twists are just SO delightful. Aside from the sporadic cringing, it kept a grin on my face and made me think. 👍 (  )1 pnppl | Jan 10, 2019 | This novel was nominated for Retro-Hugo Awards for 1954, but lost to [b:Fahrenheit 451|4381|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1351643740s/4381.jpg|1272463]. This is classic Clarke – hard SF, a bit dry and lacking character development or feelings, at the same time with wonderful, almost trippy ideas. The humanity is ready to go to space (the book was written before the first artificial satellite) but aliens came and block this path. They seem benevolent, stopping wars and injustice, uniting the world under a single government. What are their true goals, about which they are so evasive? Why they don’t want to show themselves? This story spans for more than a century and combines ideas, which were covered earlier (first contact, utopia, evolution of humanity) by other authors ([a:H.G. Wells|880695|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515507862p2/880695.jpg], [a:Olaf Stapledon|64177|Olaf Stapledon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277189498p2/64177.jpg] among others), but never in such a strong and beautiful mix. Definitely a worthy read for every SF fan. ( ) Oleksandr_Zholud | Jan 9, 2019 |
 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. Is contained inScience Fiction Omnibus by Robert A. Heinlein Das große Arthur C. Clarke Lesebuch. Die sieben Sonnen - Die letzte Generation - Im Mondstaub versunken. by Arthur C. Clarke Les enfants d'Icare / La cité et les astres by Arthur C. Clarke Childhood's End / A Fall of Moondust / Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke Across the Sea of Stars: An Omnibus Containing the Complete Novels of Childhood's End and Earthlight and Eighteen Short Stories by Arthur C. Clarke Has the adaptationInspired
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(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:17:34 -0400)
The author questions the survival of mankind in this science fiction tale about Overlords from outer space who dominate the world.
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