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Childhood's End (1954)

by Arthur C. Clarke

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
9,960222707 (3.93)320
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
… (more)
  1. 51
    Nightfall by Isaac Asimov (weener)
  2. 30
    Lilith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler (Medellia)
  3. 20
    The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke (Cecrow)
    Cecrow: Contains the short story upon which Childhood's End is based.
  4. 20
    Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind by Richard Maurice Bucke (bertilak)
  5. 21
    More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon (tootstorm)
    tootstorm: Similar philosophy, stronger writing, & less dated by mid-century sci-fi cliches and ignorance.
  6. 10
    The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven (sturlington)
1950s (58)
Read (54)
Elevenses (245)
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» See also 320 mentions

English (206)  Spanish (5)  Danish (4)  Dutch (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  French (1)  Hungarian (1)  All languages (220)
Showing 1-5 of 206 (next | show all)
So good. So, so good ( )
  LibraryJamesMac | Nov 16, 2023 |
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. ( )
  SeriousGrace | Nov 1, 2023 |
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. ( )
  A.Godhelm | Oct 20, 2023 |
I love the concepts but I wish it could have been a larger book with more background on the paranormal part and more character development for those involved. ( )
  lieblbiz | Aug 30, 2023 |
A science-fiction masterpiece. This simply must be part of any sci-fi buff's library. ( )
  ropable | Aug 20, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 206 (next | show all)
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.
added by RBeffa | editDaily Kos, DOM9000 (Jul 8, 2011)
 

» Add other authors (22 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Clarke, Arthur C.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bacon, C.W.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bing, JonForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bringsværd, Tor ÅgeForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Crezée, MarionCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Csernus, TiborCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Deutsch, MichelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ellis, DeanCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fernandes, StanislawCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Haars, PeterCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hollander-Lossow, Else vonTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kempen, BernhardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Löbler, RuudTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Monicelli, GiorgioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Powers, Richard M.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ratzkin, LawrenceCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sawyer, Robert J.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schjelderup, DaisyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stevenson, DavidCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Summerer, Eric MichaelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whelan, MichaelCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author.
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The volcano that had reared Taratua up from the Pacific depths had been sleeping now for half a million years. (Original)
Before she flew to the launch site, Helena Lyakhov always went through the same ritual.  (1989 Updated Version)
Quotations
This was the moment when history held its breath, and the present sheared asunder from the past as an iceberg splits from its parent cliffs, and goes sailing out to sea in lonely pride. All that the past ages had achieved was as nothing now; only one thought echoed and re-echoed through Mohan's brain: The human race was no longer alone.
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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

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Fine del XX secolo: misteriosi alieni detti "i Superni" impongono la fine di ogni ostilitĂ  sulla Terra, che inizia una vera e propria EtĂ  dell'oro. Ma Ian Rodricks, inquieto astrofisico, riesce a giungere clandestinamente il pianeta di origine dei Superni e scopre un'amara veritĂ  sul loro mondo e sulla loro civiltĂ  che coinvolge anche il destino della Terra...
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