Childhood's End

by Arthur C. Clarke

Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages

English language

Published May 12, 1987 by Del Rey.

ISBN:: 9780345347954

(68 reviews)

Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia. Many questions are asked about the origins and mission of the aliens, but they avoid answering, preferring to remain in their ships, governing through indirect rule. Decades later, the Overlords eventually show themselves, and their impact on human culture leads to a Golden Age. However, the last generation of children on Earth begin to display powerful psychic abilities, heralding their evolution into a group mind, a transcendent form of life.

47 editions

Paudie reviewed Childhoods End by RH Value Publishing

Review of 'Childhoods End' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It's grand. A bit tedious towards the end.

Paul J reviewed Childhoods End by RH Value Publishing

Review of 'Childhoods End' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I enjoyed this book. Some of the technology references are a bit dated (the book was written some time ago). That said, they didn't detract from the story, which was fascinating. The book managed to retain a few plot twists until the end, which was really nice.

Matt McManus reviewed Childhood's end by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's end" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was the moment when history held its breath, and the present sheared asunder from the past as an iceberg splits from its frozen, parent cliffs, and goes sailing out to sea in lonely pride.

Perspective is a fickle thing. You can go about your days thinking you’re engaged with your life. That you’re working towards increasing in knowledge & understanding. Though you continue to hope to grow in depth and awareness, you feel like you’ve don’t a good job mining the depths of yourself and what it means to be human.Then, as if a freight train has passed with in inches of your face, you are startled into awareness that you are nothing more than kid swimming in a back yard kiddie pool.For me, Childhood’s End is the freight train and Arthur C. Clarke is the conductor.To any fan of SciFi, the premise of this book is simple, it’s concepts familiar, and it’s characters relatable. However, it’s profoundly engaging and completely delightful. At some point you realize this book was written in 1953 and you’re hit by the train.Clarke is a master.I’ve had long, involved conversations with several people about this book. Each one about different aspects of it. Many about thoughts that seemed like throw-aways during the course of the story but had a depth that only revealed itself over time.I will read this book again and probably very soon.

paparomeo reviewed Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's End" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow, just wow.

Matthew Royal reviewed Childhood's end by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's end" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Well done, Mr. Clarke! I loved how the more I read, the more he subverted my expectations. Clearly written, beautifully structured and presented. I'm eager to read more Transhumanist sci-fi to see how well it meshes with modern interpretations of man's eventual ascension.

Kevin B. O'Brien reviewed Childhood's end by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's end" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Arthur C. Clarke is one of The Big Three of classic Science Fiction (the others being Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov), and this is one of his best. Indeed, it is a classic in the field of science fiction. The recent dramatization was not awful, but nothing compared to the book. In this book his interest in the evolution of the human race (also noted in 2001: A Space Odyssey) is set in the context of a mysterious group of aliens, the Overlords, who arrive in their ships above all of the major cities of Earth. They announce that they are taking over, and they put an end to war. A Golden Age follows, but there is a final twist.

Steen Christiansen reviewed Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's End" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

An interesting first encounter novel which unexpectedly transitions into a human evolution story. Clarke's novel also blends sf tropes with paranormal motifs in an unusual way -- suggesting that the future can leak into human racial memory. I had a hard time adjusting to Clarke's prose and felt that the first half of the novel was mostly spinning its wheels. The final third, however, was astonishing and surprising.

Zéro Janvier reviewed Childhood's end by Arthur C. Clarke

Review of "Childhood's end" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Il s'agit certainement de l'un des meilleurs romans de science-fiction que j'ai lus jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Une histoire de Premier Contact entre l'humanité et des extra-terrestres bienveillants mais dont les objectifs semblent obscurs aux habitants de la planète Terre. Bien pensé, intelligent, prenant du début à la fin.