Rating: 
Summary: I wouldn't recommend this book
Review: In the bookstore, I was very intrigued by this book, so I decided to buy it, but it was a disappointment. The book is divided in two parts: the first one is very promising (expecially the very first pages) even if sometimes too slow, and it gives you an overall feeling of decadence. The second part seems to be written by someone else, it really bored me. It's ridiculous how the five rebels gradually become the center of the plot, and I found absolutely unbelievable that Theo cared about them at all (if not for his feelings about the girl). Now, the first part could make a good, a little weak story by itself, and I believe that at the end of it, originally, Theo said that he wanted to throw away the whole diary, not just a page of it (so maybe originally the first part was a whole story by itself). That's why I see this book like a nice painting that's been stretched for all the length of the wall it has to cover. The basic concept doesn't develop at all, so that after the first revelations you don't get really surprised (or "entertained") by anything. Religion? Ok, but what about the world infertility story? Why? What happends then? The fact is, we should give the first pages of this book to Arthur C. Clarke, and let him write the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Borders on masterful
Review: In The Children of Men, P. D. James' prose is ordinary at it's best. His undistinguishable style would be palatable if that was as bad as it got. Unfortunatley for the riveting plotline, the words that carry it often resemble a sloppy mire. Unfortunately too, poor editing in the edition I read detracted from the clever plot. In short the experience of reading P. D. James' The Children of Men was similar to reading a high schoolers first draft of a novella. Great plot, dingy delivery.
Rating: 
Summary: An inspiring and moving book.
Review: Like many, I first picked up this book with a tinge of disappointment -- I'm a voracious reader of James' Dalgliesh mysteries, which are in my view the best in their genre, and was saddened that she had departed from that format. But I'm very glad she did. This novel is one of the most moving and inspiring commentaries on the post-modern age I have ever read. A stupendous achievement.I remain an avid reader of James' mysteries. But I hope she once again ventures out this way.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: Maybe if I read a lot of mysteries or science fiction, I would be disappointed by this treatment of the subject by this author, but since that isn't the case, I didn't have those expectations. I found it absolutely compelling--I've read it twice and listened to it unabridged on tape. I think it makes a great companion to Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower--both set in about the same year, written by women, and for the life of me I cannot decide which is scarier. The best part of the book for me is the closely observed (?), subtle changes wrought by the absence of children. Made me think, moved me, even when I knew what was coming.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing execution of an interesting concept
Review: P.D. James disappoints in her book in the bitterest of ways - by poorly executing what is a tantalizing idea.
Working backward from a concept to a (loose) plot, this novel seems stilted and forced throughout.
The climax - wink, wink - leaves one giggling from unsuspended disbelief of circumstances, plot, and
characters. What should have been an interesting exploration of the meaning of reporduction to a society
that takes it for granted (or, some may argue, disdains it) turns in to a brainy romance novel without the sex
Rating:
Summary: A very quiet apocalypse, brilliantly depicted
Review: P.D. James makes the imminent extinction of humanity seem very real indeed. Her absolute confidence in the premise carries her through. Spooky, nightmarish, and very satisfying. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Something different for fans of P.D. James
Review: Quite a departure from her mystery novels, The Children of Men still sparkles with the usual P.D. James charm and knack for storytelling. The world of Theo Faron and his unlikely companions will make you think twice about the security of our own lives. Though a little slow at times, the characters are intriguing and you never know what sort of mishap will befall them around the bend. A successful endeavor from one of Britain's most delightful authors
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping, chilling, thought-provoking --
Review: Someone mentioned that the book ended on an optomistic note. I think they should read it again. Did the ending really carry the hope that would save the world -- or would it signal the beginning of a new era that would be more nightmarish than even the slow, gentle, aging into death? I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read it so I'll try to be vague here... but if you have read it, think about the inherent self-centeredness and warped world-view of those who conceived of this new "hope". And of those who would be who now would represent the "pool" for nurturing the future of humanity. Think about their characteristics. How much true compassion, how much warmth, how much interest in improving the mind was there? Will the churches, the colleges, the museums be used any more than if everyone had died out within a decade or two? I think the imagery of the shed was intentional -- we're supposed to be thinking antichrist. The images in this book will stay with me for a long time. I can't say I "enjoyed" such a grim story, but it did make me think -- and it did pull me into its reality, and that, I believe, is the mark of an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: I stored this book in the dustbin
Review: The concept of the book was facinating: no more children and how would mankind react on that, so I bought the book without knowing what else P.D James writes. I like SF and occasionally genres like Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher, so don't call me a SF addict. I even believe I am a genuine reader, since I never skip pages or read the final pages before I really get there. The world described is thourough but some things are to easily stepped over (how can somebody in an dying civilisation go on holidays in Europe for several months when maintenance is restricted to roads only). And the few events in the books are rare and hard to find. I tried to finish this book two times, 3 years ago and just last week. Last week I threw it away, the book is really BORING, there is no way PD James makes me turn a page, I forced myself wondering 'when will it really get started'. At 2/3rd I put it away -- again. This time I put it in my dustbin.
Rating:
Summary: No Emotion, Please. We're British.
Review: The premise of this novel is intriguing. Unfortunately, the intrigue ends there and is replaced with a drab portrayal of a depressing future. The greatest problem is I have with this book is the detachment with which the year 2021 is explored. Objective perspective may work well in a detective novel, but in The Children of Men, James' prose is affected by the same ennui that has overtaken her Twenty-First Century world. In the opening chapters, for instance, there is a scene where one woman brutally destroys the porcelain doll another woman has been treating as a baby. The initial moment of violence is shocking, but beyond that the scene lacks emotional impact: We see the people around her react by not reacting, simply continuing on with their lives. Unfortunately, the ultimate result of James' technique is that we don't care if England is living under a totalitarian regime because none of her citizens, her protagonist chief among them, seems to care either. Another problem comes from the fact that nothing exists in 2021 that didn't exist in 1992 when the book was written, and for the most part little that existed in the 1980s is present either: no computers, no cell phones, etc. If James took little risk in exploring the emotional depths of her characters, she took even less in exploring the potential for the use (or misuse) of hypothetical future technology. Cloning, an obvious solution for the book's dilemma, is never even mentioned. Why set the book in the future if everything about it is identical to the past? Sure, things won't come to pass exactly as you imagine, but 1995 came and went without global infertility and that's the element people enjoy most about the book. Finally, the novel fails to look at the situation in England, which we are told - but never shown - is despotic, by comparing it to the situation in any other European country. At the end of Book 1 Faron travels to France, Spain and Italy, but we're never told if or how things fare better or worse there. His travels serve only to provide a reason for the time gap between Books 1 and 2. James misses an opportunity to provide a context for or comment on the political situation in England, and all the reader can do is shrug his or her shoulders and keep reading (the ennui is contagious). Maybe there's a subtext I'm missing - maybe James is saying that people can numb themselves into accepting totalitarianism, or that nothing really changes, or that life's the same all over - but if she is she's doing it far too subtly for most of her readership (based on the majority of reviews here). I don't regret reading this book, but I can't find much in it to recommend to others.
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