Rating: 
Summary: One of the indispensable classics of science fiction
Review: "Childhood's End," by Arthur C. Clarke, is a science fiction novel with a truly epic scope and vision. This classic blew my mind when I first read it many years ago. In the novel, the people of Earth witness the arrival of the Overlords, a highly advanced extraterrestrial species. The Overlords establish a seemingly benevolent rule over the comparatively primitive humans. But these powerful aliens remain shrouded in mystery. What is their ultimate agenda? Ultimately, the novel reveals the ultimate destiny of the human species. "Childhood's End" has some almost Lovecraftian touches of terror and mystery. But on the whole I find the novel to be mind-expanding, and oddly inspiring. And the Overlord named Karellen is, to me, one of the most enduring creations in all of science fiction. This book is essential reading for serious readers of science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Best SF Ever
Review: "Childhood's End" is often called of one the best science fiction stories of all time. I am a huge science fiction fan, and after reading this book, I will gladly call it THE best.
Clarke is somewhat unusual among science fiction writers in that he a brilliant technique in addition to his brilliant ideas. The utter realism and plausibility of his fiction is striking, and in the case of "Childhood's End," frightening.
It's fascinating to see how well this story, written in the 1940s, holds up without being dated. Only the occasional reference to radar ranges or the predominance of radio makes Clarke's work seem less than contemporary. The great similarities to the TV miniseries "V" and the blockbuster film "Independence Day" make one wonder why Clarke has not sued for plagiarism.
This is a well-written, thought-provoking, thoroughly engrossing book.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome, it kept me hooked.
Review: As a kid I always used to think of aliens as bad creatures. Scary creatures. But this book has changed a lot of views for me, I would never thought of Aliens creating a Utopia of our world. This book is amazing, it keeps you hooked and reading. Everyone should read this at least to get a new view on how to look at other extra terrestial creatures rather than thinking of them as creatures taking over the world and killing everyone. Like an Independence Day situation. So if you want a good book to read, then take this one, you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: A must for anyone
Review: There is a consensus regarding Clarke being one of the best sci-fi authors of the time. This book is one of Clarke's best works. Different than the 2001 and Rama series, which comprise 3 or 4 volumes, this is a one book wonder. Thus, it is a must.
Childhood's End brings us a sublime and visionary story. As in many of Clarke's works, its linked somehow to myths and beliefs of humankind. And its provocative thesis will make you question some of this beliefs.
I might add that, as in the Rama series, you will find (more at the end of the story) fascinating descriptions of events and situations that only Clarke's restless mind could think of.
Get this book. Even if you're not into sci-fi, I venture to say you will enjoy it. And, expect the unexpected.
Rating:
Summary: Read this review for help!!
Review: The people that gave this book a bad rating could not grasp its concepts. What I got out of it was this. In life we have religion and science, God and atoms, unexplainable and predictable. These are tow different things. Here there is the extreme of both. One civilization has conquered science and knows everything about the physical world. And the other is like this physic supernatural being that all humans are connected to through consciences. What way will humanity go? To become so entrapped in our physical world, or go back to the old days of religion and meditation.
Rating: 
Summary: mostly just ok
Review: I'm still looking for a classic sci-fi novel that I would thoroughly enjoy. This one definately was not it. It is a pretty short book, but I found it rather tiresome. The description of the aliens was vague at best. There were also some illogical scenarios. One of the most illogical was the part about the human who went to the overlords world and returned to earth later. What did eat for food? If he didn't need any food, it wasn't made clear why not.
On the other hand, I think good novels get you to think and this one did that. It really gets you thinking, but many of the ideas and questions could have been expanded upon. If it's looked at in a certain way, it's somewhat of a satire on modern society. Has anyone ever stopped to think that a 200 channel TV is a bit excessive and redundant? What kind of people are able to keep up with just a fraction of the many programs shown on TV today? Approximately how many hours a day would one have to watch TV in order to keep up with all of the garbage which is now shown? It's simply not possible for a person with a full time job to keep up with even a fraction of the programs. Then why in the world do people need 200 channels? The author not only gets into the TV industry, but leisure time in general.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Clarke, classic sci-fi
Review: Arthur C. Clarke is the quintessential writer of science fiction. Few writers of our modern age of space stations, clones, and the information superhighway can approach the depth and knowledge of Clarke, who wrote long before such things were dreamed of as reality. Clarke blends two things to make his writings classic: an intimate knowledge of both science (Clarke was a true scientist; he invented the first communications satellite) and the human condition. He taps the depths of science to touch the human desire for a world beyond the world, and attempts to answer religious questions from a totally secular viewpoint. The opening scene of this story was directly copied in the movie "Independence Day": gigantic alien ships appearing over every major city of the world. But instead of destroying humanity as in the movie, the aliens begin a social program that eventually creates a utopian human society, which is only the starting point for their true motives. The aliens themselves remain hidden, at least for part of their rule over Earth, and the revelation of their physical form is one of the great moments of the book. Clarke's annoying refusal to focus on a single protagonist is understandable, given that he is tracing an alien social engineering program that spans centuries. "Childhood's End" is not Clarke's best - I give that title to "Rendezvous with Rama" - but it is vintage Clark: a classic work of science fiction that grips both the mind and the heart.
Rating:
Summary: Not much there
Review: I decided to read this book based on positive reviews. Within itself it was an OK read, much like hundreds of other books. But in the end I found it unremarkable and a bit disappointing. I was discouraged to see Clarke use parapsychological phenomena the way he did. His usage didn't make me think "Hmm, maybe that could work" but instead I thought "Gee, that's pretty lame." There was really nothing thought-provoking in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: I've only read a couple of books by Clarke, but someone recommended it to me so I figured why not. The story is about these aliens that come down to earth in the late 20th century for some unknown reason. Within 50 years, humanity has advanced to the point where nobody has to work anymore and science has advanced so fast. But there is a catch, which I won't spoil here.
I liked the pace of the book, and I think Clarke is pretty descriptive of things that could be. He skips from the 1970's to the 2050's. He also does well describing the homeland of the aliens. A couple of things bothered me, however. One was the explanation of how we had seen the aliens before. I thought it was a bit convoluted and could've been much simpler and more to the point. Another is the "catch," which wasn't really fleshed out that much. I was a bit disappointed by the end, but it does make sense that it would end that way.
Overall I would recommend sci-fi fans to read this if they haven't already. You can grab it from the library or used-its pretty short for the price of paperbacks. If you don't like sci-fi, it doesn't have a lot of detail of science theories (except for a brief discussion of relativity). It is a well written book, and I did enjoy it despite the flaws.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but unfulfilling - Good but not great
Review: The future has infinite possabilities. One could write about pretty much anything, from the end of the world to the joyful coming of alien oompa loompas to share in earth's next golden age. Therefore, the value of a futuristic book such as Childhood's End should be based on the ultimate reason - the ideas and outcomes within. Does the plot all add up like pieces of a puzzle, and does the final picture reflect meaningfully on all the pieces? Does it end with an intelligent idea that justifies the book as a whole?
That being said and asked, I found this story to lack all-important cohesion. Childhood's End jumps around from era to era, consistently pitting the reader with optimistic (and thus highly unlikely) summaries of boring human development and occasionally introducing another soon-to-disappear character. Sub-plots vanish into thin air as time passes. Most disappointingly, the outcome is so abstract and unlikely that it is wholly unsatisfying. Without the author's consistent reassurances that the final chapter is a blessing for the human race, the reader would be hard pressed not to believe that this was an inadvertent tale of lonliness and depression. Although Clark tries to tie up all the minor puzzle pieces into one final picture, the picture itself is fairly absurd. Overall conclusion leads to much head scratching and bafflement - not so much as to what actually happened as why an author would take such a nonsensical route in the first place.
While this review is admittedly harsh, scrutany often comes with excessive hype and praise. The story was indeed interesting at times, it lacked that spark of intelligence that is the life blood of a great science fiction novel. Childhoods end is short, easy and for the most part enjoyable. However, after reading an odyssey of the mind such as Neuromancer, a true testimate to the limitless levels of a hypothetically realistic future, Childhood's end is childs play.
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