Childhood's End

Rating:
Summary: best of the golden age of sci-fi
Review: Of the golden age sci-fi writers generation, Clarke may be the only one who produced true literature. His books are so finely written, so superby researched, and so subtle and dramatic that he set the standard for the best who were to follow.

Childhood's end is probably the best of his earlier books. Clarke maintains a sense of mystery until the very end, titillating the reader with clues.

Without revealing the plot, humankind is visited by enigmatic space craft, perched over the major cities of the planet. The aliens will not allow themselves to be seen and they let mankind develop more or less as it pleases, though subtly guiding it and rarely overtly. While reading it, you feel the vastness of the universe and the wonder of existence, which sounds pretentious but Clarke pulls it off. He also weaves in certain grand themes, such as the unity of apocalyptic visions in the major religions, the complexity of time, and the destiny of the human mind, all of which are inter-linked. This creates a permanent space in the imagination of the reader, to be nutured for a lifetime.

Recommended as a great introduction to the world of sci-fi.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: I'm not the kind of person who really enjoys reading, but I had to read for my English class, and I really liked this book. It was a short and easy book to read, and it was very good. I don't think someone who doesn't like Sci-Fi would enjoy it, but certainly someone who neither likes Sci-Fi nor dislikes it would enjoy the book (Wow that's a long sentence). It's worth buying -- or at least checking out at the library. It's a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best work
Review: While at the time it was published, this book may have been very successful for Clarke, it is now extremely dated. Although he makes prescient remarks about the development of birth control, the novel has otherwise not stood the test of time. It was clear on every page that this novel was written many, many years ago. And even if you overlook the dated viewpoint, the human characters are cardboard. If you are looking for great classic sci-fi, choose Rendezvous with Rama instead and you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Man's destiny
Review: Along with Rendevouz with Rama, this is probably one of A.C. Clarke's best known works (not counting 2001). In it he paints a portrait of an Earth under the protective wing of the Overlords, but man has no explaination...nor do they really need one. Only a handful of humans question the motives of the Overloads who have abolished everything from disease to poverty to war. The book is broken into three sections: arrival, the golden age, and the last generation. Each part is populated with believable and vulnerable characters. The only constant throughout the book is Karellen the Overlord who is the Supervisor of Earth. It is his task to prepare mankind for the destiny that awaits them.

Clarke does a great job making us feel like we are insignificant in this universe, and that there are stranger and more fantastical things possibly awaiting us. The concept of the ending (whick I won't give away), or the hook, of this book is quite interesting. While not a 5 starrer in my book, this is a great read, and one of the classis that has truly earned it's label. READ MORE CLASSICS!

Rating:
Summary: A major work in the science fiction field.
Review: I believe that this is the book that put Arthur on the map, and led him to the attention of Stanley Kubrick. It has all the themes that are present throughout his work - and also all the problems. The one concept that Arthur has never understood is that the status of the human race - or any race for that matter - is not as a species, but as a collection of individuals, each with his own story and agenda. Therefore, the "happy" endings of his books completely miss the point philosophically. Like most scientists, he would do well to read a little existential literature - but I fear that would mean nothing to him. That aside, this is a major work in the field of science fiction literature. Like all great science fiction it is about ideas. Yeah, it does begin with a visual that was stolen for the movie Independence Day, but it is more about the concept that humanity is in its infantile state. The only problem is, I find Arthur's conception of its "adult" stage to be truly horrific.

Also, Arthur has an unfortunate (and stereotypical) prejudice against religious-minded people which, alas, is present in this book as well.

Rating:
Summary: A grand Masterpiece; a fantastic work of sheer genius
Review: This book is, without a doubt, the greatest book I have ever read, and possibly one of the greatest books ever written. I picked this book out of the trashcan one day, since my high school's English department had decided not to teach this book anymore. I absolutely could not put this book down, and finished it in one day. Childhood's End is like a cabbage, intricately folded with one layer upon another, each unfolding layer of the story more fantastic and amazing than the last, until the final resolution, which will blow you away. Clarke is undoubtedly a master craftsman working in his natural element. His boundless imagination is coupled with his expert craftsmanship to create fantastic imagery and mind-boggling philosophy. This is a life-changing book, which I recommend heartily to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly Clarke's best book
Review: Fantastic imagination, huge scope, and classic Clarke. Some well known and excellent science fiction deals with the evolution of mankind, but Clarke's vision of the future is unusually vast. When Clarke peers into the future of human evolution, he does not ask "What is next," but rather, "How will it end?" Though Clarke deals with this question in several of his works (including "The Sentinel" and 2001), Childhood's End is his most elegant and compelling answer to that question. In a word, that answer is "transcendence."

While dealing with the big questions, Clarke throws in some fascinating ideas, such as the concepts of racial memory and future memory, and some memorable characters.

Rating:
Summary: A Cosmic Perspective
Review: The key to appreciating Childhood's End is to recognize that it is not actually about humanity. Or more accurately, it is not merely or even primarily about humanity. This story evokes its strong reactions because, at its core, it is really about the universe. It transcends the cares and concerns of humanity and asks us to consider the cosmic perspective. Therein lies its power. Step by step, we come to understand that the story of humanity is actually only one thread within a huge and truly awesome canvass.

Childhood's End may be one of Clarke's earliest novels, but it is by no means immature. In many ways, it is his most ambitious project. While many of his future novels will force us to view humanity in a context that greatly exceeds our conventional perspectives, he will never again force upon us a perspective as vast as this. Those who interpret it as pessimistic are wrong. Clarke's vision is too large to be confined to purely human terms like optimism or pessimism. In its final pages, we are caught up in something so momentous that to apply human concerns to it seems pedestrian and provincial.

Clarke's writing will never qualify as great literature. His characters tend towards the static and the flat. In all of his writings, there isn't a single protagonist who is burdened with the angst or the inner conflict that defines the most memorable characters in the classics. He cannot reach the depth that, say, a Joyce or a Dostoyevsky can. In 2001 A Space Odyssey, far and away the most interesting character is a sentient computer. Similarly, Clarke's themes, while entirely worthy, offer no fundamentally novel insights into human nature. His plots are interesting, but don't keep us up nights turning the pages.

Clarke's genius lies not in the strength of his writing but in the depth of his imagination. In general, Science Fiction is distinguished from other genres primarily in the depth and breadth of its imagination and Clarke is one of its Grand Masters. He is at his best describing other worlds so exotic and astounding that one can't decide whether the greater marvel is his imaginings or the fact of his imagining them. This is very evident in his description of the dreams of the super-child, dreams that are, quite literally, otherworldly. And the ending itself comprises one of the most imaginative exercises in the genre.

All good writing challenges one to think outside oneself. But for me, Childhood's End is a masterpiece because it challenges one to think outside all of humanity. We are reminded that the universe is comprised of more than just bipedal water-based oxygen-catalysing meat. Clarke goes beyond the grandeur of the human spirit to encompass the grandeur of the universe.

Rating:
Summary: A page turner
Review: This is one of those sci-fi books where the fun is in guessing what form and objective the aliens have (and then are there alterior motives!!??). The story is an easy-read without a lot of techie talk and the human relationships are a vital part of the story. I really liked this book.

Rating:
Summary: excellent & thought-provoking!
Review: I borrowed "Childhood's End" from my boyfriend for the simple reason that I had just finished a book and was looking for something new to read. I had heard from several people that this was an excellent book, and 50 pages into the story, I was about to put the book down for the night. It's a good thing that I didn't ...about 4 hours later I read the last page and was moved to tears! This book raises so many questions about science, society, and humanity in general that it will be with me for a very long time...without going into the plot (it should be evident from other reviews), I will say that the characters are excellent and well-developed in a relatively short number of pages and the pacing of the story is very good (moderate enough for details and character build-up, but not so moderate that it induces boredom). This book gives nothing away about the ending and it's a definite "page turner"...In my opinion, no review can really do this book justice, as its main strength lies in the feelings it evokes in the reader: You have to read it to experience it!