Childhood’s End (1953)
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Childhood’s End Book Review
Childhood’s End is a 1953 science fiction novel written by Arthur Clarke. It is one of his masterpieces as an absolutely fantastic genre work.
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“Utopia was here at last:
its novelty had not yet been assailed by the
supreme enemy of all Utopias – boredom“
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It follows a peaceful alien invasion of Earth which brings utopia at the cost of human culture. Eventually this leads to the ultimate evolution of the human species. ‘Rendezvous with Rama’ may be his most intriguing book and ‘2001’ is his best and most encompassing novel, but I honestly find Childhood’s End to be the author’s most ambitious, epic work.
The story of peaceful alien invasion was very original for its time and it remains highly influential and immensely realistic as most of us find this development highly plausible in our future. The story remains riveting throughout the pages and the only flaw is that its epic ambition undeniably needed more pages than just around 200. The book is simply too short.
Earth and the Overlords is the first third of the novel and it’s a phenomenal, mysterious build up. The Golden Age is a fantastic follow-up where we finally learn what the Overlords look like and their appearance I found ingenious. And of course The Last Generation is the most epic, most melancholic part and that ending is simply unforgettable in its imagery.
Thematically speaking, this might be his most sophisticated, most thought-provoking work. It deals with a plethora of concepts and the importance of knowledge and the power that stems from it is particularly well conveyed. I also found very interesting the psychics’ part in the story and how he basically states here that psychics do exist and that there is science behind their power.
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The possibly allegorical reading of the tale, various Christian imagery and the concept of the Overmind all lead to a fascinatingly religious science fiction story which states that the bigger power and evolution trump even the best technology and I found that very interesting and quite possibly true. That concept that biological evolution or evolution by artificial means remains the most important striving point to the ultimate intelligence is the driving point of this entire novel.
However, what I found even more interesting is the exploration of utopia. Clarke states that utopian societies would ultimately find peace, prosperity and happiness, but at the cost of identity and excitement. Especially scientific breakthroughs and art. The idea that the best art stems from difficult lives (poverty, depression, misery etc.) is the most enlightening statement that the author gives. It’s so true as you need a strong reason or statement to make the best work of art possible.
The characters once again take a backseat to the story which is understandable. My problem with the book is that the three-act structure isn’t perfectly conveyed in the transitive stages and I do think that having one instead of more characters would have benefitted the story much more. But still I liked Rikki Stormgren quite a bit and his relationship with Karellen is wonderful. And just the fact that Jan Rodricks, the last human alive, is a black man is simply admirable and highly progressive on the part of the author.
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Karellen is of course terrific and very intriguing. The mystery of the Overlords is so well established and their design is great. I loved their home world as well and the idea that they are stuck in the evolutionary chain is an intriguing concept. The book presents of a lot of memorable imagery, of the aliens and planets, while the world building is of course superb as is Clarke’s very scientific and dignified, yet clear and accessible writing. Both the dialogue and descriptions are fantastic and the novel offers a lot of unforgettable passages and plot points.
Childhood’s End is one of Arthur Clarke’s finest achievements as probably his most ambitious work. The novel deals with the entire future of mankind, alien invasions, utopian concepts, religion and evolution through a plethora of thought-provoking concepts and sophisticated ideas. It’s unforgettable in imagery, fascinating in story and epic in scope. This is the kind of sophisticated storytelling I’d come to expect from this amazing author.
