Reviews

Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke

valtimke's review against another edition

3.0

The plot was engaging and driven by curiosity for the identities of the Overlords, but I found all of the characters except for maybe Jan to be flat. They had no personalities, really, and they all blended together. About halfway through I felt myself feeling slumpy with it, but I pushed on, and the end was worth it. I'm glad that I read it, as it is a science fiction classic, but this just wasn't a favorite.

chromaticbrews's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

wrennigan's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

blrobin2's review against another edition

4.0

Clarke's writing is terse and mechanical, but his imagination — informed by, but not limited to, the sciences —is what makes this story shine. The greatest failure of the book is its latent racism and sexism, however intentional it may be. This, however, is a problem with all foundational sci-fi, not just Clarke. I don't want to spoil the story because the reveals are all satisfying and thought-provoking. Just know that, as exhaustive as later generations have been in mining classic sci-fi ideas and deconstructing them to death, there is still plenty that is fresh and compelling here.

ericthecringelord's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

lubiluuc's review against another edition

5.0

4.5

This was amazing to read! I didn't expect to get that emotional at the end.

florencewakana's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I liked the writing style, especially the metaphors. I would've liked more of a space opera book, but what could I expect from the synopsis. There were some parts of the book that I found had to use to the story, characters that didn't need to be named. Too many men. 

dangerousnavel's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lestanley48's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition

4.0

Huh. This was an early science fiction read for me. I tripped over this book in 7th or 8th grade and was almost certainly the first Arthur C. Clarke book I read. At the time it had a big impact on me or at least my reading tastes. But other than the beginning and I didn't recall much. I do remember being disappointed when V came on television that it wasn't going to be Childhood's End - which it very much looked to be at the beginning. And then again the Vorlons of Babylon Five seemed to echo somewhat the Overlords. I didn't remember how much this book was a Big Idea book.

And yet it was an inconsistent reread. Portions of it, especially near the end didn't hold my interest at all. And the Big Idea given away in the title that humanity had reached the end of it's childhood, that I'm not sure I bought.

More than anything else it felt like an overly long short story that just left me thinking. Worth reading - though beginning to age somewhat.