A review by bluejayreads
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

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

3.0

This book definitely had an old-timey feel, what with all the flowery language, characters as drivers of plot as opposed to a person you're supposed to connect with, and the whole optimism about the future thing. The way everything shook out was extremely unsettling with strong cosmic horror vibes, made all the more horrifying by the fact that pretty much everyone in the book viewed it as an inevitability at worst, and at best the extremely positive ultimate achievement of the human race. It also left me with a nagging feeling that it didn't quite finish wrapping up. Sure, that's the end of the story, but I still have many questions. And it also feels like there's some sort of message or theme or moral or reflection on the nature or purpose of humanity that I haven't fully grasped but I'm not sure I particularly like. Perhaps the point is to make you think about the ideas rather than provide answers or express opinions about them, and admittedly some of the questions it raises are interesting. Mixed feelings overall towards this weird little book. 
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