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

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.