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Title: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0-345-34795-1 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 May, 1987 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (201 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Classic Clarke, Classic Utopian Speculations...
Comment: If you are an Arthur C. Clarke fan, you must read this. Characteristically, some of his main themes include the tension between rationalism and mysticism, which crops up repeatedly in his work, as in the ending of "2001: A Space Odyssey", or in "The Fountains of Paradise", to name just two examples. He seems to have a real love/hate relationship with this issue -- as far as I know, it may date from his experiences, as a scientist, of local religious beliefs in the land he has called home for decades now, Sri Lanka... At any rate, in this book the "Overlords" are a mysterious, powerful, but ultimately tragic group of beings which have vastly potent minds, but which cannot undergo the spiritual metamorphosis which would take them into direct communion with the sort of Godhead that directs their (and our) destiny. I liked Clarke's ideas about utopia, which is more or less what the Earth becomes after a few generations under the guidance of the Overlords. He seems to have had a lot of fun playing with ideas about future art forms, for example, among other things. However, this utopian society is doomed, because of an unforeseen, quantum leap in evolution, which turns out to be an evolution of the communal spirit. Clarke has a lot to say here about what connects us to each other, as human beings. Are we all linked with some higher being at the level of spirit, in the manner that islands would be revealed to be all linked, if one were to somehow drain the world's oceans? Or is striving toward a planned, ordered, social utopia, with allowances made for developing all of every individual's gifts to the fullest possible degree, the best way to relate to each other? These are the sort of questions that Clarke explores in this terrific novel, and he does it in a highly entertaining fashion throughout.
Rating: 5
Summary: The best book I've never heard of.
Comment: I've read about 40+ books, ranging from horror novels, sci-fi, true life, etc., and have never left a book with such a feeling of raw wonder. I've asked many to tell me their "favorite" book, regardless of genre. This title had come up repeatedly in the sc-fi circles as a true 'classic'. For this, they couldn't be more right.
Throughout the entire novel, I couldn't believe how accurate it felt. By this, I take into account the book was written in the 1950's. Yet it could have been published yesterday in terms of how the book gave you the experience of the era. Even though that era is a completely ficticious one.
Without spoiling too much, the book tells the story of what happens when spaceships show up on the brink of the human race leaving it's homeworld. Taking into account that the novel was written BEFORE we ventured to the moon, is just one of the elements that makes the book so enjoyable on so many levels.
My favorite aspect of the book is simply what it isn't. Arthur C. Clarke does a wonderful job of making the story evolve from a simple alien invasion cliche', to something far more encompassing. In short, this book is far better than the cover makes it look.
A real 'classic' is far too limited in describing a book that I believe transcends the genre of science fiction. Very readable, thouroughly enjoyable, and a must read for people who love good stories.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not to be missed SF classic
Comment: It sounds like a story you've heard before: great alien masters descend on Earth and take control of the world, ushering in a golden age that may be cleverly disguised creative slavery. But Clarke's legendary novel (equal to _Rendezvous with Rama_ and _2001: A Space Odyssey_ in fame) isn't about a human rebellion against alien overlords, but the evolution of humanity into its next stage, and the ultimate dwarfing power of the unknowable order of the cosmos. The narrative glides between different characters and different eons, occasionally with a seeming clumsiness that turns out to be purposeful plotting devices. The pay-off is sublime science-fiction poetry that shows the genre's power to transcend human drama and fly into the infinite. The sheer scope of its conclusions leaves the reader wiser and sadder, the sign of a superb novel.
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Title: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0553287893 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0345322401 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 April, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Fountains of Paradise, The by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0446677949 Publisher: Aspect Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0451457994 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: City and the Stars/ Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke ISBN: 0446677965 Publisher: Aspect Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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