Childhood's End

The book starts out very dry. The author allows his speculative theorizing to get in the way of telling a good story. I almost get a Looking Backward vibe from the heavy handed and interminable descriptions of societal transformation, with painfully obvious political biases courtesy of the author.

The second half is much more engaging and novel, and vindicates the book.

Il s'agit certainement de l'un des meilleurs romans de science-fiction que j'ai lus jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Une histoire de Premier Contact entre l'humanité et des extra-terrestres bienveillants mais dont les objectifs semblent obscurs aux habitants de la planète Terre. Bien pensé, intelligent, prenant du début à la fin.

Even though it got into some sort of mild mysticism at the end, I still enjoyed it.

Clarke's portrayal of the universe always fascinates me, as he thinks beyond limitations and possibilities of human nature, and taps into vast realm of unknown.

Clarke's work is fascinating both in his philosophy and his accessible style. I was most intrigued by the Utopia created by the Overlords' arrival on Earth. At first, it clashed with everything I know about my own species. Then, when I set all my what if's aside, I started to wonder if we were not closing in on this space ourselves. As a person who already finds most of her waking hours devoted to leisure, devoted to consumption, I was terrified at the idea that that might be it for an adult like me who can't evolve any further. The book seems at once pessimistic in our human limits, yet optimistic in what we might mean to that great beyond. It's not the kind of book I can write a one paragraph blurb on, but it's one that has further stimulated questions I will seek to answer in my own writing from this sentence on.

Full review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-of-childhoods-end.html

Aliens come to Earth, and seem to solve all humanity's problems... but what are their true motivations?

An interesting utopian vision, some very deep philosophical musings on the purpose of life, and an ending I found very moving.

Crazy, crazy ending.