Childhood’s End
Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia. Many questions are asked about the origins and mission of the aliens, but they avoid answering, preferring to remain in their ships, governing through indirect rule. Decades later, the Overlords eventually show themselves, and their impact on human culture leads to a Golden Age. However, the last generation of children on Earth begin to display powerful psychic abilities, heralding their evolution into a group mind, a transcendent form of life.
Stats for nerds
42recommend
84mentions
75people
2008–2026years
54% recommend44% neutral2% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I just read
(1) Roadside Picnic (the book which "Stalker" game is based from).
This was a page-turner! Fascinated by the science artifacts & effects (like gravitational glitches, frozen black sparks, etc)
(2) "Childhood's End" by Arthur C Clarke (who wrote 2001 Space Odyssey)
The sheer time scale of the story is impressive, and the technology is so interesting - especially for 1950s! There are some interesting time effects too (like an unborn child telepathically channeling information to a conversation in the past!)
- Childhood's End by Clarke is quite high on my list of grim endings for the human race
- I like Arthur C. Clarke’s take on a similar subject in Childhood’s End.
- Also: "Childhood's End"
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/C/Clarke%20-%...
- Growing up I read a lot of “golden age” science fiction, and I remember realizing how many classic “hard” sci-fi novels and short stories feature super mental powers like telepathy, precognition, teleportation, etc.
- Asimov’s Foundation series
- Herbert’s Dune series
- Larry Niven’s Known Space stories
- Heinlein’s Stranger from a Strange Land
- Alfred Bester’s Demolished Man and Tiger Tiger
- Clarke’s Childhood’s End
I’m sure there are more that I forgot to mention.
It really did seem to be a pervasive expectation that the mind was the next frontier for seemingly magical scientific advancements. But it never panned out with actual results, and mental powers faded from hard sci-fi stories.
- Agree it seems odd. One thing the children in my life are NOT lacking is random interests. Sports books are a great avenue and often highly accessible for younger readers. Pretty much any hobby/niche interest has books that are suitable. Kid likes animals? Give them 'The Soul of an Octopus'. Kid likes scifi movies? Give em 'Childhood's End'. Its really not a challenge when you know them well.
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