Childhood's End

Duncan Lawie, our in-house science fiction book reviewer has returned from Christmas, this time with a look at Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End. With the recent appearances of Clarke in AfterY2k, I'm almost afraid to put anything up by him *grin*. Nonetheless, click below to read more about this somewhat flawed novel. Childhood's End author Arthur C. Clarke pages 200 publisher Pan, 1953/1990 rating 7/10 reviewer Duncan Lawie ISBN 0345347951 summary Alien visitation leads to transformation of the human race in a novel. Arthur C. Clarke has become an "elder figure" in this age of the Western World: each pronouncement he makes on the future is widely reported; he is generally credited with the invention of the communications satellite; he was knighted in 1998; there is a British science fiction award named after him. His career in science fiction has lasted 50 years and many of his novels are considered classics of the field. His early work has a distinctly different flavour to that of his American contemporaries whilst 2001:A Space Odyssey propelled his career to a whole new level.

Childhood's End was Clarke's fourth novel and is one of the books on which his career is founded. It was originally published in 1953 and republished with an introduction and a radically altered first chapter in 1990. It is a novel of visitation by aliens and the vast changes in humanity which result. Of course, many science fiction stories of every vintage could be summarised identically. Clarke displays his awareness of this early in the book when he outlines many of the alternative paths the novel could take and dismisses these possibilities. The story told is profound in comparison with much of the science fiction which had come before. However, the preconceptions which the modern reader is likely to have of this author will jar with the tale told. The original edition states that "the opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author". From reading his new introduction, it would appear that Clarke's subsequent development has distanced him from an even larger proportion of those opinions.

The first chapter discusses the coming of the aliens. The original version posits a space race between the Soviets and America entering the final stages of take off for the moon when alien spaceships appear in the sky. At the time of publication, the setting is clearly twenty years in the future. Because it is also clearly now in our past, Clarke has updated this with a prelude involving Russian and American co-operation for a Mars mission. The subsequent story is unchanged. Having read the original version, I feel that the new-grafted root might make the story even more dated in it's handling of emotion and interrelation between the sexes. However, perhaps these simply form part of the story environment for a reader unfettered by knowledge of the book's antiquity.

After the scene-setting arrival, events skip forward several years to describe the consolidation of the new order. The alien Overlords put backbone into the United Nations and bring about a genuine world government with widespread peace and prosperity despite fears regarding the nature of the aliens, who refuse to reveal themselves. This is followed by a time where humanity, under guidance, transforms the planet into a utopia. The populace of this new era is faced with the question of what to do next. The answers offered by the Overlords are as unpalatable as the physical form of the aliens would have been at the time of their arrival.

The structure of the novel reaches this point without faltering greatly. However, the requirement for continued human narrative is fractured by Einsteinian physics and by the paranormal. The author's desire to escape from the confines of Earth and offer a greater perspective complicate the story but offer intimations of the future awaiting the human race. This future is developed through paranormal mechanisms and disappears into realms undescribable, providing a lyricism at odds with much of the rest of the novel. The characters are often stilted and rather formal. Even in the worst extreme, their emotional life is considerably less interesting than their intellectual activity. The book almost overflows with ideas, making it "archealogically" interesting: it's influence can be sifted from much work of subsequent generations, from 'V' to The X Files. . This contributes to the reading experience but it is not a gripping book. Childhood's End will be worthwhile principally to those interested in the history of science fiction and the development of one of it's leading authors.

Unofficial Arthur C. Clarke homepage: http://www.lsi.usp.br/~bianchi/clarke/

You can purchase this book at fatbrain.

Comments

Childhood's End - true SciFi

[jabber]

I would caution everyone reading this review to consider the meaning of good sci-fi versus books written for entertainment. True sci-fi is deeper, and the world it presents is there to make a point, not to 'wow' you into buying a sequel.

Childhood's End is a gem, in the true sci-fi genre. As is Wells' Time Machine. TM is laughable by modern entertainment standards, but the subject matter is arguably more true now than when it was first written.

TM was written in the social context of the industrial revolution, and it's a cautionary tale which speculates on what may be is the industrial-age haves and have-nots continue on their then-existing paths. We have a similar have/have-not situation now, in the industrial age. Most of us 'haves' map well to the Wellesian Morlocks. Think about it.

Childhood's End was written at a time of high tension between the US and the USSR. We were trying to out do one another, and the race to the moon was a good way to posture superiority. The fact was, we were itching for a fight, but couldn't afford one considering the nuclear repercussions.

The arrival of the Overlords, their power and complete subjugation of the world's authority over it's percieved/chosen destiny was a crushing blow to mankind as portrayed in the book. This is where the formality of interactions comes from. We were afraid of being controlled, we couldn't fight back, we had to behave 'well'.

All the while we were treated well, all our problems were taken care of, and we had time for leisure. Consider Maslow's pyramid of needs... Kerellian (Care Alien) and the Overlords created conditions ripe for our spontaneous maturation. By solving our problems for us, they allowed us to make our transcendence into Adulthood.

The story is brilliant. The bitter irony of the alien's true form, and mission. Their role in the elevation of humanity out of Childhood. Knowing our fate and knowing that they were charged with our fruition. Knowing their own full potential.

Read the original book, not the revision. Clarke foresaw a great number of modern day items. (somehow he missed the personal computer though)

Also, keep in mind religion, and Shelly's Mont Blanc.

I tried to not give anything away. Really, I did.