If you're a science fiction fan, and never read a book by Arthur C. Clarke, "Childhood's End" is a good book to start with. This was written in 1953, long before he would gain more recognition with his later work "2001: A Space Odyssey." Unlike the latter, which tackled the subject of space travel and the dangers of artificial intelligence, "Childhood's End" has a deeper, more thought provoking plot.
The book begins with mysterious unidentified flying objects being seen in the skies over many major cities, and are immune to many attempts made my military to shoot them down. Instead of the usual alien invasion, the alien race, known as The Overlords, claim they have come to earth to aid humanity. Overtime, with the help of the Overlords, Earth turns into a utopian society entering into a "Golden Age." Disease, war, poverty, starvation and all other forms of evil and suffering have become a thing in the past. However, people began to question the Overlords motives, and why they refuse to show themselves to the public. There are many characters in the book, from Storgman, the human ambassador for the Overlords; Jan, a biochemist and philosophy student who shows sheer interest in Overlord culture; and the Greggsons, a couple going through an existential crisis. Each character has their own story arc, while all three are completely different, they are all connected based on the decisions the Overlords make. storgman becomes blackmailed by a rebel group looking to expose the Overlords as tyrants, and begins to ask why the Overlords won't reveal their physical form to the people. Jan attempts to stowaway aboard an Overlord freighter, to go to their planet in order to study their culture. This is when the second half of the book takes a dramatic turn. For some strange reason the Overlords want all the children of the world to join their higher power they call "The Overmind." I would go into details but that would require spoilers.
The book was very well written. Clarke has a beautiful writing style, its almost poetic. His prose are complex, but not so they are hard to understand. He also seems to show no shame in hiding ideas on certain topics, such as religion, sexuality, ethics, and philosophy. There are chapters in this book that advance ideas rather than the plot itself, and they just captured my interest as the story progressed. If there is one flaw the book has, its character development. Characters come and go so quickly that there were a few moments as I was reading that I questioned if the book even had a main character at all. It really doesn't, but the book isn't relying on the characters to keep the reader interested, its the conflicts they are going through and why they are going through it.
The theme of the book is open to so much interpretation, that if five people were to read it, you would get five different answers from all of them. But so you can understand what I mean, here is what I got from reading this book. The idea I got from it was, that a utopian society wouldn't be a good thing for humanity. When the Golden Age began, everything humanity strived for and accomplished suddenly meant nothing, There was suddenly no need to learn history, or science. The sentimental value of humanity was lost because there was no need for it, so the existence of humans have lost significance. Maybe the world needs suffering to give our existence meaning, to credit every act of kindness we do. That's only one of the many questions this book left me asking. I like a book that leaves me walking away with something to think about. Challenging me intellectual, and emotionally.
If your looking for a powerful science fiction novel that can stimulate your thoughts and emotions at the same time, this is the book for you.
