Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

For June I would like to read the short novel Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)


Appropriate Posts can contain:
1. Information about the author.
2. Compare editions/translations.
3. Any historical or background information
4. Are you familiar with this author’s work? Do you have any expectations going into the book?
5. What made you decide to read this book?
6. Any fan fiction that you have read or would like to read? Just link the books.
7. If you loved the book and want others to share in that experience, use this thread to motivate others, again save plot specifics for the Spoiler thread
8. If you hated the book, it would be best to keep that for the spoiler page

The most important thing to remember is no plot discussion. Any post that contains plot information or spoilers will be deleted

***** Revision *******
This is now an all purpose thread. All comments are welcome whether spoilers or not.

Finally a moderator choice that is actually easily available from danish libraries ;-)

(I managed to find the two previous choices, but ended up finding them on obscure pages online.)

Julie wrote: "Finally a moderator choice that is actually easily available from danish libraries ;-)

(I managed to find the two previous choices, but ended up finding them on obscure pages online.)"

I am so sorry they were difficult to find. I'm glad this worked out better.

Interesting, i had just looked this one up for another readalong! I wont be able to get it soon, however, also, i am about a month behind on my stack here already! 😅 But perhaps i will catch up with yall later!

I plan on starting this soon

Same. It has been a long time since I read it. The two short stories were more fresh. I was able to get a copy on Kindle Unlimited

This will be a reread for me. Looking forward to it, but I may not get to it until the later half of the month.

There has been discussion in the Zero Hour about how often children are found in Science Fiction stories;

1. Bob mentioned the particular vulnerability society faces due to the fact that children can be influenced and used by enemy forces.

Childhood’s End seems to follow in Bob's line of thinking.

2. I mentioned that in the 1940s and 1950s when so much of the "Golden Age" Science Fiction was written, most stories were published in Pulp Magazines. These magazines often had teenage boys as their target audience. Perhaps authors wrote about young people in an attempt to sell their stories to these magazines.

Got my copy today and read chapter 1/prologue 👍

Quick thoughts. The beginning of the book reminds me how important and frightening to the West the launching of Sputnik was. The arms/space race of the mid-20th Century influenced the thinking of the time profoundly.

One thing Clarke does well in my opinion is to see human trends, religions, and politics and weave them into his books. They always seem small though in relationship to his themes.

This is cool! Its like aliens! Im still not very far, and of course, my current read list is too long for Goodreads, so i cant update, but i am just about to chapter 3. I like how the sections are names, but i would have liked a short table of contents at the beginning. Anyway, while i have many books to read right now, whether i finish this one by months end or not, i do hope to finish it at some point. I like the topic! 😅👍

I'm finally getting to this, quite late in the month. I'm about half done. I'll wait until I've finished the book before reading everyone else's comments, to avoid spoilers.

I'm enjoying it pretty well so far. I really liked Stormgren and his story-line. He's such a calm, smart character. I was impressed with how well he was able to handle himself when he was kidnapped. I also liked his friendship with Karellen. I like that he trusts him, even if later in the book that will prove to have been a mistake -- it just feels very human to me, to trust someone because they are your friend, even if there is a lot they aren't telling you. I also enjoyed his epilogue-type scene, 30 years later with the journalist; all this time he's kept Karellen's secret, and continues to remember him as a friend, and to trust him to be right in his judgement of how to handle things.

In the first half there were a few small things that might not fly as well today. In the Overlords' power demonstration in which they turned off the sun, I think it would be frowned upon today that it was white people who were being denied civil rights, although at the time it was written it might have been quite bold to suggest that reversal (and intended as an anti-apartheid statement). About the physical appearance of the aliens: I think it was a slick solution to their desire to remain hidden that they look like devils, but I don't agree with Stormgren's initial reaction, that their form has been the image of evil in all human cultures ("haunt the childhood of every race of man"). It seems to me that this is pretty much just a western image of evil.

I enjoyed the benevolent dictatorship approach the aliens took -- difference from a lot of alien invasion stories. I liked their confidence: they knew they could win every time without using force. I also appreciated their focus on the treatment of animals. It is pretty creepy that they can be watching everyone all the time though.

I'm just getting to the point in the book where we are starting to get a glimpse at what they are actually after. It sounds to me like they are hoping Jean will have a baby, so they can steal it and make use of its psychic powers. This is the start of a darker view of these overlords. I'll have to wait and see what happens.

Wobbley wrote: "I'm finally getting to this, quite late in the month. I'm about half done. I'll wait until I've finished the book before reading everyone else's comments, to avoid spoilers.

I'm enjoying it pretty..."

I read all of this except the last bit. I still want a little mystery. I am not quite at halfway het, in fact, only 25% in. It is a good read, but is slightly slow going at the moment, perhaps just my impatient mind (so a me-thing), so i wanted to see a bit of what i have to look forward to.

Its kind of insane to me that he kept the secret... ok, maybe not insane, but a little surprising, but at the same time, i respect it too. I do like the friendship there.

My experience with this book so far- so there have been a couple of references to childhood, but not anything really specific to explain the meaning of the books title. So i am still curious how that develops. And, like i said, this feels a little slow (slow paced) to me, so even for a short 200page book, it seems longer. That said, i hope to finish it up this week! I just also hope it will give me enough enjoyment... perhaps it needs a bit more "show, dont tell"? Like, i feel like if i read a synopsis I would gather about as much as what the book has offered so far.... But, like i said, i still have a ways to go, so we will see!

I have finished the book.

Cynda, I think the meaning of the title takes until just about the end to become clear. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the book. :)

For me, the second half went in a different direction than I expected. Or not exactly a different direction -- their interest was in the mental powers of the children -- but it took the concept so much farther than I expected. I'm not sure I exactly liked where it went at the end, but that didn't make me dislike the book. I thought the book was creative and thoughtful and tragic and uncomfortable and poignant.

Like a lot of early sci-fi, it's a book of ideas. One place where I personally disagreed with the ideas is that it seemed to place much more value on progression than I would. The Overlords were envious of the children who were able to move forward evolutionarily, while they were stuck in a dead end. Personally, I would prefer the Overlords' fate: sure they may not evolve further, but at least they get to keep themselves.

Lynn, you mentioned similar themes to Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury. For me, there are even more similarities with our last Moderators Run Amok read: Mimsy Were The Borogoves. I think both are about how young brains that aren't fully developed have the potential to move in a wildly different direction.

On the whole, for me this book was quite successful, and it kept my interest throughout.

Thanks to everyone who read and played along with this Moderator Running Amok. Honestly, I am a bit worn out on Science Fiction for now. Katy has taken the selection in a different direction for our next read. (stealing Wobbley's words there...)

I just finished this, a bit late to the discussion. Thank you for selecting this Lynn. I read a lot of classic science fiction when I was in high school but Clarke was never one of my favourites. I don’t think I had read this one before though. I thought it began well but wasn’t blown away but the second half of the book I thought was quite brilliant. The idea that future evolution would be to mental abilities and not physical was probably quite influential (Jack the Bodiless by Julian May sprang to my mind. There’s probably many others). Also I thought it tied in well with Mimsy were the Borogoves where the children go beyond their parents.

Still skimming the comments as i work my way through. It has gotten more enjoyable, in fact, i feel a little embarrassed by what i wrote last post, but that was how i felt then, so it is interesting. Ha!

Wobbley- i believe you were replying to me, not Cynda. Like i said, i am enjoying it now.

Lynn- awe, tired of scifi? Im just getting warmed up! Lol I mean, i just so happen to also be reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and i believe another i have planned for this month, Dead Silence, is scifi, but i am not sure. No, i just find it hilarious that i used to avoid this genre, but now, i am finding there is much more to enjoy! 😅👍
Oh, can you tell us next mods selection yet?

Ahhh! This is so smart and interesting!! (Just finished Jan's little intro and chapter 10. People getting bored, but not with higher education. Sportsmanship is obsolete because most folks are amaetuers... this sort of utopian world-yet the author discusses the challenges men would face in such an ideal world. Like we crave drama kind of. Ha! It is just funny because I kinda believe this. We can strive for a peaceful world, and this book kinda gives hope, but is also realistic that it is not like perfect or something. There was just so much educated thought gone into this book, I am impressed!)


Wait, was there a separate spoilers thread? I dont remember seeing one, but i read through that first post again and it said no spoilers...

But where am i to share my thoughts then?

Also, no wonder this thread didnt have that many comments!

I mean, there were some spoilers here, and i kinda just read a couple, but i am also far enough that i can see the path started and where te title comes from. I am curious to finish reading, but on the other hand, it seems like it might turn into a story that i am already more familiar with... i hope i am not disappointed. If i am, perhaps i can write up my own fanfic! 😅 (I saw that fanfics were suggested as a possible non spoiler topic. I may also try to look out for these, if there are any. That might be fun! Ha!)

Janelle wrote: "I just finished this, a bit late to the discussion. Thank you for selecting this Lynn. I read a lot of classic science fiction when I was in high school but Clarke was never one of my favourites. I..."

I'm so glad you liked it! Clarke seems less flamboyant to me than other authors, but his ideas are so influential.

April wrote: "Still skimming the comments as i work my way through. It has gotten more enjoyable, in fact, i feel a little embarrassed by what i wrote last post, but that was how i felt then, so it is interestin..."

I loved the Hitchhiker's series!! Star Trek's "Strange New Worlds" used the improbability concept in an episode last season. I'd bet it was a deliberate nod to Hitchhiker's Guide.

There was a movie in 2005 with Martin Freeman that I loved! Freeman was perfect casting.

April wrote: "I mean, there were some spoilers here, and i kinda just read a couple, but i am also far enough that i can see the path started and where te title comes from. I am curious to finish reading, but on..."

There was an episode of the renewed "Twilight Zone" series that used the Childhood's End concepts. I must admit that I get that episode muddled up with this book, so rereading was good for me.

April wrote: "Ahhh! This is so smart and interesting!! (Just finished Jan's little intro and chapter 10. People getting bored, but not with higher education. Sportsmanship is obsolete because most folks are amae..."

Right, it's all comments now: spoilers or not. With this Moderators being an "extra" category so to speak, I just let one thread suffice. I adjusted the first post.

This is my last posting for the Moderators Run Amok sequence I led. I just finished my reread of Childhood’s End. I made my cry. I have no reason to change my original rating of 5 * Although this was published in 1953 it still has some original points to make. There are a few dated references and a sensitive word we don't use anymore. (thank goodness)

Looking at the three selections Call Me Joe, Mimsy Were The Borogoves and Childhood’s End, we've read three examples of classic Golden Age science fiction all on a similar theme. Each was written by a different well-respected author who helped establish this genre of literature. I liked all of these. I think Science Fiction can at times address themes as deep as any philosophy book or "serious" literature work might.

I hope everyone who read found something to like.

Thanks Lynn! I didn't realize all of those were sci fi and related books. No wonder you could use a break! But i agree, Childhoods End was fantastic! So many layers there too, i would love to reread it again at some point.

I finished a few nights ago and was too tired to write up any thoughts, and now am struggling a bit with specifics, but...

I do remember thi king, had it not been mentioned here, i probably would have completely missed the sun being destroyed. All it said was like it was dimming or appearing smaller in size.
It all made me think that i really didnt like the Overmind, however. The Overlords, on the other hand, i had always actually liked, though, of course, i was suspicious. Again though, my suspicions were from comments on this thread. While reading, i never really thought they did anything in a like bad sense. Their actions were all noble and well-intended, albeit serving the Overmind.

Again, i do t really seem to like the Overmind. Probably because i dont understand them. The overtaking of children was so bizarre! And the children version of the Overmind were strange, but like Jan guessed, it was probably just things that were over his head, beyond a human scope of what is normal.

Other than that, i cant remember much else right now. Oh, just that i thought the changes the Overlords made were very interesting and those pages were very entertaining to read. Oh! And i just feel smarter for havi g read this.

Oh!! And the whole under the ocean parallel to the extraterrestrial... it is what i have been reading about of the whole UFO phenomena conversations up to date. Very cool! Amazing what may lie right beneath our own feet! But i digress. 😅👍

April wrote: "Thanks Lynn! I didn't realize all of those were sci fi and related books. No wonder you could use a break! But i agree, Childhoods End was fantastic! So many layers there too, i would love to rerea..."

I'm glad you liked it. I thought Clarke's idea of humans having a collective memory was interesting - especially considering the event remembered hadn't happened yet. I assume that the Overmind is not limited by time and that's how that "time loop" of memory happened. I also liked how Clarke explored the ways society would change if regular people lived in a Utopia.

Finally, the Overlords were used to show that people have multiple dimensions to our make-up. There is something beyond intelligence. Although the Overlords had intelligence (logic and memory) in abundance, they still lacked something vital. I found that interesting.