Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)

Aliens come to Earth.

SciFi Review: Childhood's End is both clever and ambitious, and stunning for having been written in 1953. The book is a masterpiece of the classic science fiction plot, is wonderfully written, explores an almost infinite arc, and is interesting as a time capsule of how our lives have changed in 60 plus years. There are many science fiction plots: time travel, exploration of other planets (with possible alien contact), post-apocalyptic dystopias (caused by science), totalitarian-government dystopias (enabled by science), the computers take over, and on and on. But perhaps the classic story line since The War of the Worlds, one we can all imagine while lying in bed at night, is the inevitable alien visitation (if they can find us, that is). Here Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) presents a novel and intriguing variant on the trope. Certainly unexpected, and one that deserves to be kept under wraps. I got chills at two points: when he writes "The human race was no longer alone," and when he first described the visitors. This take on the old plot is effective because Clarke's writing rivals literary fiction: characters are rounded, realistic, motivated. Subverting expectations, the story moves slower than one generally anticipates in science fiction, being less plot-driven and allowing more space for the characters who chart the story. I hate to call a novel too ambitious, but Childhood's End lives up to its title, ranging from origin to apotheosis to extinction. For me the ending is too amazing (prepare to have your mind blown), but that may simply be because my imagination is too small. It's well worth the wild ride, though, and will encourage believers in human exceptionalism. Although it's irrelevant to the book, while reading I was continually struck by how the informed expectations of 1953 have been diverted. Living in a time that had seen the seismic Manhattan Project completed in six years or so, the sky was the limit. Yet Clarke did not see humans attempting space flight until the late 1970s, but did suggest that the apartheid government in South Africa would've been overthrown by then. Although he states that "the opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author," I think it notable that one of the first of the new rules for his fictional future Earth was one prohibiting cruelty to animals. Other predictions were the Pill and DNA testing. Beyond that trivia, however, Clarke has made a thought-provoking book that is one of the cornerstones of science fiction. A strong influence on my conception of alien visitation. At one point the narrator states, "Countless times this day had been described in fiction." There may be none better than Childhood's End.  [4½★]