Reviews

Really a classic, and worth a read. Unconventional in the plot line, which follows many characters over many years, but never feels too disjointed or fails to regain your attention when switching from one protagonist to another. It's a bit dated, and there's some casual racism/sexism sprinkled throughout, like little sprinkles of rat poop in an otherwise delicious cupcake.

A fun vision.

critical_hit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

ptimsin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jay_sy's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No

3.0

I've heard good things about Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke but for whatever reason, this novel didn't really resonate with me.

The concept of aliens coming to Earth, solving all our problems, and causing humanity to stagnate is a fascinating idea. What would people want to do with ourselves? Would we truly cease to progress?

But it was hard to be engaged in the story when I felt no connection to the characters. I don't necessarily need to feel sympathy with the characters to be engaged in a story if it has a highly engaging plot or if there are questions I want answers to. However, something about the pacing of this story didn't click with me.

The actions of the characters felt very dated (which is expected for the time), but it also affected my immersion in the story (for example, that it's normal for women to faint?) And because the story hopped from character to character, I would just start to feel mildly interested in one character when it would switch to some other perspective I was less interested in.

Spoiler

I liked the descriptions of the other worlds that the children dreamed about. I find the idea that the greater universe not being meant for humans to be an intriguing idea. The paranormal aspects were a little strange, not because I doubt the possibility of it, but simply because of the way it all played out.

I suppose it was just the execution of all the ideas that didn't work for me.

Overall, I would give this a 3 out of 5.

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