Childhood's End cover art

Childhood's End

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Childhood's End

By: Arthur C. Clarke
Narrated by: Greg Wagland
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $23.82

Buy Now for $23.82

When the silent spacecraft arrived and took the light from the world, no one knew what to expect. When the Overlords finally showed themselves it was a shock, but one that humankind could now cope with, and an era of peace, prosperity and endless leisure began. But the children of this utopia dream strange dreams of distant suns and alien planets, and soon they will be ready to join the Overmind ... and, in a grand and thrilling metaphysical climax, leave the Earth behind.©1990 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd Fiction First Contact Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera Dream
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I liked the idea of this book. And for the most part I found it "enjoyable".
But it wasn't exciting. It didn't make me want to listen to it again.
And it felt like a few different books - you get invested in one set of characters and then it's a new time frame and new characters, with just bland endings for each of them.
overall, good storyline, but very boring execution

Good idea, but wishy washy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I "couldn't put this down" if it werent for my children I would of binged the whole book in one go! i have never really heard a story like this before it was refreshing and interesting hopeful and sad i really loved it.

Wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Man, Arthur C Clarke has a mind beyond most storytellers. I think this is my fav sci fi book. So clever and vivid. Big ideas that are both really human but, beyond human equally.
Wonderful storytelling.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I initially found the story (especially the narration style) dull as dishwater. I stopped listening after 5 chapters initially. After some time (and having no credits left) I decided to try again, and it was hard going for a good 3/4 of the book. However, at around chapter 19 the some disparate narratives started coming together and I was riveted. I think a lot of what I experienced is a product of 1950s writing styles. and maybe I was expecting too much at the beginning. While this was an exceptional story in the end, it needs a bit of modernization in terms of language and I did find the intonation of the narrator hard to listen to - it seemed their intonation was the same for every sentence and this did not resonate with me at all. Hence my rating. Overall, would recommend and suggest you give the book a chance, it is worth it for sure.

Well that was worth a listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
To all who care about science fiction and world's beyond our dreams, I promise that this book is worth every second of your time.

the story will blow you away and stay with you long after the Audible man hopes that you've enjoyed this programme. And Greg Wagland (who also did a HG Wells title or two, look it up) is just perfect at describing the contemplative nature of the aliens, and at capturing the emotion in each scene.

Absolutely loved this book

one hell of a good listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.