It's been over a decade since I last read Childhood's End and it was worth revisiting. Clarke was one of the celebrated authors of the sci-fi genre during the so-called Golden Age. And I was just as absorbed by this novel this time around as the previous outings. This despite Clarke's writing style, which I can only describe as chilly and overly logical. If aliens like the Overlords were to read this book, they would believe humans to be little swayed by emotion, basing their behaviour on rational thought, rather unlike the excitable, irrational people that I see regularly on the news.
Clarke also breaks one of those oft quoted rules of writers, to show rather than telling. He tells us an awful lot and his characters obey his decrees without protest. Women are few and far between, with Jean being the most prominent, both for proving humankind's suitability for future development and for producing the children who will lead the way. Beyond that, she gets relegated to the roles of housewife and mother, a great waste. I never felt like I knew any of the characters intimately and didn't feel much connection to them. I wasn't the slightest bit concerned as they were eliminated one by one.
What to make of humankind's ultimate end? Is it a good or a bad thing? Clarke portrays it as a desirable outcome, but I guess I'm too much of an individualist for it to sit comfortably. The universe is undoubtedly a huge and terrifying thing, but I love this blue and green planet where we live and I have no desire to abandon it. Are the misnamed Overlords to be pitied because they retain their uniqueness and some agency? Frankly I feel like they are getting the better deal.
Nevertheless, I still think this is an important book in the canon of science fiction and that it deserves its place there. I find it somewhat encouraging that even a man as devoted to science as Clarke would write a story with such definite paranormal elements.
No comments:
Post a Comment