Cover of Childhood’s End

Childhood’s End

by Arthur C. Clarke · first published 1952

84mentions
42recommended by
75HN commenters
2008–2026first – last mentioned

56% recommend41% neutral3% critical

Why HN recommends it

Sci-fi novel about benevolent aliens bringing peace and a utopia with hidden costs. Admired for its sweeping time scale, emotional impact, and unsettling questions about what a effortless, comfortable humanity loses.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

Science Fiction

Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia. Many questions are asked about the origins and mission of the aliens, but they avoid answering, preferring to remain in their ships, governing through indirect rule. Decades later, the Overlords eventually show themselves, and their impact on human culture leads to a Golden Age. However, the last generation of children on Earth be

BuyBookshop.orgAmazon

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

View on Open LibraryISBN 9780345315588See how it trended

Mentions per year

90 2007: 0 mentions2008: 2 mentions2009: 0 mentions2010: 1 mention2011: 2 mentions2012: 2 mentions2013: 3 mentions2014: 4 mentions2015: 5 mentions2016: 8 mentions2017: 4 mentions2018: 3 mentions2019: 5 mentions2020: 9 mentions2021: 5 mentions2022: 8 mentions2023: 8 mentions2024: 6 mentions2025: 2 mentions2026: 2 mentions200720172026

What Hacker News says

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Focus search
j / k
Next / previous book
Enter
Open focused book
Esc
Close / go back
g h
Go to Home
g t
Go to Top all-time
g m
Go to Most recommended
g r
Go to Rising
g f
Go to For You
?
Show this help