Childhood’s End
13 April 2008
The Sword and Laser is a book club for fantasy and science fiction books. I think I first heat about it on CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast. The Sword and Laser was started by one former host and one current host of Buzz Out Loud.
When I first started listening to the Sword and Laser podcast, they were just starting on Neuromancer by William Gibson. I had no desire to tackle that book, so I passed on it. With the recent passing of Arthur C. Clarke, they decided to make the next book one of his. The book that readers chose was Childhood’s End.
It’s about a race of aliens that suddenly show up in ships over the majors cities on Earth. People call them the Overlords. The Overlords rule over Earth and end wars, disease, etc. Most of the things that people need to live are free. Although there was some resistance, the Overlords were able to handle that using psychological methods instead of force. The tradeoff is that man’s creativeness and innovation comes to stop, which many are unhappy with. And what are the true motives for the Overlord appearance on Earth?
If it hadn’t been for The Sword and Laser, I don’t know that I would have ever read this book. I’m so glad that I did. I’ll probably try to read more books by Arthur C. Clarke in the future.
Childhood’s End, Arthur C. ClarkeTimeline, Michael Crichton- Finding Serenity, Jane Espenson
- Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
- On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt
- On Truth, Harry G. Frankfurt
Playing for Pizza, John Grisham- The Appeal, John Grisham
- Night Watch, Sergey Lukyanenko
- Day Watch, Sergey Lukyanenko
- Twilight Watch, Sergey Lukyanenko
- Final Watch, Sergey Lukyanenko
- The Taking, Dean Koontz
His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi NovikThrone of Jade, Naomi NovikBlack Powder War, Naomi NovikEmpire of Ivory, Naomi Novik- Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik
Lyra’s Oxford, Philip Pullman- Elantris, Brandon Sanderson
- Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
2 Responses to “Childhood’s End”
April 15th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I see Michael Crichton’s “Timeline” on your list, as well as other sci-fi/fantasy novels. Why don’t you give Unholy Domain by Dan Ronco a look? A horrific computer virus has sent civilization crumbling and created a divide between those who think technology will SAVE the world and those who believe it will be its ruination. David Brown receives an email seemingly from the beyond from his long-deceased father (the world believes the father unleashed the virus), indicating his father was trying to find the real cyber-criminals. As David works to clear his father’’s name, he stumbles into a war between the pro and anti- tech forces (including the Domain, of the title).
Lots to like in this tech thriller. And Dan Ronco is in the Michael Crichton tradition and flavor.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I will definitely give it a try.