Childhood's End
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Childhood's End
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Narrated by:
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Greg Wagland
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By:
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Arthur C. Clarke
About this listen
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 Earth behind.
©1954, 1990 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2016 W F Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Childhood's End
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Basho
- 20-04-16
Masterpiece
I have read so many books. So many. That such a book evaded me all these years is a great pleasure.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Al
- 17-02-17
Amazing story. Respect for the mind behind this.
What a great story. amazed at the scale. when I thought I understood the direction it surprised me again.
astounded that this was written over 60 years ago and apart from a few tell tale signs (camera .. ), this could have been written today
what an amazing mind Arthur C Clarke has. Big respect.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- spencerhudson
- 05-04-16
Amazing ...
For saying this book was written at almost the beginning of science fiction it is a ultimately a chilling tail. It provides a new insight into one scenario , taking use thought c. 100 years ... And leaves so many open questions ...
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 21-03-17
Arthur Clark Childhoods End
Clark as ever the master story creator
A well presented tail which I really enjoyed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marvin Angel
- 08-02-18
Out of this world...
Childhoods end so full of smart ideas, each new reveal is a pleasure. Having read the physical book 23 years ago, returning to it again while driving or commuting is an absolute pleasure.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Martin
- 12-02-18
Wonderful story
Brilliantly structured and conceived story. Incredible to think that this was written in the early 1950s.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-08-24
Classic sci-fi concept
As per usual with Arthur C. Clark, I found myself drawn more to the concepts than I did to the characters or the telling of the narrative. Childhood's End, fittingly, circles some of Clark's usual themes, like human nature, man's place in the universe, and the loss of proverbial innocence. I enjoyed the story well enough - Clark is a legend for a reason, even if I found some of the lead-ups a little long winded.
Greg Wagland is a competent reader, but he really is just that - a reader, and not much of a voice actor. I would have liked a little more variety in his voicing, intonation, and emotional conveyence.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 30-10-24
Interesting unusual concept
Story :
Interesting ideas but the rythm and timeline prevented me from feeling invested in the characters and plot elements.
The main character and focus switches often and many plot points are introduced early and then dropped until the resolution comes late and underwhelming.
In general the book seems very « concept oriented » and not character focused. There is also an important mystical aspect to the story which I personally highly disliked.
It makes for an interesting and unusual take on sci-fi however not my favorite.
Performer :
As the book is mainly focused on concepts, there isn’t much character complexity and emotion for the performer to convey. However although he did a good job, I would have enjoyed more contrast between scenes depending on importance and emotions.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve
- 22-10-18
Great story ruined by awful narration.
This is a great book. I've read it before, listened to the radio play, and now the audiobook. It will always remain one of my favourites.
However (and isn't there always a 'however'?), the narration is terrible. The reader has no story telling ability whatsoever. There were moments when two or more people are speaking and you can't tell when one is finished and another ends. There's no real drama in his voice and his pronunciation is difficult to behold. He seems to be trying to come over all RP (Queen's English) but that's not what is called for here.
By all means, listen to this because the book is outstanding. Just don't judge it based on the reader.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob
- 13-09-19
Great story. Narrator a bit boring.
The story itself is great but I found the narrators voice to be very dull. He doesn’t change his voice at all for the characters. He just races on in a monotonous tone with very little pause which I found hard to follow in places.
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1 person found this helpful