History Literature / ChildhoodsEnd

{{Shout Out}}s to it in fiction are not uncommon, ranging from some in ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' to the cover of Music/LedZeppelin's ''Houses of the Holy", the Music/PinkFloyd song "Childhood's End" on ''Music/ObscuredByClouds'' and the Music/{{Genesis}} song "Watcher Of The Skies".

''Childhood's End'' is a novel by Creator/ArthurCClarke, originally published in 1953 (but based off of a 1950 short story of his). The plot concerns the BenevolentAlienInvasion of an alien race called the Overlords. After stopping the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and establishing a world government, they start to maintain peace on Earth, but refuse to show any images of themselves for fifty years. Humanity enters a golden age, before spoilery events happen. Yeah, you can't read much more than that without the ''entire'' plot being given away.

{{Shout Out}}s to it in fiction are not uncommon, ranging from some in ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' to the cover of Music/LedZeppelin's ''Houses of the Holy", and the Music/{{Genesis}} song "Watcher Of The Skies".

* TitleDrop: Not directly, but the last third of the book is about the [[spoiler: the end of both individual children's lives and the 'end of childhood' for humanity as a species, as they ascended to a higher plane of existence... to be part of another alien's mind.]]

* OldShame: He mentions in the Millennial edition that he wrote this when he still had a belief in the paranormal.

''Childhood's End'' is a novel by Creator/ArthurCClarke, originally published in 1953 (but based off of a 1950 short story of his). The plot concerns the BenevolentAlienInvasion of an alien race called the Overlords. After stopping the ColdWar and establishing a world government, they start to maintain peace on Earth, but refuse to show any images of themselves for fifty years. Humanity enters a golden age, before spoilery events happen. Yeah, you can't read much more than that without the ''entire'' plot being given away.

* OrwellianRetcon: Clarke wrote a new first chapter after the ColdWar had ended.

* NeverLiveItDown: In-verse. The leader of the island community admits that as a Jew, he never really got over his faith being discredited or his old homeland (Israel) giving up its independence so soon after it attained it thanks to the Overlords. Still, he doesn't have any particular grudge against them.

''Childhood's End'' is a novel by ArthurCClarke, originally published in 1953 (but based off of a 1950 short story of his). The plot concerns the BenevolentAlienInvasion of an alien race called the Overlords. After stopping the ColdWar and establishing a world government, they start to maintain peace on Earth, but refuse to show any images of themselves for fifty years. Humanity enters a golden age, before spoilery events happen. Yeah, you can't read much more than that without the ''entire'' plot being given away.

* AuthorTract: If you agree with Clarke, then you'll disagree with this page about the ending. If you don't... well, you probably won't enjoy it much.

''Childhood's End'' is a novel by ArthurCClarke, originally published in 1953 (but based off of a 1950 short story of his). The plot concerns the BenevolentAlienInvasion of a race called the Overlords. After stopping the ColdWar and establishing a world government, they maintain peace on Earth, but refuse to show themselves for fifty years. Humanity enters a golden age, before spoilery events happen. Yeah, you can't read much more than that without the entire plot being given away.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:The current generation of humans will be the last one and with them human civilization will cease to exist, as all their children born from that moment on are no longer human and will mind-meld and ascend into a higher form of consciousness that transcends material bodies. Ultimately, that is the fate of all sentient races, except those that are "stuck"]]

** [[spoiler:Ever wondered where ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' got the whole Instrumentality sequence from?]] Now you know.
* BeastlyBloodsports: The Overlords state their objection to killing animals for entertainment. They put teeth into this pronouncement by causing every member of the audience to feel the bull's pain at what, for obvious reasons, is the last bullfighting event.

* BizarreBabyBoom: Aliens show up shortly before a bizarre ''new'' generation of humans appears, but they didn't cause it.

* DarkIsNotEvil: The [[spoiler:demon-like]] aliens were actually the ''good'' guys... [[spoiler: The reason we thought they were evil and used them in our mythologies as such was mostly because of a sort of species-wide premonition - we now realized that their very appearance would be a sign of our 'end as a corporeal species']].
* EndOfAnAge: Following a variation on the theme, the setting is ScienceFiction instead of the usual fantasy.

* HiveMind: A big galaxy spanning one.

* OrwellianRetcon: Clarke wrote a new first chapter after the ColdWar ended.
* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Every religion besides Buddhism is then discredited.

* TheGodsMustBeLazy: [[spoiler:They'll send another race to do their bidding]].
* TitleDrop: Not directly, but the last third of the book is about the [[spoiler: the end of both individual children's lives and the end of childhood for humanity as a species, as they ascended to a higher plane of existence.]]

** [[spoiler:Ever wondered where ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' got the whole Instrumentality sequence from?]] Now you know.

* AncientAstronauts: The myths aren't from memory, but precognitive visions of the aliens.

* BizarreBabyBoom: Aliens show up shortly before a bizarre new generation of humans appears, but they didn't cause it.

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler:Earth and everything on it become energy for the new generation's journey to join the Overmind]]

* SpaceWhaleAesop: Stop killing animals and ruining earth's environment because [[spoiler:you're evolving into a new form that will eventually ruin the Earth anyway!]]

* TheGodsMustBeLazy: [[spoiler:They send another race to do their bidding]].

{{Shout Out}}s to it in fiction are not uncommon, ranging from some in ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' to the cover of Music/LedZeppelin's ''Houses of the Holy", and the Music/{{Genesis}} song "Watcher Of The Skies".

* EsotericHappyEnding: The Overlords think it's a happy ending, and the idea is that the children of [[spoiler: the last generation of humans AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence]], but it also involves [[spoiler: the extinction of humans as a species, and the children are ''incredibly'' creepy]]. If a different science fiction work kept the same basic plot and cast the aliens as villains, most people wouldn't bat an eye.

* PsychicPowers: The new generation of babies start showing various forms of these. Most notably, Telekinesis.

** And oddly enough, [[spoiler:a sperm whale diorama sent into space]] figures into the plot. It doubles as a TrojanHorse.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Clarke joked in his updated prologue that new readers will think that the opening scene with the fleet of alien ships blocking the sun was ripped off from ''Film/IndependenceDay'' (despite this being written in ''1953''!). In fact, Clarke himself knew of an even earlier story with the same scene.
-->"...I am also informed that [[Film/IndependenceDay its]] opening is identical to that of ''[[ChildhoodsEnd Childhood's End]]'' (1953) and that it contains [[ClicheStorm every known science fiction cliché]] since Méliès' ''ATripToTheMoon'' (1903)."
--->-- '''Arthur C. Clarke''', in the Sources and Acknowledgments section of ''3001''

* AncientAstronauts: The myths aren't from memory, but precognitive visions of the aliens.

* LastOfHisKind: {{Lampshaded}}. "He had always been a good piano player, and now he was the best in the world."
* OlderThanTheyThink: Clarke joked in his updated prologue that new readers will think that the opening scene with the fleet of alien ships blocking the sun was ripped off from ''IndependenceDay'' (despite this being written in ''1953''!). In fact, Clarke himself knew of an even earlier story with the same scene.
-->"...I am also informed that [[IndependenceDay its]] opening is identical to that of ''[[ChildhoodsEnd Childhood's End]]'' (1953) and that it contains [[ClicheStorm every known science fiction cliché]] since Méliès' ''ATripToTheMoon'' (1903)."

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Every religion besides Buddhism is then discredited.

As suggested by the title, the main theme of the book is the end of humanity's "childhood".

* DarkIsNotEvil: The [[spoiler:devil-like]] aliens are actually the good guys. [[spoiler: The reason we thought they were evil and used them in our mythologies as such was mostly because of a sort of species wide premonition - we realized that their appearance would be a sign of our end as a corporeal species]].

** And oddly enough, [[spoiler:a sperm whale diorama sent into space]] figures into the plot.

{{Shout Out}}s to it in fiction are not uncommon, ranging from some in ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' and ''{{Xenogears}}'' to the cover of Music/LedZeppelin's ''Houses of the Holy", and the Music/{{Genesis}} song "Watcher Of The Skies".