Goodbye, the familiar world Master of his craft Arthur C. Clarke takes readers on an unforgettable journey in his novel "The End of Childhood." The philosophical work, like many from the writer's pen, is designed to show what a harsh world can be like in one of the realities that Sir Arthur C. Clarke perfectly shows us. The work is remembered for its pictures of what is happening, which even avid moviegoers will see in a variety of blockbusters and think, because these are Clark's ideas and worlds. Reading this work and watching how the human world turns into a kind of utopia, you still expect a certain plot development. And you inevitably get it. The race of Overlords, their leader, who will reveal himself to the world, all this seems to be a kind of mockery on the part of the writer, but it also makes you wonder how people will perceive aliens if they really look like what Arthur C. Clarke describes them in the work. Page after page, the reader discovers everything new, but it did not come as a surprise to me that not everything was so simple from the very beginning. Otherwise, this story would not be so interesting. The aliens have their own plans for our world, humanity has its own path. The finale of the work evokes several simultaneous feelings. It's bitterness, horror, and goosebumps. You're wondering a question that quite naturally arises. Who are we in this world? Not on Earth, but in the universe in general. Where did we come from, where are we going? What are our next steps, where will the story lead us? The book is quite easy to read. I didn't expect the pages to turn over so soon. Clark conducts his narrative concisely, as if preparing the reader for what he must face. For some reason, the feeling persists that the author ended his novel in such a way that everyone perceived it in their own way, asked several questions, and was ready to philosophize. At least with myself. "The End of Childhood" is somehow an instructive story for all of us. Humanity is just another species on the planet that has decided that it is omnipotent. In fact, this is not the case. And based on the example of this work, we can conclude that everything that is happening around us today is becoming somehow insignificant, when people may well face much more serious challenges. 8 out of 10