This is a short novel from 1953 by Arthur C Clarke, of course well known for 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is the first novel of his I’ve read and I am currently reading another as well.
This book starts with the arrival of a series of gigantic spaceships coming to Earth and an immediately becoming a controlling faction. Rather than a dangerous presence, the ships purport to be benevolent, and begin fixing humanity’s ills. There’s a few strange incidents involving animal cruelty, racism, and other little fixes that happen. The Overlords, as they are known, remain hidden within their ships, but their apparent leader makes various proclamations and decisions through emissaries.
The novel is more or less without a main character, but a few lead characters emerge within specific timelines in the novel. The novel spans many decades of the aliens’ presence as Earth becomes more and more adjusted to their new semi-Utopic lifestyle. There are some growing pains and schemes as things sort themselves out.
I won’t say any more because there’s a handful of reveals and aha moments throughout this novel, but I was taken aback at those various reveals. They were both interesting in terms of their content, but also in terms of the structure and scope of the novel.
This is a philosophical science fiction novel and it’s a meditation on the future of humanity more so than any kind of plot-driven novel, so huge chunks of time pass, huge reveals happen without build up and very little time is spent dealing with the effects of the aliens’ presence on humanity. I enjoyed it for what it was — an exploration of an idea, and for what it wasn’t — a melodramatic 800 page novel on the day to day life of humanity under control of the Overlords.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Childhoods-End-Novel-Del-Impact/dp/0345444051/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1573680730&sr=8-1)