This was probably my third time reading the book? I read it something like 12 years ago (oh, god) and reread it very shortly afterwards. I remember loving it then, and I would still say that it's very much worth reading. I like Clarke's style here in general, the focus on the changes the world/society goes through and the revolving door of characters that come in and out of focus really works for me, specially for a novel that really isn't about any individual's journey rather than a series of almost-parables and thought experiments. It feels like an emotionally detached exploration of an idea he came up with and it's very well executed. The short length of the book also a good thing about it, I don't think I would have wanted it to linger on any particular section or increase its scope.
It also has some really striking "scenes" that I think Clarke does a great job "painting with words" for us: The last part of the opening with the rocket scientist looking at the arrival of the Overlord ship(s), the UN guy alone in the lake when the reporter comes to meet him, the big reveal of what the Overlords look like (I wonder if
this representation of Baphomet existed in Clarke's time, because the description of Karellen interacting with the children really reminded me of it), the description of the Overmind-tornado-thing in the Overlord's world, Jeff and Jenni's PSI abilities manifesting, and of course the entire section on what happened to earth from Jan's point of view. Those are some that come to mind, but there were plenty that I thought were very impactful and memorable.
Part of the "complacency is bad" angle fell a bit flat for me because it read like his version of the "my generation's art was the good one" argument; I'm ok with the "utopia gone wrong" scenarios where humanity is subdued through complacency Brave-New-World-style, but I thought the Overlord's version of an utopia didn't feel like one that would stifle creativity or the emergence of art. If the Overlords were much more anti-"cultural growth" it really wasn't reflected much in the novel.
Finally, I think I would have not stayed on earth like Jan did. He was supposed to represent humanity's drive for knowledge and exploration, so I guess Clarke's thought was, since there were no humans left for the scientist to show their findings to, his existence lost all meaning? I'd probably have wanted to go back to the Overworld's planet even if it meant living in that zoo of theirs lol.
Some quotes:
In part 1:
"We can argue round Karellen forever, but in the end we always come back to the same question: "why the devil won't he show himself?""
I see what you did there good foreshadowing bro.
Part 2:
There are too many distractions and entertainment. Do you realize that every day something like five hundred hours of radio and TV pour out over the various channels? If you went without sleep and did nothing else, you could follow less than a twentieth of the entertainment that's available at the turn of a switch!"
"CLARKE PREDICTS YOUTUBE"
Part 3:
In a community of this size, one would normally expect to dial Food Central, wait five minutes, and then get whatever meal they had selected.
"CLARKE PREDICTS UBER EATS"
Only individuals can be lonely-human beings. When the barriers were down at last, loneliness would vanish as personality faded
"CLARKE PREDICTS NEON GENESIS EVANGELION" (
Hideaki Anno really likes this book)
More thoughts later maybe