Childhood's End

First published in 1953, this science-fiction novel opens when huge alien ships take up stations over Earth's cities. The Overlords, led on Earth by Supervisor Karellen, end war and want and impose a benevolent trusteeship that produces a Golden Age. Human institutions of religion and national rivalry fade, but a minority suspects that the guardians have a further purpose. In the later sections, children begin to change, developing collective powers that leave ordinary humanity behind. The book is a speculative account of first contact as a managed transformation of the human species, not as a war of invasion. Ordinary adult life becomes a prelude to that change.

Bound in cloth printed and blocked with a colour picture. Lilac endpapers. Slipcase printed with a colour picture and matt laminated.