Het einde van het begin

This is a novel of ideas. The style is detached, and Clarke describes only what is necessary. Despite the events being significant for humanity and therefore for individuals, we never delve into the personal. Only the characters essential to the plot are roughly sketched. These characters do not possess genuine character traits.

As such, you can consider this book as a rough painting. The depiction is visible and recognizable. Whether it approaches reality is of lesser importance. It's more about the ideas and visions being portrayed.

The book consists of three parts, with the first part describing how an extraterrestrial life form makes itself known and takes over the governance of Earth. In the second part, these aliens mingle among the world population, and the third part describes how humanity further evolves. Although the ideas are grand, the description of, for example, the resistance against the governance in the first part is very unbelievable and clumsy. This also applies to the stowaway story from the second part. By current standards in SF and fantasy, the plot is Spartan, and character development is entirely absent. If you can overlook this, you're left with a novel with unparalleled vistas. The gestures are grand, and it provokes thought.

If I were to summarize everything, I would come to somewhere around 3.5 to 4 stars.