There's no doubt that this is a difficult read in the current time, as the narrative plunges into endless loss - of sons, husbands, fathers, the men who keep important infrastructure working, and more sons. But it's a powerful mind game to imagine a society in which the majority of one gender -- the dominant gender, natch -- has been wiped out by a discriminating virus. I lost the flow of narrative a little as fresh ideas kept coming from so many micro-stories, but the concept is acutely observed and uniquely thought-provoking.

This book was amazing.
I loved it and devoured it in a day!
It stays with you long after you put it down and really makes you think.
I'm so glad our actual pandemic wasn't anything like this.
Well done.

This book may hit a bit close to home for some readers so please go into this aware of all the triggers

In view of what we’ve all experienced over the past year I didn’t wonder if I wanted to read a book about a virus.....

But...

This post apocalyptic dystopian story was fabulously written and kept me gripped all the way through. Definitely a contender for my top 10 of 2021

Wow - this for me is a contender for my book of 2021. I’m not normally a fan of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction but in view of the current pandemic, I thought it would be an interesting read. It was a moving, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story which I would highly recommend, with the proviso that some readers might find it too close to home and too upsetting. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Christina Sweeney-Baird certainly managed to find a fortuitous time to tell her story. The End of Men tells the tale of a particularly nasty virus which wipes out a large proportion of the male population. Amazingly, Christina started writing The End of Men before the Coronavirus pandemic started and then had a chance to make edits and tweaks while watching how a similar situation was unfolding around her before publishing it in 2021. This feels very important for this book as older ‘pandemic’ stories seem to lose their realism now we know what would actually happen and the idea of a new story based on current events just makes me roll my eyes (I’m sure there will be a lot of those coming!) What we get instead is an outstanding debut novel which is touching, heart-breaking and poignant and also gives us an important message about our patriarchal society.

The story is told through snippets of lived experience. We meet a lot of characters; some of whom stay with us all the way through, some come in for a chapter or two and then leave, some are intertwined and some stand alone. It’s a great way of telling the story and keeps it fresh throughout. The first half of the book is mostly about the world changing as the virus takes hold – it’s a very scary disease and really makes you thankful that the Coronavirus wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been. It’s an inevitability that any man you meet in the book is likely to die and there’s a real helplessness for the women left behind who just have to watch it happen whilst also knowing that they are completely safe. It pulls no punches with the writing and is very heart-breaking in places.

The second half of the book focuses of finding the vaccine and the changing of society without the men. It’s a really fascinating read and threw up a lot of scenarios I had not considered. For example, women are safer because safety equipment is built with their frames in mind rather than modified/smaller versions of male equipment. I liked the idea that China had fallen because all of its army and political parties were male and how women were learning traditional ‘male’ jobs to make society work again. With the #NotAllMen and Sarah Everard case in the background, this book really picks up on the female struggle at the moment as well.

Overall, The End of Men is a heart-breaking story which has been told at a perfect time in history for us to fully appreciate it. The book is highly recommended and received a Kindig Gem for 2021. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction & The Borough Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The End of Men but that has in no way influenced my review.

Oh.My.Goodness! This book is incredible. After the last year or so, you'll understand why I have been purposefully avoiding all fiction which involves a virus or a pandemic. Too close to home. Far, far too close to home. But Sweeney-Baird's debut intrigued me. I love dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. However, I don't read anywhere near enough. The End of Men has without doubt reignited my love of this compelling, thought-provoking genre. This book is an absolute must-read!

On a normal shift in A&E, Dr Amanda Maclean makes a shocking discovery. Male patients and staff in the hospital are coming down with a mystery illness which, within a few days, kills them. Dr Maclean recognises the risk and tries to put emergency measures into place to control the spread of the virus. But she's thwarted at every turn by those higher up the food chain. Before long the virus - named by Dr Maclean as the Plague - is taking over and spreading faster than anyone could imagine. As the World struggles to find a vaccine, the question on everyone's lips is: could this be the end of men....?

Absolutely superb and frighteningly real. The author has included a note at the start of the novel which explains how the book was written before COVID came into our lives. I wonder how the author felt as she watched the news stories building day by day. The virus in The End of Men is, of course, not the same as COVID but there are similarities which can't be ignored.

Anyway, enough talk of COVID. I only mentioned it because I think it's impossible to ignore our own experience of a pandemic when you're discussing a book about a pandemic! So instead let's imagine a world where virtually everyone you meet is female. All of the men - the husbands, the sons, the fathers, the brothers, the uncles - have died. A few men are immune but the odds aren't great, only 1 in 10. Every other male is guaranteed to die because there is no stopping the Plague. Women carry the virus but don't become ill. There is no vaccine, shielding can help but only for so long. It's a death sentence and there's nothing that can be done. Now think of all of the professions where the large majority of people qualified are men (not exclusively men but the majority). Pilots, electricians, refuse workers, the army, the police force, the list goes on. The implications of the author's scary new world are far reaching and it was a real eye opener for this reader. The slow realisation of what no men would, in reality, actually mean.

The End of Men is the true definition a page turner. I couldn't put this book down as I was desperate to find out what revelation the author was going to share with me next. We follow the lives of several woman and watch how grief, uncertainly and a complete change in lifestyle affect them. Some, surprisingly, for the better. For a lot of the woman in this novel, the painful loss of some or all of their family, was devastating. My heart broke on several occasions and I particularly felt for Catherine. Catherine is an anthropologist who features throughout the book and decides to record the stories of the Plague for future reference. I loved Catherine who was unapologetic in her grief, devoted to her loving husband and adorable son. I looked forward to hearing from her and I longed for her story to finish on a high note. Whether it does or not, you'll have to find out for yourself.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The End of Men is a must read for all. Intelligent, poignant, devastating and totally absorbing. This is another stunning debut for 2021 which I heartily recommend. Another strong contender for my 'books of the year' list. I struggled to put this one down and on the odd occasion where I did, I was desperate to pick it up again and return to the author's world. Such an emotional, well thought out and captivating piece of fiction that I hope flies off the shelves. It absolutely deserves to! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The End of Men. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

I don't think this is going to be a book for everyone given the current circumstances such as, you know, the global pandemic. I went into it thinking I would love an apocalyptic story about a plague that wipes out most of the men, leaving women in charge, and even I felt a little funny about the whole thing. Please go into this knowing it may well upset you or at the very least make you feel very uncomfortable.

Anyway, as for the actual book. I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the world building the most, as that's what most of this book is. It doesn't really get into the nitty gritty of the characters like I was hoping, nor is it a fast paced action thriller that follows people trying to outrun a plague. It's actually showing how society would change and rebuild if the majority of men were to die. It's a bit grim, but also fascinating.

I feel like the amount of POVs was a little overwhelming, particularly because they all sounded very similar. I struggled to remember who I was reading about at the time (most were written in first person POV), and I couldn't remember which event had happened to who at some points. I read the acknowledgements and the author said that the original draft had many more POVs too, so I assume this is a carry over from that and this number was still a little too high for me.

I appreciated that the author didn't just cover the events in the UK, however I felt the coverage of the rest of the world to be a little lacking. Other countries such as the Philipines and China was briefly mentioned, but who knows what's going on in the whole of Africa and South America. I would have loved it if the author had developed this a bit more - even just some passing comments would have been good - but instead we got just a couple of POV chapters from characters who lived elsewhere, and there wasn't enough to make me emotionally involved in them. It felt more like they were plonked in there at an attempt to expand the world building a little more, but not enough that they had any sort of significance.

Overall I very much enjoyed this book, no matter how uncomfortable it made me. It's not my favourite, and I think it could have been improved upon, but it was a solid debut and if you're looking to read a pandemic or apocalyptic story for whatever reason, plus a bit of social commentary, then you should give this a go.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

mmm a pandemic book read in the same year we actually have a pandemic...have to say it was an interesting read as i can remember back when ours started reading about what was happening in china and how it couldnt possibly come over here and then suddenly we were in lockdown and it was all around the world

so reading this book about a plague coming from scotland and seeing the similarities between a fictional book and now was mind blowing...

there are so many characters in this book but it doesnt matter, its just about everyones experiences there are reoccurring characters that you begin to recognise but on the whole its an interesting read and very well done

look forward to seeing more books by this author

Dr Amanda Maclean, an A&E doctor in Glasgow, is the first to spot it. Healthy men dying within days of contracting a flu-like virus. Women seem to be carriers of the disease, but are otherwise unaffected.

The Plague tears through the world. Systems and supply chains which had been dominated by men fall apart. The world contracts as we watch it through the eyes of half a dozen women suffering their own grief and playing their part in re-establishing order in the world.

It’s strange to read a book about a pandemic during a global pandemic. However, unlike the books I’ve read where Covid-19 has been shoehorned in to try and acknowledge reality, The End of Men feels like a good dystopian fantasy novel which happens to have been published during a pandemic.

It’s also quite therapeutic. The traditional structures and government processes which fail in the early days of dealing with The Plague are not very far away from some of the reality of 2020. However, in the closed environment of a novel even failures of wilful ignorance get their comeuppance, which is nice.

Not all men die in this book, around 10% of the world are thought to be immune, so it isn’t the end of the human race overall. The impact of such a devastating reduction in humanity is an interesting concept though, and the sections of the book on how the world recovers and transforms is interesting. Male dominated careers, relationships, parenting, wars and international diplomacy are all an opportunity to take a look at how the world is currently set up and what would change if men became the minority. These social issues are handled well, and in the main avoid being too preachy. Although a section near the end on how car safety designs need to be changed to be targeted at protecting women from fatal car accidents rather than the default settings which favour men’s survival needs felt a bit heavy handed.

It was also disappointing that the perspectives of gay men and trans people in this world are rather skated over. In the final section we finally learn that gay men are now a superminority, and get a little glimpse into the work of an immune trans woman who rightly shows anger at the lack of attention of the mental health impact a disease which works on a binary gendered basis has on the trans community. Thankfully the head of the Health Protection service that she expresses that anger to recognises the failures on this front and asks her to come work with them to address that. But, it feels like a missed chance for this experience not to be part of one of the stories we did follow in more detail.

I did struggle slightly with the structure of the book. It takes place over a number of years with different chapters giving the perspectives of different women - the doctor who discovered it, a civil servant in the UK government, a lowly CDC scientist who takes the plunge to come and work with the team investigating why the disease targets men, a sociologist, and the scientist who creates a vaccine. These perspectives give a sense of how the world reacts, but by jumping between them and jumping through time I found it difficult to be fully invested in any of them.

Overall a good story and an interesting take on living through a pandemic without having to specifically talk about Covid.

What an special and well written novel. Christina would not have known how close to home this novel would be when she wrote it. Reading about the Plague which killed only men, only a few of whom were immune, was very emotional at times as the race for a vaccine began. Heart wrenching incidents when all male relatives were infected and died- often alone. There is a lot of similarities with what we have all been through and are still undergoing with the corona virus pandemic - isolation, death of loved ones etc.

I struggled with this one a bit. I kept putting it down and then picking it up again. I was intrigued with what was happening in the story, but I kept finding myself nodding away at what was happening as now, during our own global pandemic of the things we have had to face and have been through.

It is written well, although I found myself getting a little lost with the amount of characters and all the different parts they played in the story. By the time their chapter had come round again I had forgotten what had happened previously in their part of the story. I should have made a few notes as I went along to help.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HarperCollins UK.

Well, I can't say that this was an "enjoyable" read because no one had heard of Covid when this was written - which makes it all the more astonishing how the author has captured the start, and consequences of, a world-wide pandemic. Except, for this novel, the virus kills only men; some men are naturally immune but not many, and women are asymptomatic hosts.

Dr Amanda Maclean, a consultant at Gartnaval Hospital in Glasgow - in 2025, is sure she's got the start of at least an epidemic on her hands: men of all ages are developing flu-like symptoms and within hours their temperature rises to such a degree that their organs shut down and they die. She emails all and everyone she can to sound the alert, but she's ignored.

Along with Amanda, the narrative gives us the personal stories of women across the country and the world who are trying to save their families - their husbands, their sons, their male relatives - or, in some cases, get rid of them. But it all moves so quickly that it becomes a world-wide pandemic. Amanda is determined to find the source of the outbreak - without which virologists across the world won't be able to come up with a vaccine.

It's well worth a read if, for nothing else, the consequences to society of this virus are much more devastating than we are experiencing now - although on a personal note our present pandemic is devastating enough with the number of deaths and heartbreak left in its wake and the necessary curtailment of our societal freedoms.
But the sheer amount of conjecture, and realistic assumption this author has for the changed world is, as I have said, absolutely astonishing. From the health authorities, local Government, the secret services and intelligence organisations, to the restructuring of the workforce, the protection of babies and the allocation of IVF to maintain the population is absolutely mind-blowing.

This is a harrowing "futuristic" thriller - but oh so too close to home in the present climate.
I truly think we've dodged a bullet here in the present day, thanks to timely reactions and communications.

This is an addictive read. This is the kind of book I love, even without the Covid pandemic adding to the mix.
I really liked the way the book was narrated from many voices worldwide and not only dealt with medical effects but how the virus in The End of Men affected people emotionally.
A recommended read.

I found this book much more chilling than I ever expected. Not only is the subject matter disturbingly relevant, as we remain in lockdown during a global pandemic, but the writing and multiple perspectives open up layers of experience and grief which is starkly wrought on every page. Christina Sweeney-Baird has written a stunning debut with 'The End of Men', detailing the impact of the 'New Plague' which rapidly wipes out 90% of the global male population. Sweeney-Baird explore the social, political and economic ramifications of such a disease, stretching from the moment of discovery to 6 years later.

Throughout the story, we circle the globe, delving into stories men and women whose lives are torn apart by the horrific illness. We are introduced to some strong women, such as Amanda, who tries to raise the alarm and is tragically ignored, to Catherine, an anthropology professor dealing with fertility problems, along with their sons and husbands. Although the death of many male characters is inevitable given the premise of the novel, the deaths of those close to these main women were incredibly emotional and haunting.

After the disease has ravaged the male population, Sweeney-Baird explores the obvious after-effects, including food shortages, conscription and the race for a vaccine, but also intriguing elements like fertility programmes. Sweeney-Baird has thought this through in great detail to present a chilling and affecting alternative reality.

Overall, this novel is even more impactful due to our current circumstances and demonstrates how much more horrific a global pandemic could have been. However, the failings of the governments in the novel are far too close to reality for comfort. A very gripping and timely novel indeed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The novel is very readable, and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives from different countries, and whether people were affected by the virus or actively working to stop the virus. However, as I went through the novel I realised that these perspectives were overwhelming those of white, heterosexual women and the impact of the virus on their lives, hopes, and dreams.

Obviously a writer can write whatever they want, but it felt increasingly off to me that the perspective of gay men was mentioned only in passing, not ever as one of the perspectives. In addition, I was 88% through the novel (I was reading on Kindle) before there was any mention of the massive impact such a virus would have on gay man, and I don't think it was handled particularly sensitively either.

While one of the perspectives is of a black woman working for the security services, I don't recall there being any mention at all in the novel about the impact the virus has on people of colour. I felt that there was a lot to enjoy about the novel, but ultimately, for a novel that sought to chart how the virus impacted lives in the UK I felt its perspective was far too limited to white, heterosexual, middle class women.

The End Of Men

This book is just nuts, it's so crazy and quite bloody scary. I'm not just talking about the storyline, I'm talking about the author 😱 Christina Sweeney-Baird wrote this book back in 2018. No big deal you may say. However, when you read the book and realise it's about a virus sweeping through the world and it's so deadly people need to isolate (sound familiar 🤔) and then you remember she wrote this in 2018. The pandemic hit us 2020 😮 Christina you are some kind of prophet.

Despite being so close to reality, and having moments of "gosh do I really want to read this, I'm living it" I carried on and enjoyed. Plus when reading this story I did find myself being glad that what we are living isn't this bad.

The virus in this story only affected men. Hence the title End Of Men. And because of this it highlights the role of men in society.

"When someone isn’t there anymore, you adapt."

The story focuses more on how women must adapt to their new normal. Dealing with heart break of what they have lost.

What a debut!!

This had me hooked from the first page! I couldn't put it down.

The story begins in 2025 with Dr Amanda McLean, an A&E doctor in Glasgow. While on shift she discovers a new virus, later named The Great Male Plaque, which kills men within hours. Amanda reported this to the Health Service, who ignore her concerns as they are too busy (eye rolling moment). Needless to say, the virus continues to spread, being transmitted from assymptomatic women onto men and begins to show throughout the world.

I can honestly say, this is one of the scariest books I've read. Reading about mums who are scared to go near their sons for fear of transmitting the virus, mums that had to sit and watch their babies die. Thankfully, the author doesn't go into detail about them dying but the writing really makes you feel their loss.

There are a lot of similarities in this book in regards to our present situation but there were lots of interesting changes in the world. A world where females are having to be recruited into the male dominant roles such as the army, the police and fire service. A world with more leaders making decisions on how to repopulate the earth with hardly any surviving males.

This book gave me all the feels, I was scared, heartbroken but hopeful. This is obviously a book about a pandemic whilst we are living through a pandemic but it gives us reason to be thankful for what really matters and hope that there is light at the end of this really long tunnel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy.

This was an interesting read, it was a really solid idea for a dystopian novel and definitely certain parts hit close to home because of the current pandemic situation. I really enjoyed the different perspectives we got, that is something I really like in books and felt it was done very well in this one. I also liked how as we got further into the book the plotlines crossed paths. I didn't totally get the science of it, but it sounded legit enough for me to just accept it and move on.

I was really looking forward to this debut novel as I am a big fan of apocalyptic fiction and I was not disappointed. Set in the near future, it tells of a virus that affects only men but is carried by women. The story follows various threads from the women trying to protect their families, the scientists seeking to find a vaccine and the woman who channels her grief and loss into providing a social history of these awful times.

I flew through this. Given that we have been in lockdown on and off for a year, this was a timely novel but thought provoking yet not maudlin or morbid. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read more offerings by this author.

Thank you for the opportunity from Net Galley to read it in return for an honest review

The End of Men is a fast, easy, engaging read and one which keeps the reader on tenterhooks, despite the problems which may be incurred by reading about a fictional global pandemic during an actual global pandemic.

The End of Men offers multiple point-of-view characters, most of them women, many of whom offer bold and distinctive personalities yet the lack of a sole focus throughout the novel did distract me a little, as I prefer this to multi-POV. Characters such as Amanda and Catherine offer a chance to connect with the reader, yet we are denied this due to the shortness of the chapters.

Overall, the title draws on tropes which we have seen before but puts its own spin to cater to a modern, plague-ridden audience and Sweeney-Baird's writing style definitely lends itself to this fast paced, multi-character title.