The numerous parallels between this novel and the current covid crisis are remarkable. I can only imagine how shocked the author must feel about this as the foreword says she wrote it in 2018. Told from multiple viewpoint, the sadness and frustrations of trying to live and work throughout a pandemic resonate on many levels. There were a few aspects which seemed rushed, particularly towards the end but overall this book is a very good read and it may be that the post publication version does not include these issues.

I loved, loved, loved this book. Reading it in the midst of a pandemic made it all the better, I liked seeing what someone imagined a pandemic would be like before we actually found ourselves in one! The subject of a virus which only kills men was an interesting one, it raises many different subjects such as what would happen to the jobs which are mainly staffed with men, such as plumbers, electricians and the army. I enjoyed following different women and the different viewpoints of everyone. At times it was difficult to read as obviously babies and children were not spared. This was such an interesting read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 enjoyable stars

This is a great book and very relevant given we are living through a pandemic.

I’m sure there will be lots of books coming out with a similar theme so if I was the author I would bring this release forward!

It’s set just a few years in the future and describes a plague that wipes out all men except for a small number of immune ones.

It tells the story from the viewpoints of different characters, which really helps give you a sense of the ways the plague has impacted differently on people.

It’s tragic and heartbreaking at times, with so many deaths from babies to oldies, yet no way to cure.

I like the thought that had gone into what the impact a majority female population would look like, for the economy, society, professionally, and on relationships would be.

Definitely worth reading.

I love a good post-apocalyptic or dystopian novel and Christina Sweeny-Baird has really picked a hot topic by writing about a global pandemic; in this case, one that kills only men and boys. Not all of them, admittedly, but enough to change the world completely. It's a 'near-future setting so there's no need for jet-packs and sci-fi weirdness - pretty much everything that happens is within today's imagination and technology. And perhaps a world of women is more of a Utopia than a Dystopia - I'll let that one sit with you.

The book is oddly calm. It resists the temptation to sensationalise the deaths and delivers death and devastation in a cool and measured way. Similarly, it avoids going down the whole 'society falls apart and everybody ends up eating each other' approach of some of the more excitable writers. In doing both these things, it's oddly and eerily more powerful. We see a society learning to handle grief on an utterly unprecedented scale whilst doing what a world of (mostly) women would almost certainly do - get on with sorting stuff out.

The book raises lots of issues about how to recreate a world when everything has changed but almost everything is still possible. When your airline pilots and binmen are mostly men, somebody's going to have to step up and take over. You might not need to fly all over the world, but somebody's got to empty the bins.

It doesn't go the whole hog of eliminating ALL men, but certainly plenty enough to trigger a lot of interesting changes. I particularly enjoyed (not sure that's the right word) the immune man getting fed up with women randomly hitting on him whenever he was out without his wife. Gents, let's face it, if there aren't enough of you to go around, some people aren't really after you; they're after your sperm. I could also relate to the 'baby lottery' scandal that turns up towards the end. If you have a limited supply of sperm, society WOULD most likely be selective about who got it. The book doesn't touch on what the problem will be 20 years later when all the world's children come from a relatively restricted gene pool. How would they ensure half-siblings don't accidentally have further children together?

The book is set in 5 years time and it has a degree of believability that it probably wouldn't have had a year ago. It introduces a lot of characters - arguably, a few too many as we don't really get the chance to know some of them very well. It hops about all over the world. I did struggle at times to remember who was who and where they were, and I couldn't really grasp onto a 'lead' character (although, potentially, the writer Christine seems to pull it all together at the end. I enjoyed the ruthless and not so ruthless scientists striving tirelessly for a vaccine, some driven by altruism and others by fame and fortune.

I've read two other books or series in the past year that also predicted worlds without men. This is the best by a very major distance. It's a grown-up book about a grown-up issue and it's also very entertaining, thought provoking and well-written. I recommend it highly and I hope the publishers will consider bringing forward the publication date as it has a lot to say about the problems we find ourselves in today. I've been very privileged to receive a review copy and I'm sure this one is going to be very popular.

It is impossible to read this book without making comparisons to the world in which we currently live, and yet, The End of Men describes such a different world. Though similarly affected by a pandemic, this is not the story of covid-19, but rather the story of women, and how we would cope with the end of men. And so, in its simplest form, this is a feminist story, which touches on so many aspects. How much safer women may feel, how iPhones could decrease in size, how the LGBT community might be affected. This last in particular was handled extremely well, and I am glad the author included it.

Coupled with the obvious grief that so many would feel at the loss of their fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, friends, and the guilt that the women felt at carrying the virus, The End of Men is a fiercely emotional story, with the underlying theme that women will just carry on, as we have always done, during pandemics and wars and the like.

One minor irritation, which will no doubt only annoy that 1% of people who suffer from coeliac disease, was the mention of a lack of suitable gluten free food. I thought this could be a good opportunity to raise awareness of coeliac disease, and how difficult it can be to live with. When the panic buying started early this year, the gluten free aisle too was raided when the regular items such as bread and pasta went out of stock, despite GF food costing 3x as much and rarely tasting as good. It would have been great if the author could have shown the reality of this.

As soon as I read the blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it! The blurb immediately made me think of VOX, and Q both by Christina Dalcher and I totally admit to loving those dystopian, futuristic sometimes almost prophetic books. I find the cover quite stark and striking which fits the books content very well. I think it will certainly stick out on a book store shelf. The byline of “Only Men Carry The Virus. Only Women Can Save Us All.” on the book has given me mixed feelings as if being 100% nit-picky here (but I find I am more nit-picky with books I really enjoy). The part of the byline that says Only Men Carry The Virus . . Mmm …after reading the book my understanding is that women can “carry the virus” whilst showing no symptoms and therefore spread the virus. However, it is only men that die from the virus. However, when you search the definition of “virus carrier” it explains the terminologies meaning, A carrier is an individual who carries and is capable of passing on a genetic mutation associated with a disease and may or may not display disease
symptoms. Carriers are associated with diseases inherited as recessive traits. I guess what I am trying to say/explain is that once you have really read the book you understand that the byline is technically correct. Basically, all you need to know is only men get the virus and die! Women Can “carry” the virus and pass it to men but cannot die from it themselves.

This book is going to be so difficult to review as I don’t want to give away spoiler-esque aspects of the individual characters. I think sometimes the more you enjoy a book the harder it is to review it! This is one of those books! As soon as I started reading, I felt hooked and hated having to put it down. I couldn’t wait to find out how the different characters lives changed, who had happy endings or had to rebuild their lives as best they could.

The virus begins in the year 2025 in Scotland with Dr Amanda Maclean an experienced Doctor realising something is really very, very wrong. Dr Amanda does a little research to learn what all her male patients have in common. Then she really does try to warn those higher up in power as soon as she can, unfortunately for her and the rest of the world they ignore her, even labelling her as a “hysterical woman”, words that come back to haunt those who used them!

The virus is both simple, yet complicated. It kills only men, but women can be carriers. For the first couple of days of having the virus, the male does not seem ill, meaning they continue as normal, kissing their family & friends which in turn passes the virus to them. Every time the man coughs, sneezes, simply wipes his nose he is leaving the virus on surfaces for others to touch and pick up spreading the virus far and wide. The actual symptoms begin on the third day, and death occurs usually by the fifth day. Though women do not die from this virus, quickly named “the plague” in the book they are carriers.

The thing that seriously disrupts the world and how it works is that the virus kills men…..I guess the first people will think about is How will the population go on? Then you have to think, what about all the jobs done pre-dominantly by males? Those in power in the governments in this book do refer back to the War quite a few times to find and come up with solutions to the gaps left in the workforce. Of course, the answer (like during the war) is that women will do these jobs! But the problem there, is the women either may not want to do some of those jobs or may need to study to be able to do the jobs.

Many men just decide to isolate themselves, meaning they stay home with the children and the women rapidly become the providers, the ones that have to go out into the world to surce food and anything else they may need for their families. Some families simply pack up and move to isolated holiday homes to try and wait out the virus. Hopeful a cure, a vaccine, or something will be found to stop the virus.

I enjoyed the fact we got a glimpse of the “normal”, “before” life of one of the characters too. The biggest worry that Catherine had was, should she dress up for Halloween to take her little boy Theodore trick or treating! Catherine’s parents died years before and she had no siblings. Her life is her family, her husband Anthony and their gorgeous sone Theodore. Catherine has suffered more loss in her life than some, sadly having problems conceiving too. Her husband wants them to book in for IVF now but there is something just holding Catherine back, she wants to wait a little longer and see if nature will work instead. As soon as the news starts reporting on “The Plague” it is the only thing anyone seems to be talking about. Beatrice, is a mother who is picking her child up from nursery at the same time as Catherine. Beatrice has a country home in Norfolk, she and her family are going to get out of the City of London before things get any worse. They have money they can afford to take the time off work. Beatrice continues saying she has a husband, three sons, two brothers and her only remaining parent, her father to think about too. Unfortunately for Catherine, she and her husband cannot afford to flee London. They have to do the best they can where they already live and work.

Another character Dr Amanda Maclean is trying to do her best both at work and at home. Amanda has to deal with the possibilities of the plague both in her work and home life. Amanda is married to Will and they have two sons. You can feel Amanda’s frustration that despite contacting those higher up in Public Health regarding the plague she is being ignored and is literally going into work everyday not knowing how many Dr’s will be there to work with her and how many of her colleagues will have been claimed by the virus overnight.
When Amanda decides to put her family first, she leaves work and its problems behind and goes home. Amanda takes every possible precaution she can think of! She burns the clothes she had on at work and sleeps in her garage in an effort to prevent herself somehow carrying the awful disease to her family. After a week or so of these precautions Amanda feels it should be safe for her to be around her husband and sons. However, her husband doesn’t seem to understand the magnitude and reality of the plague. Will sneaks into work whilst Amanda is asleep! Will is also a consultant and has gone to the paediatric oncology department, as the mother of a patient has called him, begging for treatment for her child. Amanda is furious, doesn’t he realise the risks he is taking with their son’s lives? Amanda makes Will stay in the garage away from her and her sons, and they wait to see if and when it may be safe to allow him into the house again. Naturally Will apologises, almost as if he made a small mistake, he attempts to explain why he felt he had to go into work for his young patient. Amanda does not accept his apology, there was no mistake. Will had to know what he was doing. In fact, Amanda admits to herself if anything happens to her boys she will never forgive Will. Will is confined to the garage, no contact with the boys or even Amanda, as he could pass the plague to her and then she could unknowingly pass it to their sons.
Amanda remains a pivotal person in the plague and news around it as she ends up writing to newspapers and even finds out the details of “patient zero” and how the virus was brought into the country.

The book has characters based all around the world, Canada, Moscow, Singapore, and China as well as the UK. It was quite fascinating reading of the different ways the different UK regions and countries in the world coped with the plague. One country strongly encourages pregnant women to go to hospital to have planned births and then removes male children from their mothers and keeps them isolated from everyone else. The mothers are allowed to see and interact with their own child but must wear a hazmat suit. A region in the UK gathers a group of teenage boys and send them to a remote hostel to be cared for their in the hope they will not catch the virus. Different countries and people really do take extra ordinary precautions and go to great lengths to try to prevent the spread of the plague and their races men from dying out.
Despite the book being quite serious it does have some moments of humour. For example, when Amanda orders Will to scream at the boys like they are about to touch a burning hob if they attempt to go near him!

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were I enjoyed the book a lot.....but....it's difficult to describe exactly what I mean....certain parts felt too busy, flitting to different people. Perhaps the amount of characters we followed throughout the plague could have been cut back a little. At times it became hard to remember who was who, along with whereabouts we were in the timeline of the plague. On the whole I do have to say I loved it though!

To sum up, it was both weird but addictive to be reading this book during the current situation with corona virus. Prior to coronavirus you may have read this book and thought it really far- fetched, but there’s a gasp, shock, horror moment whilst reading this book that you pause and think this really could happen. I found the book both powerful and thought provoking. It’s content stays with you long after you have finished reading the last page.

This was a very gripping read. Set in Glasgow in the future a dr has to treat a patient with flu-like symptoms but within hours he is dead. Reading this in 2020 during the Covid 19 pandemic this story felt so familiar. Just like Covid the virus spread fast and the only difference was the victims in this book were all men.
When you read a book that is so shocking but rings so true with the world around you at the same time it’s very scary.
Let’s hope we find a cure for Covid 19 so we really don’t completely reflect this book.
Definitely one to read right now!!

This poignant novel is almost prophetic in describing the start and rapid growth of a global pandemic. From the initial reticence of health officials to the development of a vaccine and all the heartache and grief in between, it was at times hard to separate the novel from what was happening in real life.

A patient arrives in hospital with flu-like symptoms and within hours he's dead. His illness is like nothing anyone has seen before, and before anyone has chance to act the infection is sweeping through the hospital and beyond. The most bizarre thing is that only men seem to be affected. What do you do when the world's faced with losing almost half its population, and its accumulated skills and knowledge?
This isn't published till next spring, and I'm not sure whether its relevance to this past year will work for or against it. How many want to read more about pandemics? Will we have had quite enough of them by then?I'm not sure. I've happily watched Contagion (and criticised it) during lockdown, and raced through this. Maybe it's akin to watching disaster movies or real-life medical dramas? Whatever, it's a compelling read - particularity the first half/three quarters, it slows after that - and I rather enjoyed it even when picking fault with the characters' actions.

Unfortunately we're all now experts on pandemics, so a variety of things may grate - no lockdown, no mention of R number, no segregation of men and women. And as a voracious reader and watcher of apocalyptic pandemic fiction I like to spot details that I think might not hold true, and plan how I would do things differently and, of course, better (down the Winchester for a pint), so I did somewhat pick holes in the plot as I went along. As I said, though, I still enjoyed it. It's gripping, quickly paced, and highly topical!

It would make a brilliant read for a book club, or just to discuss among like-minded, slightly survivalist friends. I'd love to hear a man's opinion of it - though he'd probably insist he'd fall into the tiny immune group.

I’m sure every review for The End of Men will comment on the every comparisons between what is on the page and what is currently going on in the world, and when this book comes out next year I hope people realise it was written beforehand as truly there are bits that feel embarrassingly similar to true events, and others that are terrifyingly possible.

The End of Men follows a number of women throughout a pandemic that spreads across the world, killing the majority of men in a 5 day period that starts off like the flu, women can carry and spread the virus but they don’t suffer it’s effects. After Dr Amanda Maclean working in a Glasgow hospital notices a number of patients coming into A&E with what starts like a flu like virus, resistant to antibiotics, and deteriorating fatally within 5 days, she believes Scotland is about to face a pandemic. She contacts Health Protection Scotland with her early signs and is dismissed as hysterical. Very quickly, without governmental guidance or containment, this virus spreads, with cases Being found across the world and before long the future of men and the population of Earth is at threat.
This book follows Women who are doctors, in leadership, in journalism, in pharmacy, mothers and daughters and wives, as they search for the truth, as they search for a cure, as they search for answers and they lose the ones they love.

This is an incredibly well thought out book, truly the author has considered so many eventualities that could result from a worldwide pandemic, even down to a discussion about how technology would adapt to a wider female market (wither population of men decreasing) and how in turn iPhone handsets would become smaller due to women having smaller hands. So many aspects are considered, from discovering the source to finding a cure to how countries would monopolise on this to bargain and overpower others, from the pain of losing a child to the additional pain of knowing someone who hasn’t lost their child, to dating and reproduction and rebuilding the population, from panic buying and rationing to people rioting at the airport to leave, to training a workforce of women that has largely been controlled by men. This book explores a lot and while I can’t say I enjoyed it all, in that at times it’s at hard or at least uncomfortable to read (particularly when it comes to the inevitable and unavoidable deaths and the grief that follows), I have a lot of respect for this book.

My only criticism would be that that there are a lot of characters and at times it took me a moment to recall where we had a left a character, this may partly be due to the formatting of the ebook Arc though :) The characters themselves are varied and covers the international impact of a virus and a world handed to women to cure and rebuild.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review, I’m excited for everyone to read this next year.

Today we are in 2020, we are currently living through a global pandemic COVID-19 and I’ve just finished this book, based in 2025, originated in Glasgow and only affecting men. Wow. As soon as I saw this book I had to read it, although it was terrifying I was totally hooked, it’s very close to home with our current situation. It had me wondering what my thoughts and feelings of this book would have been if I’d have read it a few years ago, when a global pandemic was just a story that wouldn’t happen in our life time, I’d have still been gripped but I think I’d have been more relaxed reading it with it being just that, a story. I would highly recommend this book and I certainly will be shouting from the roof tops to all my friends to check it out.

Oh wow, this is going to be a tricky review. So, the story starts in 2025 and goes through to 2031. A futuristic tale of an unimaginable disease sweeping the globe and wiping out 90% of men... And a foreword explaining it was written in 2019. Which makes sense, because writing this book in 2020 would be unimaginable. Yes, I read this as the world was arguing about face masks and second waves, and for those who missed it, not long after an actual outbreak of the bubonic plague which got even less news coverage than the swarms of killer hornets because all anyone could talk about was a virus sweeping the planet.

Timing is truly the biggest problem this book has. If I'd read it in 2019 I think I would've loved it. It reads almost like a collaborative diary; a series of updates from an assortment of different people with different views and experiences. We travel the world with doctors, civil servants, maids, and mothers. As can be expected, some are more pertinent to the story than others. Some more likeable or more interesting too. But they all fit together and give a broad scope of a global crisis. It reads well and the story unfolds at a decent pace. It makes for a fairly open ending, yet things wrap up well.

It's good writing! It's just uncomfortable reading at times because, despite the near-future setting and work of fiction, the real world interrupts far too much right now. For such an easy to read book it took me far too long to get through. I can't decide which part I struggled more with - the bits that veered too far from the reality we have now or the times that it gets so close to the truth you have to check it's a book not the latest news bulletin.

That's where I ultimately find myself. This was a good book, and I did enjoy it in a slightly odd way. I just found myself reluctant to pick it up far too often because... well, global pandemic and all that. FInishing it gives me very mixed emotions. I think that, ultimately, your feelings about the book will be influenced by your feelings about the world in 2020, and that could easily ruin a very book for you.

Not one to force yourself to read. But if you just need a little nudge, consider this it - there's good stuff here.

Unfortunately this book I had to give up on so therefore will not share any public links.

I feel this is a book I will revisit when we are not in the height of a pandemic.

I hope by the time that you're reading this, there is a vaccine.

This book is AMAZING. Its surreal to read a book written in 2018, set in 2025ish and have it seem so far fetched yet real at the same time.

Im amazed how many similarities the author has made up that have actually been like our reality in 2020 (the government paying 80% of cost of children gave me chills!)

Likeness to reality aside, this book is a great book. It takes us through various POV over the years after the virus hits and it all comes together beautifully. I loved the depth each character was given, even if some of them we only spend a tiny amount of time with. I've cried. I've laughed. I've felt like I had lost someone.

It explores some really interesting points too! The changes to cars when women are the main customer was a quick sentence in the book but made me think a lot about everything.

Its such a good book. One of my favourites of the year.

It starts in a Glasgow hospital. A man comes in with a mysterious illness that claims his life. Two days later, men who were in the hospital at the same time re-admit with the same symptoms. All of them die. Slow-moving, Public Health does nothing, giving rumour and fear chance to spread among the population, who then run to their homes sometimes getting on planes and boats to do so. Suddenly an isolated sickness is everywhere. Men, boys, and male babies are dying at an alarming rate, and there is no vaccine in sight.
Told primarily through female viewpoints, The End of Men follows a Glasgow A&E doctor Laura, who identifies the Plague. She must navigate through this Plague from the point of discovery to the rebuilding of society after a vaccine. Her story is poignant because of her proximity to the Plague, as well as her loss. I won’t go into too many details, so you can experience her pain for yourself.
There are also snapshots from others struggling to remain sane. Catherine is an anthropologist who collects the stories compiled in the book. Toby Williams is trapped on a cruiser off the Swedish coast with his twin brother slowly starving to death. His wife, Frances, is speaking daily with Swedish authorities to get food to him and the others on the ship safely. Morven must look after 78 teenage boys on her land in Scotland while her son hides in the wilderness, so he is safe from any germs these newcomers might have. Some are complete stories, and others are moment which at times made it difficult to remember who was who, but that didn’t get in the way too much. Each of the stories come together in chronological order for a full-flavoured experience of panic, fear, grief, and determination.
The End of Men reflects all sides of humanity. Some handle their situation with determination, wanting to honour the memories of their lost love ones. Others crumble under pressure. Some characters struggle to find meaning, and others realise this epidemic can further their career aspirations.
Sweeney-Barid also explores the impact of the Plague on the LGBTQ community. The survival rate for men is 10% as some have natural immunity which means gay men have an even smaller pool of potential partners than women. The loneliness of their situation is poignant and thought-provoking. This attention to detail elevates The End of Men bove other apocalyptic stories and into the same untouchable category of brilliance as Max Brookes’ World War Z.
What made The End of Men stand out for me was my proximity to the characters. There is no barely-concealed narrator’s voice telling me who the author believes is right or wrong. The characters speak for themselves, and we are left to make up our minds.
The End of Men is not for the faint-hearted. Still, it is worth all the pain for the uplifting moments of breakthrough, the tender moments of support and compassion, and the moments you can hold the men in your family grateful they are still with you. Highly recommended.

It all starts with a man dying in hospital with flu like symptoms - not an unfamiliar scenario! He deteriorated very quickly. Soon more men are dying in the hospital and further afield of a fast onset flu like illness. Strangely it doesn't seem to affect women. It quickly becomes a pandemic around the world.
I very much enjoy reading this type of apocalyptic/post apocalyptic book. This was slightly different in that only men were affected which changed the whole dynamic of society. Large sections of society which were male dominated started to fall apart - government, armies, police, surgeons right down to electricians and car mechanics. As men died, women stepped up to fill the gaps.

Although I enjoyed the story and the basic idea, I really didn't get on with the structure of the book. This isn't a standard telling of events but is written from the point of view of different people within the events - Dawn in government, Amanda the A & E doctor, Catherine in London, the men on board a ship off Iceland, the American journalist, the Scottish farmer and so on. In fact there were so many different points of view that I really struggled with the continuity of this book. Although the chapters were clearly labelled - the person, their location and the number of days into the pandemic - I found it difficult to keep track of exactly what was going on in each person's story. I found that this became very disjointed and the story really didn't flow well. Don't get me wrong, I do like stories which look at things from different characters points of view but there were just too many of them. With hindsight it may have been better if I had written my own character list and a short precis of their story as the story went along. However that is not how I like to read a book.
I also had a couple of niggles about the actual nature of the virus. People now know an awful lot more about viruses, their structure, their death rates and so on than they did before the start of 2020. There were certain aspects of this virus and the whole story which didn't quite ring true.
This was an interesting book but it was one that I found difficult to settle into and enjoy. The disjointed style just didn't suit me.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

The summary of this book drew me, mainly as its primarily set in Glasgow and although its September 2020 I did actually want to read about a pandemic. It's 2025 and a man comes into A&E in Glasgow and dies almost instantly.  Then more men keep dying until it's obvious that whatever is happening is only affecting men.   Each chapter of the book is a woman's story and describes how the pandemic affects her as it ravages the world.  Some characters you get to follow their full experiences and some you only get a snapshot into their experiences.  It could sometimes take a minute to realise which person the chapter was about but it does work really well though as you do feel emotionally attached to some of the women and indifferent to others.  

What I wasn't quite prepared for was the consistent crying I would do while reading it.  I'm not sure if it was due to the writing but maybe as I'm the mother of one son it felt very personal.  It reminded me of The Power by Naomi Alderman but where that book pitted men and women against each other this book highlighted the sheer anguish the women felt losing the men that they loved.  It's truly heart breaking but does give hope as well.
I enjoyed this book immensely and would definitely recommend it.

It's Glasgow 2025 and a doctor is puzzled over a handful of unexplained deaths in her A&E department. All men. All with the same symptoms. And all dead in 48 hours.
Then more cases are reported. And not just in Scotland. Dismissed as coincidences, ignored until it's too late, the 'plague' as it comes to be known sweeps through the global population in a matter of months, with a survival rate of 1 in 10 for men. And 10 out of 10 for women...

I love a good apocalyptic novel, but even I found this ran a bit close to the bone occasionally. It's hard to believe that this was written pre COVID-19, as Sweeney-Baird describes many of the social distancing approaches and attitudes displayed we are currently experiencing in real life. The almost extinction of men is an interesting premise for a novel, and Sweeney-Baird effectively explores what a world would look like and more importantly, what it would feel like to live in for both men and women.

Not for those of a nervous disposition, but I loved it!

Christina Sweeney-Baird says she started to write this book in 2018 if so she had a good crystal ball, Storey of a virus that comes from animals but only kills men the book is a mix of horror, sadness and feminist ideal of a better world maybe. The book does contain a few too many similarities to the current COVID-19 situation for me to believe it is not based on current position sorry but thats a fact. Still a good read and at any time other than now it would be really good.

3.75 stars

It's another plague book! A few authors are releasing books this year regarding pandemics which were clearly written before covid-19 made an appearance. Something must have been in the water last year!

<i>The End of Men</i> has an interesting premise: a new flu-like virus appears in Scotland and only causes illness in men. It also has a significantly high mortality rate, with most men who contract it dying within 2 days. Women can be asymptomatic carriers and so it soon spreads FAST. The world as we know it ends and women (with the odd immune man) rebuild society.

The End of Men does not solely focus on the spread of the virus and the search for the cure. As a result, there is little scientific basis or explanation of why the virus is so infectious and deadly. There was some explanation, but it didn't wholly make sense to me and I did not find it convincing. That being said, the likelihood of such a virus occurring is pretty much nil, so I will let that slide.

The book is divided into sections which focus on different stages of the pandemic and its consequences. For example, survival and rebuilding. I like the way Sweeney-Baird thought of the aftermath such a devastating virus would have on society and on various economic sectors in society. I also liked the imaginative ways proposed to solve these issues.

The main thing that held me back in the book is the multiple POVs used, some only used for one small chapter. The high number of narratives had be confused at points and I couldn't remember who had lost whom, what everyone did, what they were trying to do to survive etc. I think that is the POVs had been reduced, it would have been much easier to follow. This could easily have been done through the social anthropologist character and the experiences of some of the women relayed through her work, which Sweeney-Baird did anyway.