When I read the summary of this book , I was very interested as the story was pretty recognisable from the pandemic that we are currently living through. This book is different though. It’s not only a story about a pandemic but also about humanity and life in general. The women in this book are the cure to the virus of the men. Such a brilliant idea.
The writings style was in my opinion very good. Not too overflowery and not normal. It is pretty unique and explains loads in powerful words. My only problem was with the characters as they didn’t seem alive for me. It felt as if the plot was dragging the characters to certain places instead of letting the reader see how it is that things happen. Some of the character’s choices were also weird and not explained.
The pace of this book was pretty fast and I appreciated that as I was scared the book would take a long time to arrive at a certain point. So instead of waiting until the drama was getting big, the action scenes came in unexpected times. And that really helps the reader to continue reading to see what else this novel is getting at.
I would for sure recommend this book to people that are into virus’s and science fiction.

What a novel to have written and have published in the covid-19 era. Clearly this was devised and written pre-2020...however I'd like to doff my cap to the author because what an imagination! The End of Men is an excellently written highly plausible (as we now know!) look at how fast a virus can spread around the globe and ultimately how useless governments - and us humans - are in response to it. I thoroughly enjoyed this look at the devastating consequences a virus can have on our society and how plausible the central female characters reacted to it. It's pacy and brilliantly written. Recommend.

I loved this book! Read in one sitting, even with the covid context it really pulled me in. Reads a little like world war z but more drama. Well written I would love to try more from this author!

I loved the concept of this book, and it felt creepily timely given the global pandemic we are now living through. At times uncomfortable to read, given current events, and yet also given this I found it even more fascinating to consider how a virus like this CAN infiltrate and tip the whole world off balance. I found myself absorbed by the idea in particular, I imagine it will get people talking - a great read.

A compelling read made all the more so given the world we currently live in.

Throughout this book (which is a fantastic read) I was torn between the story and the references and language that felt like they may have been added in on an edit after the pandemic took hold (an example being social distancing being a key phrase that felt like it came about as part of Covid19).

For me, whilst this is an obvious thing to do to make the book even more relatable and relevant it also made it more uncomfortable as at times it seemed to almost take advantage of the world we find ourselves in.

That said, as a novel the book stands on its own merit as well written, well researched, excellently characterised and addictive to read.

A great counterpart to novels where women are the ones subjugated and used for their reproductive capabilities!.

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and HarperCollins UK for the eARC

Oh my goodness. That was intense! It is absolutely incredible that this was written in a pre-Covid world but managed to get so many details right. The fact that this novel was so close to the current pandemic made it even more frightening. The author said it started as a thought-experiment but it has now become a terrifying reality. I was continually stunned throughout the book by the things Christina Sweeney-Baird was able to predict, and also intrigued by ideas that were implemented in her novel but have not (yet) been implemented in the real world.

If Covid 19 had never happened, I think this book would have been interesting but so unlikely that it would seem silly instead of the nightmare that unfolds between it's pages.

I initially thought I would get confused as each chapter is told by alternating characters, and I was worried I would mix them up, but this didn't happen at all as each voice was so authentic.

I absolutely loved this book and raced through it in less than a day! I would recommend it to everyone but particularly those who enjoy fast paced thrillers, and The Power by Naomi Alderman and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez

A shockingly accurate (given the current pandemic) “end of the world” novel that gave me goosebumps. Set in a future not too far from our present, Sweeny-Baird charts the devastation the deadly “Male Plague” virus through the perspectives of multiple woman. I loved the differing points of view and how these women were able to survive while facing unimaginable grief and loss.
The political discussions that take place later in the novel we’re particularly interesting to me, as well as the various newspaper articles which chronicled the events as they unfolded.
If you enjoy novels that really make you think while also giving you the chills, this one is for you!

I would like to thank Harper Collins UK for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an unbiased and honest review!

A difficult read in the current climate, but a thrilling, terrifying, and desperately sad book of a
global pandemic which kills only men. Read it right now or save it for a calmer world in the future. I’d be amazed if it wasn’t made into a film in the future. It’s like looking at our current situation in a parallel universe.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"You always assume that the people in power will know what to do. Surely, they’ve all got it figured out but I don’t think anyone knows what to do. Nothing like this has ever happened. We’re all blindly stumbling around in the dark and none of us knows a thing."

It must be jarring to have written such an apt account of pandemic before the world had ever heard of Covid 19, sometimes The End of Men mirrors the real life events so closely that it's hard to remember that this is a work of fiction. Luckily the world was spared an epidemic of this proportion, and the women in this book bravely look ahead to a brand new economic and social future instead of clinging to the norms of the past.

I'm rarely a fan of too many shifting narrators but in this case I think the author gets it right telling a story in small snapshots, flitting from one character to another to tell the global tale of pandemic. There are understandably a host of different perspectives ranging from doctors to scientists to live in nannies but each paints a picture of a world in chaos on the path to rebuild. Things began to lose focus at the end for me as maybe there was an attempt to address too many far reaching details but on the whole this was a well written and certainly memorable book.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been interested in reading this book, but the relevance to our current situation inspired me to give it a try, and I'm glad!
A deadly pandemic originating in Glasgow rapidly spreads around the world with devastating consequences. 95% of men who contract the disease die, while women can carry the disease but are asymptomatic. The book follows the stories of several women throughout the course of the four years or so from the start of the pandemic. It was fascinating to explore the events that unfolded from the different perspectives - the doctor who discovered the first case of the virus but who was ignored when she tried to raise the alarm, scientists searching for a vaccine, bereaved wives and mothers...
While heartbreaking at times, the book also offered a sense of hope in the strength and resilience of the characters experiencing a pandemic far, far worse than the current one.
The only thing that feels slightly strange is that it is set in 2025, and obviously if there was to be a pandemic in 2025, COVID-19 would be fresh in everyone's minds. It feels strange that it is not mentioned in the book (which it can't be because the book was written before this pandemic) and I think some of the responses would be different in 2025 because of the events of this year. Basically, it's set in a 2025 where COVID-19 hasn't happened, which feels slightly odd. but it doesn't stop it from being a gripping and fascinating read.

It is scary to think that this book was written before we faced the horrors of Covid-19.

A 'plague' breaks out somewhere in Scotland.

The twist....

It only affects the men.

Fast spreading and rapidly killing.

The disease in the beginning is given too much time to do damage before any professionals i.e. government, public health etc do anything.

The novel from the get go is eerie, more because of the similarities of what we're going through now but also for how detailed, how realistic it all is.

Told from numerous points of view, we get insight into the progression of the virus and just how it devastated people's lives in differing ways.

From wives losing husbands, sons.

Awful feelings of envy to the men that turn out to be immune. Why should they get to live when others don't?

I digested this story slowly.

Choosing to read it over a few days rather than speeding through it.

Plenty of emotional moments where I felt I could cry. This isn't a happy ending kind of tale it is dark, but throughout it all there is an underlying sense of hope.

Hope for a cure, hope for a future.

And there is also a brilliant current of empowerment, I loved the portrayal of women, we are survivors (as Destiny's Child would say).

A thought provoking read, maybe the government could learn a thing or two from reading it.

Ultimately, I'm just so glad I had the chance to read The End of Men.

It's hard to believe that when the author wrote this book, none of has had ever heard of Covid 19. The premise of this book is terrifying, a virus which wipes out 90% of men but can be carried asymptomatically by women as well.

Told through different newspaper articles and the perspectives of women affected by the plague in many different ways, the writing is insightful, sensitive and packs an emotional punch. Some of the events the author describes have been eerily accurate from the pandemic experience we have been going through recently, but with the extreme severity of the plague in this book it is really heart-wrenching as fathers, husbands, brothers and sons are lost to the disease indiscriminately. The exploration of how the world would change in such a devastating situation was fascinating.

This is a powerful, heartbreaking, gripping read and I give it 5 out of 5.

A plague - a highly contagious disease - starts in Scotland and spreads across the world, but it kills only men and boys.
This clever and prescient novel is told through many narrators, and charts the spread of this disease and the issues it raises. Who should be offered fertility treatment? What does a world look like when it is designed around the needs of women? Who if anyone should profit from a vaccine?
Some stories run through the novel, for example Catherine who is the doctor who sees the original ‘Patient Zero’ but is disbelieved, and Maria, the journalist covering the pandemic. Others create a collage of experience: they can feel a bit disjointed but it makes for a nuanced story.
As we live through the Covid pandemic, it is hard to imagine that this world was once just in the author’s imagination.
I’d recommend this ambitious and clever novel - a true story that is sadly for our times.

Thanks for NetGalley for this review copy.

A fast-paced read which is about a deadly virus but it only kills men.

This is an interesting read and was written pre-COVID, but for me, just a little too close to reality right now and I found this difficult to read.

That’s not the fault of the author though and this is well-written.

This was such a good book, and not as hard to read as I thought it might be, considering Covid -19. In fact it makes the current pandemic seem like nothing to worry about at all.

As the above synopsis mentions, the virus begins in Scotland when men are dying from a mysterious, but deadly illness. Only one A&E doctor, Amanda Maclean, is concerned about it and tries desperately to inform the authorities, but to no avail. They just think she’s a hysterical woman overacting to a harmless virus. Little do they, and the rest of the world know, that it’s actually a devastating virus that is going to change the world forever! As the virus spreads the story is told by different women and a couple of men, around the world giving a devastating insight in to how the virus is affecting everyone.

I really enjoyed following these women’s stories through the worst aspects of the virus right through to the life after the virus. I loved the way the author showed all aspects of their emotions and how some of them coped, or didn’t cope with their personal situations. I kept putting myself in their situations thinking who I was most like, and how I would respond, not very well!

The characters are like the best were Amanda Maclean the A&E doctor in Scotland, Maria a Journalist in San Francisco, Dawn a civil servant in London, Elizabeth an American scientist based in London and Helen a wife and mother in Penrith in England.

At times the book reminded me of Station Eleven, in a good way though as I loved that book. It’s not as brutal or as creepy thank goodness, no weird prophet roaming around in this pandemic!! 😱

I definitely recommend this one if you enjoy dystopian novels.

The End of Men charts the rapid spread of a new virus across the world with cataclysmic consequences for the male population.

Though written in 2018, the events at the beginning of the book unfold in an eerily similar way to the events of earlier this year at times I found it hard to believe it wasn't written during the lockdown! The story unfolds through short chapters from multiple first person accounts (some seem to be diaries, others are articles and some seem conversational). I found the different voices to be very strong and the characterisation clear and well written. It is a diverse cast of characters, the majority of whom are women and I was particularly pleased that a trans-woman had a voice.

I found it a compelling read that had a light touch and explored lots of interesting ideas whilst retaining an element of equivocation. It made me think about how the lack of gender-parity in many work-spaces is foolhardy as well as unfair and about the responsibility of government; things I consider regularly, but it was interesting to see them discussed in this speculative manner.

I am a solo-mother by choice who conceived by a donor. So I found the discussion about elective parenthood and the right to have a family interesting, particularly (or possibly despite) it being a deeply personal subject for me.

It might feel a little too close to home to be reading about a global pandemic, during a global pandemic but I actually found it rather transporting to read about a situation much worse than our own! I am lucky to have been spared direct bereavement during the last few months and the spread of Covid-19 but I suppose that it might be a much harder read for anyone who might have been badly affected by the pandemic.

I found that the end tapered off a little, rather than going out with a bang which was a little disappointing. But, it was a really enjoyable and surprising overall. I highly recommend The End of Men for an easy read about difficult subject matter.

Thank you to Borough Press and Netgalley for eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down. It would have been an interesting read in 2019, but it is fascinating in 2020 to draw parallels between a fictional plot, and the awful reality of Covid 19. At times I found the story unbearably sad, but the book deals with some important and interesting issues, and there are moments of real humour. I hope this book finds a wide audience, and I will certainly be recommending it.

What an interesting idea and well put together novel. Obviously I feel for the author to be publishing a book she must have written some time ago in the middle of a global pandemic. (Though not one as serious as the one in the novel.) However it did not impact on my enjoyment and I very much enjoyed the parallels and differences. I didn't want to put it down and I was keen to find out what would happen.
So in the Christina Sweeney-Baird pandemic, men are the ones who die, and women are left behind, many of them grieving the loss of their sons partners, brothers, fathers etc.. I loved the concept and the way the author follow3ed certain characters, both ordinary women and those trying to find a vaccine.
It was interesting trying to imagine a world where women outnumber men by 9-1., and the book does this well. The author must have read the fabulous Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez , as I recognized some of the statistics and I really liked how she included them into the story..
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. It is touching, shocking and gripping. I would probably give it four and a half stars but I am rounding it up to five as I keep thinking about it. . I am certainly going to buy it for my 17 year old daughter when it is published.
Thank you to the author, the publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review #TheEndofMen

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Christina Sweeney-Baird for this advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review. While this novel could be described as somewhat dystopian, it's eerily relevant in today's world. Great insights and the short chapters kept me turning the pages quickly. Well written book.

In 2020 this book is shockingly relevant to what’s happening today. It felt so real. I couldn’t put it down and read it in just two days. Well written