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

If you had read The End of Men a few years ago you'd likely have laughed at the absurdity of the premise. Now in 2020, this book hits differently. It's eerily relevant and hits a mark you didn't even know needed hitting. Christina Sweeney-Baird has created a relevant, gripping and compelling read.

I came across this book on Twitter and immediately pre-ordered it, however I also requested it on Netgalley and was lucky enough to be approved for an ARC.
I must start by saying that this is hands down my favourite book this year, and most definitely top 10 ever. I read it in two days, and it only took me so long because I was trying to pace myself and not rush it. I got so absorbed by the story that I would not hear my husband talking to me. I went to bed thinking about the events taking place and woke up ready to read on and find out more.
Reading a book about a global pandemic while we are living one might seem too depressing to consider, but this book had the opposite effect. No matter how bad things are now, they are not as terrifying and as world ending as the ones in this book. It helps with perspective.
In this book a deadly virus is killing almost all the men in the world – with 97% fatality rate, while the women are asymptomatic carriers. The virus spreads quickly and lives outside hosts for a long time, thus becoming difficult to control. The book starts shortly before the outbreak of this virus in Scotland, but the situation quickly escalates and spirals out of control around the world.
The book is written like a record of different people’s experiences throughout and after the four-year pandemic, in different countries around the globe. I absolutely loved the format. I became very attached to Catherine and was heartbroken to read about her loss; Amanda who was a force of nature to be reckoned with and she is someone I would like to have as a friend; Elizabeth was like a breath of fresh air trying to keep everyone positive and others.
The author thought very carefully about the geo-political implications of such a deadly virus and she made a fantastic job explaining why certain events happened the way they did and how the world moved on. The impact of this virus on women, the immune men, the trans men and the trans women, the gay and the straight people was discussed and analysed as well. This book reads like a record and in my opinion, this makes it even more powerful.

The End Of Men

What a timely book. I was interested to read the foreword as this book was wrote prior to Coronavirus and then released into a very different world to the one it was wrote in.

I was half terrified reading this book...because we can now see how easy these things could come to pass and half relieved, as however bad the virus we are currently dealing with is...its not The Plague.

The indictment of pandemic control and the governments shambolic handling of a pandemic is particularly timely. Being an island ...everyone is aware that if flights had been stopped quicker, if the powers that be has acted quicker then it could easily have been contained.

The End Of Men shows us this and with even more deadly and life changing consequences.

I cried alot reading this book. I particularly loved Amanda and Catherine and hated Lisa Michael's with a passion I didn't know possible from what little we saw of her.

It took me a few chapters to get used to the way the story was told...it jumps between characters and situations and you often don't come back to them. At first I struggled but then I adored it...I wanted the different perspectives and if some were more interesting than others...that was also fine because the pieces made up the whole picture.

Had I read this last year...I may have said something along the lines of how it was far fetched because I am sure the government would handle a pandemic better. Unfortunately in 2020 we know that's not the case and its luck rather than judgement that has seen to it that we are seemingly containing it to some degree.

However because of the time that we are reading it in...it is hard and painful reading...it felt all too real.

The writing is exquisite...with so many strands they were wound together beautifully and I couldn't recommend this book more. It scared me, but it also made me really feel and I have been thinking of the people we have lost due to covid since I have finished it and the fractured families and the different world. It's very scary when a dystopian thriller feels very real but also very humbling. I think it's amazing how real the author made it before it was real...it shows an innate understanding of humanity and I am very impressed.

Will definitely be reading more books by this highly talent author.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very prescient book given the times we are living through. Had me gripped from beginning to end, not only because of some of the similarities with today's situation but also because of the imagination of what could happen and how the world would evolve.

What a book to read right now! Spookily correct in some places, this one really hit home for me and kept me turning pages late into the night. Enjoyable and well thought out.

The shorter chapters were great at keeping attention and pages turning. Some of the characters were a bit underwritten causing some confusion, but altogether this was a great read.

Well, talk about winning the topicality jackpot! Sweeney-Baird talks about writing this in 2018 before Covid-19, a speculative story about the sudden eruption of a viral pandemic but here one which only affects men and which has a huge mortality rate... In a way, though, reading this when the fiction has become unnervingly close to our realities also serves to undermine the book since the sensationalism is made all the clearer.

Admittedly, the virus in the book has about a 90% mortality rate for men but even so the reactions of people are so swift and so extreme: by Day 8 people are evacuating London, by Day 14 NHS doctors are refusing to go in to work, the army are driving ambulances and food delivery trucks, at Day 25 a reputable newspaper leader is prophesying the end of the world...

This can't help but be an interesting read but to be honest not much actually happens and the mini-stories mean that we don't get attached to any of the characters. The speculation of how the 'new' world will be run by women makes some interesting predictions: China becomes a republic because there's no military to repress rebellion, military wives are conscripted into the army (why not just any women?), same-sex dating apps make millions.

Interesting, undoubtedly, but as we've found in real life, the changes brought about by pandemic may be less sensational and more micro than the grand developments in the book.

This novel is eerily, spookily prescient. Written long before the 2020 coronavirus outbreak it envisages a pandemic that only affects men. But the author gets so many things absolutely right, the flailing incompetence of the British government (sadly), the desperate scrabble for a vaccine. It so hard not to read this book through the lens of everything that is happening in the world right now and your tolerance for a fictional pandemic may depend on how strongly you have been affected by the real one. But for me despite the pain and loss in this book it felt hopeful in a strange way. Massive societal change has come out of traumatic events before (women working due to the world wars) and it felt interesting to think about how the fictional pandemic reshapes how the world works, sometimes for the better. Is it too optimistic to hope that life could mirror art?

I wasn’t sure about this book as it’s about a pandemic and I read it during a pandemic. It was way better than I expected, it had me hooked. This is a pandemic that effects men which was interesting. I really liked how it had multiple POV from different countries so we could see the different perspectives of the disease. I sometimes found it a little hard to follow with the switching points of view but once I got use to it, I really enjoyed it.
There were times when I was a little confused. The writing style was okay, I found it easy to read. The characters were okay, some I preferred over others but I liked the diversity of the characters.
Overall I liked this book but I’m not sure I chose the correct time to read the book.

I wasn't sure that I'd get on with this when I first picked it up (so to speak as it is on my Kindle) but I soon found myself pretty much gripped by this incredibly timely novel about a global pandemic.

The writer introduces us to a good cross-section of various societies who are affected by the pandemic and she slowly develops the theme into one where men are all but wiped out. From time to time I did find that I wasn't too clear exactly who was "speaking" as I felt that the characters mostly had similar voices but that is a minor niggle in an otherwise very accomplished, prescient and fascinating novel.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.