Reviews

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

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mbenzz's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 Stars rounded up...

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The story was heartbreakingly sad and gripping, but about 3/4 of the way through, it started to lose steam.

My main issue with this book is SO many people are introduced only a few times that it was very difficult to remember who went with which story.

There was a US military spouse that had one short chapter, then was never mentioned again (which was a bummer cause I liked her). Many of the names are so basic, and interchangeable that I kept mixing people up (Amanda, Catherine, Elizabeth, Dawn). I would have to flip back to the last chapter they were mentioned to remember where we left off with them.

However, the bones of the story were excellent. A disease that only affects men, and completely decimates the earths male population? Super readable!

I thought it was interesting how the dynamic changed for the 1% of the surviving male population who were immune. Suddenly they found themselves in a WOMANS world. Men become such a rare sight that when they go out they find themselves constantly harassed and propositioned by women looking for male companionship. Women are in charge of major companies and world leaders are almost all female. It was interesting to read how the men handle having the shoe on the other foot (spoiler alert...not well, lol).

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book. As I said, the story does start to drag a bit, and could easily have been shaved down by 50-100 pages, but I’m glad I read it. It’s crazy how the author started this book in 2018 only to finish it at the beginning of a worldwide pandemic. What a strange thing to experience!

celtic67's review against another edition

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4.0

I don't know if it was advisable to read a book about a pandemic during a pandemic. But I did anyway and you know what I really enjoyed it. The writing and the story line were of a top quality and kept you turning the pages. Told through various perspectives in counties throughout the world. This is a pandemic that targets men and women are the hosts, The male survivors are treated like pariahs and find themselves the targets of sexual innuendo. It is a book where the norms of society? are turned on their head and women hold the reins of power. This is a pandemic that kills in a couple of days. It is a story of how society is destroyed as fabrics are destroyed and once a vaccine is found the cure is only the start of the story. Society is is in for a revision of previously held norms and faces a massive rebuild.

usharb's review against another edition

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4.0

i got this as a joke but it was weirdly entertaining

jenhurst's review against another edition

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3.0

I loved the beginning of the novel. It was a fun start, fast paced and a good apocalyptic thriller but once they got the vaccine the novel just kept going. I didn’t like the political commentary afterwards as much.
This is an interesting feminine take though.
I do think that if you like Blake crouch, the one or Michael Chricton you’ll like this

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

Pandemic novels during a pandemic are a bit much for some, but not for me. In The End of Men, Christina Sweeney-Baird, envisions a virus that strikes in 2025 and only kills males. The story switches perspectives many times to tell the full story and impact of this virus. It starts with an doctor working at a Scottish hospital who notices that several men have come in within 24 hours with what appears at first to be sepsis. They wind up dying. She raises the alarm the the hospital higher ups and the nation's health agencies, but is pretty much told to simmer down. Within days, it is apparent that it isn't just sepsis and that it is only impacting males. There are several characters that reoccur throughout the book, but we also have some one-off perspectives. The narrative style reminded me a bit of [b:World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War|8908|World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War|Max Brooks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528312647l/8908._SX50_.jpg|817]. Most narrators were females from from various disciplines, there was the aforementioned doctor, a CDC scientist, a journalist from the Washington Post, and more. It was interesting seeing how the author thought society would be impacted by a severe decrease in the population of men.

I recommend this one!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!