A review by serendipitysbooks
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

 
The End of Men is the story of a highly contagious, fast-acting lethal plague. No, not Covid. This one kills only men, although women can be carriers. It’s set in the near future, from 2025-2031, from the day the plague is first suspected until after a vaccine is found and life is settling back into its new normal, one that still contains a host of challenges.
Given that this was written before Covid it is amazing how prescient parts of it are.

The story unfolds in nine main sections, starting with Before and Outbreak, travelling through Panic and Despair, then finishing with Adaptation and Remembrance. It is told from three main perspectives - a doctor who treats the first case, one of the scientists desperately searching for a vaccine, and a social anthropologist who documents the plague’s human stories. There are shorter sections from many more characters, plus a few newspaper articles and the like. All sections are in the first person, present tense which helps absorb the reader into the story, creating a real sense of immediacy. The variety of characters and their diverse geographic locations helps emphasise the global aspect of the plague, although sadly Africa and South America and large chunks of Asia don’t really feature.

I loved how all encompassing this novel was. We saw how the plague affected people at a personal level - men fearing they were going to die, women dealing with the loss of sons and husbands. But there’s also plenty of attention given to longer term national and international concerns, and fascinating questions are raised. How would society function when male dominated industries had no workers? What would it mean for the trans community? How could newborn baby boys be kept alive and at what emotional cost? Would such a pandemic spell the end of armed conflict? Would more women enter same-sex relationships?

The audio is excellent. The large cast of narrators and range of accents really brought the story alive, emphasised its global reach and helped differentiate the characters.

I was absorbed from beginning to end in this excellently envisioned piece of speculative fiction. So much food for thought. Highly recommend. 
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