The End of Men

By: Christina Sweeney-Baird

Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Aysha Kala, Denica Fairman, Penelope Rawlins, Debra Michaels, Julia Locascio, Sasha Alexis, Robert Bradley, Sara Lynam, Rebecca Perfect, William Hope

"The End of Men is a fiercely intelligent page-turner, an eerily prescient novel, at once thoughtful and highly emotive." (Paula Hawkins, number-one internationally best-selling author of The Girl on the Train)

Set in a world where a virus stalks our male population, The End of Men is an electrifying and unforgettable debut from a remarkable new talent that asks: What would our world truly look like without men?

Only men carry the virus. Only women can save us all.

The year is 2025, and a mysterious virus has broken out in Scotland - a lethal illness that seems to affect only men. When Dr. Amanda MacLean reports this phenomenon, she is dismissed as hysterical. By the time her warning is heeded, it is too late. The virus becomes a global pandemic - and a political one. The victims are all men. The world becomes alien - a women's world.

What follows is the immersive account of the women who have been left to deal with the virus' consequences, told through first-person narratives. Dr. MacLean; Catherine, a social historian determined to document the human stories behind the "male plague"; intelligence analyst Dawn, tasked with helping the government forge a new society; and Elizabeth, one of many scientists desperately working to develop a vaccine. Through these women and others, we see the uncountable ways the absence of men has changed society, from the personal - the loss of husbands and sons - to the political - the changes in the workforce, fertility, and the meaning of family.

In The End of Men, Christina Sweeney-Baird turns the unimaginable into the unforgettable.

©2021 Christina Sweeney-Baird (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of The Wall Street Journal's Best Science Fiction Books of the Year

“[A] chilling dystopian debut thriller...Sweeney-Baird’s look inside the heads of these and other shocked, desperate characters and her portrait of a bizarre new world are both thought- and fear-provoking. Readers will either wolf this down or elect to stay miles away from it, but controversy moves titles off the shelf. A top choice.” (Booklist, starred review)

"Philosophically sweeping and emotionally intimate.... [The] personal politics and gender dynamics are spot-on, and readers will feel connected to the main characters’ struggles and resilience. Sweeney-Baird is a writer to watch.” (Publishers Weekly)

"So much speculative fiction amounts to nothing more than just that: idle what-iffing, spitballed at the reader with little conviction and even less imagination. But The End of Men, like only a very few novels published since The Handmaid's Tale - think Naomi Alderman's The Power, think Children of Men by P D James - builds an alternate reality so persuasive, so confident, that it soon evolves from intriguing fiction to you-are-there docudrama, as vivid as Max Brooks' World War Z. Part parable, part thriller, and altogether provocative, this is the stuff that classics are made of." (AJ Finn, New York Times best-selling author of The Woman in the Window)

WOW! The timing is perfect!

This is a masterpiece. Loved every second of it!
A horrific pandemic that almost destroys the world! Told from the point of view of different members of society, some in political power and others in the medical field and one VERY brave journalist who makes people take notice after a heroic Emergency Room Dr is ignored while trying to raise the alarm.
This novel really makes you think about our male dominated society and the resilience of women.
All the narration was top notch too. Spot on.
Two thumbs up!

Very good story with societal observations

I really enjoyed this story and performance, I thought it was gripping, well written and compelling. To think of the loss and sadness and the way the world would change for the worse and also for the better without men was a really interesting journey. I thought the author touched on so many important societal issues and those of the human condition in a very poignant way. I really enjoyed this book.

Cautionary tale

The End Of Men was an entertaining road trip listen for my husband and me. That this was written pre-pandemic upped the squirm factor as we reflected on miraculous covid vaccination developments but pondered the realities of future viral outbreaks amid global unpreparedness and unwillingness to cooperate.

Amazing.

One of my new favorite books. This is beautifully written, incredibly emotional, and has really touched me.

Loved it!!

In a post COVID-19 world, the storyline still has meaning, and works for the times we are living in.

If you are guy hold on and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

It was a good listen and the performers were great. The storyline was good, but there were parts that just seem somewhat questionable. If you want a good listen overall this is good.

Fun story, sometimes a little hard to follow

Too many first person voices. If they kept the same speaker, it would have been impossible to keep track. As it was, it was fine and flowed well. Overall a fun listen.

Timely

This was such a great listen! The story was a great and varied as the narration. I was fascinated by so many aspects and possibilities of what happens during a pandemic.

Very Clever

I loved the premise of this book but I had not idea it would be so well thought out, and well written. I could write the word 'clever' over and over and it would not be enough.

Great performance

I couldn't stop listening to this book. Usually I fall asleep while listening to books NOT this one
The whole cast were awsome.