The End of Men

It is November 2025 and Dr Amanda MacLean is working a shift in A&E at a Glasgow hospital when she observes a number of male patients with high temperatures attending. Shortly afterwards the men are dead. This new virus only affects men but women are carriers. A small percentage of the male population is immune but 90 percent will die unless a vaccine is found - quickly.

Each chapter of the novel shows an aspect of the story through the eyes of one person including Amanda, Elizabeth (an American scientist who relocates to the UK to work on a vaccine solution), Catherine (an anthropologist who is documenting stories about the Plague), Lisa (a Canadian looking for a vaccine) and Dawn (British Intelligence Service). The titles of each section of the novel summarise the effect of the Plague on the world - Before, Outbreak, Panic, Despair, Survival, Recovery, Strength, Adaption and Remembrance.

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird is largely about relationships as women come to terms with the reality that they may lose their menfolk - husbands, sons, fathers. It is about coping with grief (with different people coping in different ways); adapting to an entirely different environment including the need for women to take over roles previously held by men; gender inequality as well as attempts to find a cure. A note from the author at the front of the book states that much of this work was written before the current pandemic finishing the first draft in mid 2019. An interesting novel to read in these challenging times.