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Sep 06, 2010

Joella rated it:

Epitaph Road just came out March 23, 2010. I read this was a good book to read while waiting for Mockingjay to come out in August. They were right. This book is amazing! It has the futuristic dystopia that Hunger Games has, but with a very different spin.

Basically Kellen is a boy born after what is called Elisha's Bear. Elisha's Bear is an event that happened on August 8, 2067 where most of the world's populations of males were killed. Now there are about 13 girls f More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2010

Anila rated it:

Yeah, so I'm going to spoil the hell out of this book; but for good reason, and you should read the spoilers even if you haven't read the book because it might save you a few hours.

This was supposed to be my counterpoint to The Handmaid's Tale for a big project on gender in dystopian science fiction. Unfortunately it is only today, four days after turning in said project, that I found via a review of this book the one I should have read instead: The Gate To Women's Country by More...

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

Carol rated it:

Men are practically extinct and women rule the world. In the year 2097, teenager Kellen Dent is an object of great curiosity as one of the few young men in Seattle. He lives a fairly privileged life as his mother holds a high position in the PAC government that now runs the United States. Yet Kellen yearned to be with his father who lives the life of a loner and fisherman off in the north. When two new girls move into the apartment building, Kellen is forced to open his eyes and re-learn his his More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Lisa rated it:

Cashing in on the current yen for YA dystopic novels, Patneaude opens with an intriguing premise; A virulent plague sweeps the world (?) and 90+% of the male population is wiped out. Fast forward many years and you have a society that has managed to eradicate war, violent crime, reverse global warming, and restore social harmony. All those distinctly dark male proclivities have been tamed and are held in check by strict regulations and population control. So far, so good. But, sadly, that's w More...

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Jul 02, 2011

Brandy rated it:

TL;DR: didn't rock my socks but I can see the appeal, and I wish there had been more exploration of the social and political systems. Elements related to the title seem shoehorned in to give the plot a certain gravity, but are otherwise mostly irrelevant to the story.

Kellen is the one boy for every 13 girls, how the population ratio has been for the 30 years since the Elisha's Bear virus first struck, wiping out 97% of the male population. Now there's another Bear on the way, and it' More...

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Jul 01, 2011

Maggie rated it:

What is it with books disappointing me lately? Maybe I'm letting my expectations get too high. But seriously. Is it too much to ask that when an author ends up with a concept like this, they don't mess it up? O_o Fighting words, I know. And it sounds like this author actually makes a living from his writing, which ALWAYS impresses me. Clearly he's got a work ethic.

And yet. Considering the amount of positive reviews I'd read for this book, the writing was shockingly clumsy. There More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 10, 2011

Lindsay rated it:

I really really enjoyed this book. It is thought provoking without being preachy, short, yet plenty long, had a good amount of movement and a twist I thought I figured out, but was wrong. All elements of good entertainment.

So, if you read the description you know the premise is most of the men have been wiped off the earth by a virus and women rule the earth creating a near perfect society. As an adult, of course, I see that's not possible, but I understand the young adult mind-se More...

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Mar 19, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

Dystopia is not my genre of choice, but I picked this up because the author is coming to visit our school and the 7th grade is reading this book in preparation. Turns out it's not a classical dystopia, but a riff on utopia at a price, ala Lowry's The Giver. In this case, the price was the loss of 95% of the earth's men to a deadly plague. After they were gone, the earth was run much better by women, who decided to maintain the 5%/95% ratio of men to women. The loss is shown in the chapter headin More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Karen rated it:

August 7, 2067: The day Elisha's Bear roared out of the wilderness and decimated mankind. Two weeks laters later, 97% of the male human population on the planet was dead. Fast forward 30 years, where Kellen Dent lives with his mother and various other people in a large house in Seattle. He's unusual in this world as a male, but having a politically powerful scientist for a mother in a world controlled by women smooths the way in most situations. Kellen's father, who survived the original pla More...

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Feb 05, 2011

MaryBookSwarm rated it:

Then, I sat down with EPITAPH ROAD by David Patneaude (purchased) this afternoon. And finished it. (okay, it was a pretty slim book, as compared to many, so don't be too impressed.) The premise of this dytopian YA is that 97% of the male population is dead due to a viral outbreak. Women now rule the world--and keep the men under tight control. Men aren't allowed to take on important jobs. Instead, they're restricted to the non-essential type jobs. Plus, the male population is kept down to a More...

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Jan 29, 2011

Angie rated it:

I thought this book was really interesting. It is a smartly written book that looks at a world devastated by an act of terrorism - terrorism that is not known as terrorism by most of what is left of the world's population but was essentially an act of biowarfare. I found it an interesting study into whether the world was really better off after the act or before. Sure there wasn't the crime and the war from before, but you had this segment of the population (men) who were essentially second clas More...

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Sep 04, 2010

Michelle rated it:

What if women ruled the world? Would it be a better place or would war, corruption and politics just be different?

David Patneaude answers this question in a subtle and very straightforward way. Viewing the world through they eyes of one of the few male inhabitants left after an apocalyptic virus kills most others. The fact that this male is a teenager to boot only enhances the progression of the revelations.

The fact that Kellen was assumed to be an impressionable boy made More...

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Apr 26, 2010

Debbie rated it:

I've really become a fan of dystopia books and while predictable I really enjoyed this one. The book was paced nicely and the characters were all engaging. The book opens up with Kellen's father as a young boy first hearing about this plague that is wiping out almost every male it comes in contact with. He is out camping with his mother and sister and anxiously awaits to see if his father made it out of town before the plague hits. Then it switches to Kellen's point of view. I found it most More...

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Apr 23, 2010

Rachael rated it:

The year is 2097. Thirty years earlier, a mysterious disease called Elisha’s Bear wiped out 97% of males. Women took over to save the world from falling to ruin and gradually changed it for the better. Now there is no poverty, crime, or war. The environment is thriving and renewable energy is embraced. Women seem to have fixed every problem ever created by men. But where does that leave the men who survived, like fourteen-year-old Kellen Dent? He may not have been around for the first outbreak o More...

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Apr 19, 2010

Dracolibris rated it:

it is 2097 and Elisha's Bear, a virus that killed more than 95% of the planet's male population, has created a new future led by women. Kellen is one of the few males left and he lives in a world radically different than the one before the plague. Woman have diverted funds once spent on war towards sustainable energy, health care, education and research. There is very rarely any crime. And the ladies, well, the ones in charge, like it that way. That is why they have mandated that from now o More...

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Mar 08, 2010

Manda rated it:

What would you do if years ago a virus killed nearly the whole male population of the world? What if you were one of the few men left in a world of mostly women? What would you do if it was happening again? In Epitaph Road by David Patneaude, it is the year 2067. Woman outnumber men 19 to 1. Kellan Dent is one of the few men left, at only fourteen, he is not ready to take on his education, let alone a gender killing virus. When word gets out that there may be another outbreak of this virus, More...

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Jan 21, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

Kellen lives in the late 2000s. In 2067 his grandfather and a whopping majority of men the world over were wiped out by a virus afterwards referred to as "Elisha's Bear." Kellen's birth is fairly unusual in that he is a male born of a actual man (not a preselected sperm)and woman. He is used to being the center of attention. Because subsequent viruses have kept the male population of earth well in check, females either excited to be near him, curious, or regard him with open hostil More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 25, 2010

Julia rated it:

Read it in 2 sittings. It's a dark and quiet kind of mystery/adventure/thriller about a disturbing possible future. If you read the summary, you know that it begins in 2067 where a virus wipes out 97% of the men, boys (even babies) on the planet. This naturally causes huge social & political upheaval.

30 years later, women are running the world - and running it differently than men would have. There have been positive changes, but at the same time, the remaining men have fewer r More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Dee rated it:

Well...I think this deserves more than a 3-star rating, but I don't know that it's 4-star worthy. I gave it 4-stars because it held my attention while reading it.

This is a piece of dystopian literature set in the US in 2097. I think I was expecting more science fiction, but the whole premise of the book was more philosophical in nature. What would the world be like with women in charge. Twisted, evil women.

A few of the voices seem forced, but they were okay as a whole. I More...

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Jun 06, 2011

Jia rated it:

I liked this book, I really did. The concept of us ladies ruling the world and men being wiped out was what drew me in. I've been read a bunch of dystopians lately, and this one's concept fascinated me. But, I felt like I was watching the book, not really in it.
Kellen, Tia, and Sunday were teens that readers could relate to, but to an extent. I felt they were a bit bland. I wanted to know more about their personalities, what they were like. To be honest here, but More...

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Sep 11, 2009

Merrin rated it:

Have you read Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S. Tepper? Because I think she does what David Patneaude was trying to do, and does it a lot better.

So a virus they name Elisha's Bear comes through in August of 2067 and wipes out 98% of the world's male population. This is the world that Kellen Dent grows up in. Thirty years after the first devastating outbreak, a new rumored outbreak threatens Kellen's father. In his attempts to warn his father and save his life, Kellen discovers tr More...

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Apr 01, 2011

Penny rated it:

I smiled when I read the premise of this book. In 2067 a world-wide virus wipes out almost all of the male population. With women totally in charge war ceases, crime is eliminated, the environment changes. On several occasions I have laughed with my female friends "if women were in charge the world would be a better place." This book, written by a man, seems to agree.

And yet, as I read, I realized the severe restrictions placed on the remaining male population in this new More...

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May 17, 2011

Stacey rated it:

Epitaph road was a good book, but I'm not going to rave about it just because it was a good story. It's a futuristic sci-fi like story that takes a spin on biological warfare, but it's close enough in the future to make it hit home with the reality of the possibility. Basically, a virus is released that only attacks the y chromosome, and thus kills all males in a quick, painful death. With it, 97% of the male population dies, and order and peace come. Everyone rejoices the new, strict leadership More...

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Apr 16, 2010

Karin rated it:

It’s been thirty years since the first plague swept through the world, killing the majority of the males on the planet. Being the only ones left to put the world back together, the women become the leaders of the world and the people with the most influence in society. Women make up 97% of the population. In the world they create, crime goes down, prisons empty, and the world becomes a more peaceful place to live. It is clear the men didn’t know what they were doing and because of that, the o More...

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Oct 12, 2011

Julia rated it:

Epitaph Road is an excellent dystopian book told from a male perspective. In many ways this is the most realistic dystopian book I’ve read. In one way it is completely unrealistic...I didn’t completely buy that women would be so content to live without men.

Welcome to the year 2067 when a world-wide plague has almost completely wiped out the male population. Over the years the plague, Alisha’s Bear, continues to creep up wiping out more males. During this time crime has halted. W More...

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Dec 28, 2010

Courtney rated it:

An interesting premise: the vast majority of men on the planet have been killed by a particularly fast-spreading virus. The remaining population bands together and creates a new world, free from war and violence. Prior to the disease, humanity appears to have been on the brink of collapse, so things are better now, right? The few men that are allowed to exist can only hold jobs where they will not be considered a threat to anyone and are beholden to much higher standards simply to be a part of s More...

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Aug 19, 2010

natercopia rated it:

2 and a half star for Epitaph Road, we really need a half star here oh dear goodreads. I picked this book among the featured tables in the library. The premise of the synopsis made me think about the possibilities that could happen, but before I start scaring myself deeper in my own thoughts..I quickly made my way out of the library with that book in my hand. Patneaude painted a dystopian world of tomorrow (in the future like 2097..a very looong time from now, phew) where the population of man i More...

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Apr 21, 2010

Kirby rated it:

You don't expect a heart-stopping thriller to make you think, but this book does! Though I kid around that the world would be a different place with women completely in charge, Dave Patneaude's book reminds us that some women are just as horrible as some men! In a near-future world where men are in the minority because of a horrible epidemic, Kellen is coming of age. He's your average 14 year old, loving baseball and being outdoors and experiencing his first crushes -- but he also stumbles onto More...

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Oct 01, 2010

Jackie rated it:

A virus named Elisha's Bear has wiped out 97% of the male population in 2067. Flash forward to 2097, where the world is run exclusively by females. There's no war, no crime, no boundaries, or nuclear weapons. Seem to good to be true?...well, it is.

Epitaph Road is a squirmy, creepy little tale of one woman's fanatical,diabolical scheme to empower women and turn the world upside down. Fourteen year-old Kellen Winters, along with his friends, Tia and Sunday, set out to find Kellen's da More...

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May 20, 2011

Miste rated it:

I was torn between "it was okay" and "didn't like it" but ultimately had to go with the latter, because I really didn't like it. Post-apocalyptic story where most all the men in the world die from some disease that only makes them die. Then of course because women are ruling the world all the bad things in the old world like war, poverty, hunger, etc. just go away because of course women are just more benevolent and not power hungry like me. Weird thing is, this book is wr More...

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