XX - The History of Mankind is an interesting sci-fi proposal by the German writer Eva Laurenson. A really ambitious idea whose execution is great, around the possibility of becoming extinct due to an illness that makes women clone themselves, eliminating the possibility of giving birth to male individuals.

The first expedition to Mars has returned to Earth; one of the female astronauts is mysteriously pregnant. While there are no data about who is the parent, as it is supposed to be among the crew of the mission; and when the public is aware of the news, the opinion gets divided between the extremes.
The reality is much more complicated, as a new virus has been spread among the crew, infecting the whole population in a matter of months. As a consequence, many women are experiencing pregnancies, but with a complicated condition: their new daughters are basically clones of themselves, meaning that at some point the population will lose the Y chromosome, leading to a population composed exclusively of female individuals. A small set of people seems to be immune.

While the plot is super interesting, I feel the pace around the central section becomes too slow, especially because it puts the spotlight more on the characters' individual lives. The dilemma shown by Laurenson about if freedom should be respected over the general interest is a great theme, and the setting works marvel at it.

With an open ending, I could see a sequel, as it could be continued with the utopia/dystopia created after the events in book one. A story with potential, and that makes me excited to see what more Laurenson is able to do.