Written by: P.D. James, 1992
Instrument of the Apocalypse: Unexplained global infertility epidemic.
Summary: Late in the twenty-first century, men’s sperm counts suddenly and inexplicably plummet, and as a result the human race is dying out… until unassuming Oxford don Theo Faron unexpectedly finds himself acting as protector of the first woman to become pregnant in a generation.
On Screen: Although certain liberties were taken with the text, the 2006 film adaptation starring Clive Owen, Michael Caine, and Julianne Moore is one of those rare instances in which the movie is actually better than the book that inspired it.
Quote:
Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being born on earth was killed in a pub brawl in a suburb of Buenos Aires, aged twenty-five years, two months and twelve days.