Buzzard

by Inez Ray

In 2086, corporations are monitoring fertility. Abortion is illegal. And the last woman alive who can perform the procedure is in hiding.

Seven years ago, midwife Mae Bastet was arrested for infanticide in the fractious Arizona Territory for providing health care to women in need. She was torn from her sons and sent to Buzzard—an experimental private prison deep in the Sonoran Desert, run by the paramilitary corporation Obsityan.

Desperate to reunite her family, Mae tries to keep her head down, swallow her prison-issued hormone supplements, and do her job as a glorified school nurse to Obsityan’s army of teenage drone pilots. But when mysterious, improbable pregnancies begin cropping up in her charges, she uncovers a web of secrets that has the power to destroy Obsityan. Mae must stay complicit in Obsityan’s crimes or hold fast to her midwife principles and risk never seeing her sons again.

Buzzard is a ferocious dystopian debut that traces the possible trajectory of our current political and technological reality—and the power of our deepest human bonds.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Feminism, Horror, LGBT

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2026

Reviews

[Alya · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨️ ARC REVIEW ✨️
Buzzard by Inez Ray
Publication date: September 22nd 2026

Thoughts
In all honesty I was hesitant going into this but it was absolutely phenomenal! If you enjoy dystopian reads then I urge you to give this debut a go! This book really needs a sequel and I truly hope we get one because it's just ughhh I can't even put into words how good this read; was again an experience in itself, it has you thinking, forces you to be hit with a harsh reality check of poverty and question of what if abortion becomes illegal? This read was up there with hitting me in my feels. The writing style was so good it was so raw which again played the part in the emotional part, the nurse who wanted to help any way she could. This read was truly something else both reading experience and plot wise! I was so invested to the point I felt like I was inside the pages myself ❤️‍🩹 highly recommend!

Plot Summary
Set in 2086, fertility is tightly controlled by corporations and abortion has been outlawed. Mae Bastet, a midwife once arrested for helping women, is imprisoned in a remote desert facility run by a powerful private company, where she’s forced to work under strict rules while longing to see her sons again. Trying to stay out of trouble, Mae keeps her head down, until a series of strange pregnancies among the girls in her care raises alarm. As she uncovers disturbing secrets about the corporation, she’s faced with an impossible choice: protect herself in the hope of reuniting with her family, or stand by her beliefs and risk losing them forever.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC

My Bookstagram

[Liana Gold]

Year 2086. Abortions are illegal, corporations monitoring fertility and a woman who can perform them is the last one alive & in hiding.

This dystopian debut should be on your list.





Many thanks to NetGalley, Bindery Books and the author, Inez Ray for an early copy.

Publication date: September 22, 2026

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Talk about a dystopia!

Abortion bans, private prisons, and paramilitaries are sadly becoming the norm here in the US, so technically, there was nothing new in this story. (Even the root cause of the mystery mentioned in the summary felt true to life concerning current events.) But the author managed to take those realities and weave a grimdark story that I couldn't stop reading.

I really liked the worldbuilding and the tidbits of history we get here and there. It was giving Panem (from The Hunger Games) meets a bit of The Children of Men and Civil War , with a fractured US where governments and corporations team up to prey on vulnerable citizens like children and the poor.

I liked that through Mae, we got to see different facets of this dystopian US as the narrative switched back and forth from the present to the past via narrative storytelling and interviews. The desert setting provided a Southwestern Gothic feel throughout the entire story that was very fitting. I wasn't expecting that, and that really upped my enjoyment with this novel.

While Mae might not be the easiest character to sympathize with (she's mean and bitter, understandably), I did end up sympathizing with her and Aeryn, Mae's teen patient. Being two different types of victims at the Obsityan prison gave us differing views of what might really be going on in this top-secret hell hole. Talk about the heart of darkness.

If you love dystopian stories, definitely check this one out.

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for this arc.

[CJ Alberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for work, a truly excellent near future dystopian novel that explores authority, freedom, autonomy, and how to break a fascist regime. This will be taught in schools one day

[Chris | Company Pants · Rating 5 out of 5]

Around the time that I was entering middle school, I noticed a hand-addressed letter in my family’s mailbox that had been sent from Planned Parenthood to my mother. At the time, I had only the most basic idea of what Planned Parenthood was and only an inkling of the services that they provide, but knew enough that I was curious as to why they were specifically reaching out to my mother.

And yet, when I asked her, I received one of those dismissive waves that only a parent can give when they are asked a question along the lines of, “how much money do you make?” A few days later, I saw that same envelope lying on the kitchen table and in a moment of teenage arrogance, decided to snoop. Inside was a letter from one of the directors thanking my mother for her thirty years as a monthly donor.

Neither of my parents had ever mentioned this monthly stipend that they bookmarked for an organization that was founded in the United States within a year of both of their respective births, not that their charity or their financial situation was something that they ever opened up to discussion. It wasn’t until years later that it dawned on me that their contributions preceded my own birth and their subsequent adoption of me by nearly twenty years.

In it’s most simplistic form, the heart of Inez Ray’s debut novel, Buzzard, is the story of a midwife named Mae Bastet who, upon our first real introduction to her, appears as a salty, reclusive, shamanistic sort of Obi-Wan Kenobi of healing hiding out on a small, undisclosed plot of land in the Eastern Sierra region of what we know today as California. But anyone who knows why a person would choose to isolate themselves in relative anonymous secrecy understands that it almost always comes paired with a lifetime of pain, guilt and fear.

The year is 2086 when we meet Mae and the United States no longer exists. Instead it has transitioned from it’s current state of being metaphorically fractured just below the surface to a literal state of being fractured into a collection of autonomous territories and land occupations controlled less by a series of governments and more so by the corporate entities that own the land and ultimately the people that reside on or above that land. It’s this reality that makes it all the more fitting that the quote that appears on Buzzard’s opening page is pulled from Roy Batty’s “Tears In The Rain” speech from 1982’s Blade Runner.

As the States fell in the years that pre-date our time with Buzzard, so did the laws in the various territories that assured legal safety for the medical practitioners that provided health care for women (including all forms of abortion), gender affirming care and other procedures and medical assistance deemed to be “immoral”. It’s an alarming vision of a very possible future given that in our own reality where the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022, thus ending nearly fifty years of the constitutional right to an abortion with thirteen states having already deemed the practice illegal within their state lines.

In brief snippets from the past, we learn that Mae was part of a small organization that provided all of these now illegal medical services which ultimately led to her incarceration under the charges of infanticide. After serving a handful of years in a decrepit prison, she was given the option to serve out the remainder of her sentence as part of an experimental program where, ironically due to her unique set of skills, she would be providing many of the same services that she had been imprisoned for to a squadron of orphaned children turned drone pilots as well as to that of her fellow inmates in the program.

I want to get something out of the way here about Buzzard before I continue. This was, by far, the most compelling story that I have read in a very long time. It’s characters all breathe, exist and act in ways that pull them directly off the page and render them into something that feels both familiar and obvious in the depths of their humanity. Despite the heroic nature of some aspects of this story, nobody involved stands alone as a hero. Nobody is completely innocent and every character is decidedly human; flawed, messy and beautiful.

Stories that investigate the ravages of a dystopian landscape more than often hold you at arm’s length, providing you with a protective distance between your own experience and that of the characters and their challenges. Inez expertly mines the human experience, particularly that of someone terrified to either give birth to their child or give up their child entirely and allows you sit in just just how uncomfortable and catastrophic those feelings and decisions are in the real world.

Early on in the story, at the site of the experimental facility in which Mae is serving out her sentence as a staff medical care provider, she meets a fourteen year old drone pilot named Aeryn. During Aeryn’s somewhat routine appointment, Mae discovers that the young girl is several months pregnant, a virtual impossibility given the hormone blockers, birth control and sperm reducers that the child drone pilots are forced to ingest daily. Protocol requires that Mae turn this child over to be “processed” and more than likely terminated, but something stops her.

What follows is a journey through a series of interludes that explore the past and the present and tie together the history of how Mae became the last known midwife standing with any knowledge of how to perform an abortion and how she came to be the last and only hope for Aeryn as the sheer weight of her unauthorized pregnancy threatens to consume her and any hope she has for a future outside the walls of the facility.

As it stands right now in September, this is the book that will define my year of reading in 2026 and I don’t see that being something that changes between now and the new year. At the same time, this was an extremely difficult read for me on an emotional level. As a man, I will never be able to approach a full comprehension of what it means to carry the life of another human, nor will I be able to fully understand the toll that it takes physically, mentally or emotionally to bring a life to a full term or to make the decision to give that child up through adoption or abortion.

That being said, I do understand the emotional and mental impact that occurs over a lifetime when you are yourself a child of adoption, as well as the weight of responsibility and care that come with being the partner of someone that gives birth to a child that you helped create. I recognize that there is no comparison to being the one that actually goes through the process of a pregnancy, but I have always felt that it has provided me with a different perspective when it comes to being a determined advocate for women, trans people and so many other marginalized and oppressed people’s basic rights to safe healthcare that centers around their needs.

I don’t know much about the girl that I only know today as my birth mother and I stress the word girl because from the very little that I do know about her, I know that she was of a very similar age to that of Aeryn from this story when she gave birth to me. Because of this, it became nearly impossible to separate the experience that Aeryn endures in the pages of Buzzard with that of the person responsible for my birth and who ultimately made the decision to put my care in the hands of others that she hoped would be able to provide a stable and loving life for me, which they very much did.

If anything, Buzzard is a warning, not of something specific that is definitely coming our way, but of just how easy it is for people to become entirely complacent about a few unspoken rules, a few laws or a few ways of life changing here and there before they morph into a complete overhaul of a system that doesn’t even attempt to hide that it only protects a chosen few at the very top of the heap while the many at the bottom become lost without their rights, adrift in a sea without a rowboat or a lighthouse to guide them back to shore.

In my opinion, this isn’t just an incredibly well-written and well-executed story by a writer that I am fascinated to read more from in the future, it is a monumentally important text that deserves to be shared. Inez has provided us the gift of a glimpse at one possible and potential future and hopefully, through others reading Buzzard, her words will also ignite a resistance or intensify an already existing one to things that are at play in our own reality that only serve to slowly strip us of everything that protects the most important aspect of our shared existence on this giant rock - our humanity.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart to Inez Ray, Bindery Books, Left Unread Books, Michael LaBorn and NetGalley for the gifted digital advanced reading copy of Buzzard.

[Nay Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mad Max x Handmaids Tale x Chain Gang All Stars.

This is a dystopian that follows the last woman alive who can perform abortions. She’s currently in a prison rehab…. For giving abortions.

The ownership of women’s bodies, corporate greed and destruction and a future we all fear is too close.

This book is the moment.

Incredible storytelling. A visual and visceral experience. Heart-wrenching. Gutting. A 2026 must read.

[Kayla T (kaylabobayla) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just might be this year’s most incredibly tough but incredibly important read.

Right up top, absolutely check your trigger warnings for this one.

This is a brilliant and terrifying cautionary tale for the US. In 2080, unregulated corporate empires have consolidated political and societal power. The air is poisonous clouds, the water is polluted, and the lucky employees are over medicated. Compromised authorities have ceded any semblance of control and corporations trample over individuals in their perpetual quest for higher profits, controlling their own employees healthcare decisions while monitoring around the clock. Children in particular have zero representation and no autonomy, especially among the poor.

The presentation itself clears a captivating and interesting path through the story. This nonlinear narrative is told through interviews and excerpts, right alongside flashbacks, and multiple POVs. I couldn’t put this down, even as my heart was breaking.

This was such a powerful read. Themes of inaction as a survival tool contrast with individual compliance leading to systemic abuse and the societal cost from such complacency.

Go in blind to get the full impact of every twist and reveal. Thank you to Inez Ray, Bindery Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Annotations&Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buzzard is dystopian fiction based on the systems we already recognize - the most unsettling kind.

In Inez Ray’s near-future America, fertility is monitored, abortion is illegal, and reproductive healthcare has become another method of corporate control. Mae Bastet, a midwife imprisoned for providing that care, is forced to navigate a system that demands both her compliance and her expertise. When she begins to understand what is happening to the young women around her, survival becomes inseparable from the question of what she is willing to risk for someone else.

What worked especially well for me was the way Ray connects reproductive autonomy to much larger systems of power. This is a story about bodily sovereignty, but it is also about privatization, incarceration, surveillance, labor, medical ethics, and the way human bodies become resources to be managed for someone else’s benefit.

Mae is also complicated. Her choices lie between protecting herself and her family, and honoring the responsibilities she feels toward the people in her care. That tension gives the novel much of its emotional weight. Resistance is rarely clean or uncomplicated. Sometimes it looks like refusing, sometimes like preserving knowledge. Sometimes it is simply choosing to care for another person inside a system designed to make that care dangerous.

I also appreciated Ray’s understanding of reproductive knowledge as a form of power. Midwifery and care work are central to the story rather than incidental background, and the novel repeatedly examines who gets to possess knowledge about bodies versus who is permitted to use it, and what happens when that knowledge threatens institutional control.

Buzzard is substantive speculative fiction. Its strongest moments come from the connections drawn between care, autonomy, power, and resistance.

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Bindery Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This isn’t science fiction, it’s science foretelling.

I’m not going to mince words. This one got to me in ways I didn’t anticipate. It’s a bleak future portrayed in Buzzard, and it’s one that isn’t far off from our present. I fully expect Buzzard to sit next to The Handmaid’s Tale in both narrative skill and as a statement against evil. It’s loud and it doesn't pull punches.

At first, you’re lulled into the futuristic setting in Buzzard. You think, this couldn’t possibly be my reality, it’s too far out there. Then, the absolute genius that is Inez Ray is, she leaves you the breadcrumbs. The little decisions, the tiny moves, and the subtle shifts that happened in today’s world to make this future a reality in hers. And fam, I am shook. It’s not just about fertility, it’s about the start of how powerful corporations and politicians chip away at personhood. Until you become a commodity. People as a service, there for the greater good.

When I say this needs to be required reading, it is not with exaggeration or hyperbole. This is not fiction. This is a warning. This is the chance to make a change. Before it’s too late.

Buzzard hits shelves on September 22. You’re going to want to read this, so do what you can to get yourself a copy whether that be with your local bookstore, the library, Libby, or however you consume your books. This is one you will not want to miss.

[Jaime Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This book is both shocking and filled with hope and humanity. In the distant 2080s, Mae, a midwife trained in both births and terminations, finds herself incarcerated and sent to the Buzzard prison as a child killer. This is a time when abortions are highly illegal, and she is separated from her two sons, who must fend for themselves as teenagers.

The story is skillfully crafted in two timeframes. The first timeframe takes us back to Mae’s time with Obsityan’s army of teenage pilots, where she encounters unexplained pregnancies while the future timeline depicts her as a fugitive and undergoing an interview with Sona, who can probably help her bring the truth to light. This all leads her on a journey to uncover a web of secrets.

The book delicately touches on the sensitive subject of abortions and manages to do so with a great conclusion and a tender ending. It is highly recommended.

[Gabby Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to start but saying that this review is purely subjective, it is in no way a reflection of how well the book is written. That being said, something about this book didn’t compel me. I loved the concept and I thought it was well written, with an incredibly important message.

That being said, a majority of the book felt like it was explaining more to me why I should agree with the narrative and ideals this book is discussing, which I already do, than world building. Because of that I felt lost in the world that was created. It is supposed to take place about 60 years from now and you can kind of infer how we got from now to 2086 in the book, but it almost felt like it was too futuristic. With the futuristic names and lack of explain action for the way the governments were being run and interacting with one another it became difficult for me to follow since I was constantly trying to orient myself in the world. This could be a reader problem though as I am autistic and struggle with world building.

I also felt that there were so many characters it felt hard to get too invested in any one outside of our FMC and just when I would feeling invested in her I’d be pulled into a different POV. So, this left me feeling not compelled or satisfied with the ending. Also, honestly, still a little confused about the ending.

Overall, I think this was a reader (myself) issue and not an issue with the book itself. While it wasn’t for me, I know this is absolutely going to be someone’s favorite book. So, if the concept entices you definitely pick it up! Thank you Bindery Books for the eARC

[Gosia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is based on advanced reader copy kindly provided by NetGalley.

I came into this book with great excitement. The premise was really strong. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to it—or at least it didn’t land for me at all. Even though some parts were quite interesting, I couldn’t fully get invested in the story, mainly because of three things:

First, the worldbuilding felt too shallow, especially for a dystopian setting. It would have added much more depth if we’d learned, even briefly, a bit more about the history that led to the world looking like this. Also, the story would benefit from more explaining. I felt like reading random names and phrases, without much of a context.

Second, the writing style felt too clinical. At times, it read more like political pamphlets or medical papers than a novel. For me, that’s wasted potential. With more emotional depth, especially in the characters, this could have worked much better. As it stands, I just didn’t feel connected to them or particularly invested in their fates.

Third, the timeline and structure were messy. The story constantly jumps between past and present, while also introducing multiple POVs and narrative styles. Instead of adding depth, it made the whole book feel chaotic. I think it would have benefited from fewer POVs—keeping the dual timeline but simplifying the perspective.

I do think the core idea is great, but the execution didn’t convince me.

[ughclaudiia · Rating 4 out of 5]

review of advanced copy received from Netgalley (thank you!!)

if 1984 had a queer cousin, who was in a situationship with the handmaid’s tale, this would be them.

inez ray’s buzzard was able to describe, in just 300 pages, what i fear our society might be headed to: capitalism on the monopoly of water*, women lack of rights over their own body and choice (✔️), men greed for power to no limit (also ✔️), the end of democracy and intergovernmental alliances, the ruling of totalitarianism, the annihilation of the self. the downfall of humanhood.

but don’t get confused about the time stamp. even though the book is set sixty years from now, this is a reality check on women's condition.

*fuck capitalism. fuck ai.

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking dystopia set post-climate collapse that feels scarily prescient. In a future where abortion is widely criminalized, Mae is a midwife with the rare know-how; which becomes pretty relevant when the company that bailed her out of jail and into corporate servitude experiences a slew of failures in its birth control program targetting teenage drone pilots.

The book gets very detailed and graphic about the abortion process, which was unexpectedly educational?? But also uncomfortable given the context, what with the two major abortion scenes featuring dubious consent to the procedure. Buzzard feels very intentional in provoking discomfort and rage without being too heavy-handed in its anticapitalist messaging, a trap that it could have easily fallen into with the iredeemable evil that is Obstityan, but manages to tightrope walk with Kaax and Mato's perspectives, which both diverged from and complemented Mae's central story. Her jaded altruism and chafing against the system, coupled with Kaax's desire to move up in said system and Mato's military servitude towards it, each bonded by the fact that the system was built to fuck them over. And it does!

Though I generally approach books with an open mind, I don't think anything could have prepared me for the groceries' worth in can of worms (privatized cities, terrorist groups, military bases, etc) that this book had. Definitely some perspectives that have challenged my own, but I think the beauty of fiction is that it lets you see into minds that aren't your own without any pressure to give a binary response.

The sci-fi aspects of this book were largely a backdrop to the social commentary and family drama, which I did expect coming into it, but the promise of drone pilots had me thinking there would be Some mecha action scenes. This is evidently not that type of book but I wouldnt complain if we got a little more aerial fight scenes over *checks notes* yet another flashback-in-a-flashback (some were justified, others just dragged on a story that took days in real time but felt like months in the telling)... good to keep in mind for those partially drawn in by the drone pilot mention in the summary (*cough*like me*cough*).

An imaginative thought exercise that was stressful in every way but gratifyingly unrelentjng. A unique spin on climate fiction that probes the state of healthcare and human agency in a fractured world.

Thank you to Bindery and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[ᒚᘿSS ᒍᗩY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it’s troubling to read a fictional book that feels a little too close to reality. Buzzard is one of those books. It’s confronting, uncomfortable and at times genuinely unsettling, but that’s exactly why it pulled me in.

What I really loved was how the dystopia doesn’t immediately feel impossible. You start off thinking, okay, this is far enough removed from reality that I can safely read this as fiction. But as the story unfolds, the distance between its world and ours starts to shrink.

And that’s where this book really got me.

It isn’t simply about fertility or reproductive control. There’s a much bigger conversation here about power, ownership and what happens when people slowly lose their autonomy. How easily something presented as being for the “greater good” can become a justification for treating people as resources rather than people.

It’s bleak. It’s uncomfortable. And it asks some pretty confronting questions.

For a debut, Inez Ray has absolutely made her mark.

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

[☆ lydiature ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you bindery books and netgalley for the ARC.

something that has set my 2026 reading year apart from the other years is my desire to incorporate more speculative fiction. it began with me revisiting the “earthseed” duology by octavia butler. which completely changed my outlook on the future.

in the science fiction genre, there’s sometimes a glamorization of the future. there’s an advance in technology, in politics, etc. it’s interesting, there’s so much to look forward to.

but when it comes to speculative fiction, the writer poses a question for the future. with octavia butler, the question was: what will happen to the world if empathy dies?

in “buzzard” by inez ray, the question is: what if abortion becomes illegal? the world of “buzzard” is complicated. it’s set in the 2080s, in a time of civil conflicts in the United States and poverty. but at the same time, technology has advanced and there are certain progressive communities that have found ways to deal with issues that our generation has not figured out.

“buzzard” follows a mid-wife named mae that performs abortions, which have become illegal—in ALL cases, even when a woman’s life is at stake. it is as though ray is showing that our current debates about abortion and all its nuances are pointless. all of our bickering is pointless. we need to fight for our rights.

“buzzard” is a harsh reality check. we see how abortion is tied to poverty and it’s a cycle. abortion is banned. a woman is forced to give birth to her baby, even though she can’t feed her five other children. her husband is also dead because he got blown up at a factory. the children she has might get sold to a contractor to get food and stable shelter.

i was very impressed by the writing style. it was matter of fact, raw and harsh—it had the tone of an older nurse that wanted to help the world but constantly got pushed around. there was a sense of withdrawal in the pages, almost similar to the old sheriff in “no country for old men” by cormac mccarthy. the writing kept on beat with the flow of the story. i also liked how we got to see different characters’ perspectives.

i genuinely do not have anything negative to say about this book and im picky. so far, this book is in my top 10 for this year. my big three—writing style, characters, pacing—were also checked off. the imagery and intensity were out of this world. i would LOVE for this book to get adapted into a mini series.

to me, i would put this close to octavia butler’s “earthseed” books. it contains so many important messages on reproductive health, our individual burdens to fighting for our rights, etc.

[sami]

oh what a crazy time to read this book!!

ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ thank you to the publisher for approving my request for an arc! ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚

[Laura Neale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m very conflicted with this book. On one hand I was fully invested in the story and gripped by it but on the other, I found myself struggling to want to pick it up as it required more brain power than I have available at the moment.

I did however enjoy the story (enjoy is definitely not the right word for this concept and the events that take place but you know what I mean) and found it to be unlike anything I’ve read before which is nice as someone who reads quite a lot.

The changing timelines and format from almost diary entries to interviews was interesting and worked well for keeping the read informed without being overloaded with information.

I’m not sure exactly what it is (I will update this if I work it out) but something was just lacking a bit for me. I also felt that it was often being used heavily to make a political point which is fine but it took away from my enjoyment of it as a story unfortunately.

All in all, if the idea sounds good to you, I’d recommend picking up a copy (it will be published soon) and giving it a try. As a debut novel it is very good and I can tell that the author is many more stories still to come which I’m sure will get better with time.

Thanks to NetGalley for this pre-publication copy.

[Tori (InToriLex) · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

My interest is waning I'm DNFing at 40%. While I'm interested in the premise of the book the execution wasn't great. The characters weren't engaging enough and there was far too much telling without showing what's happening in this dystopia.

I applaud the author for continuing to draw attention to how quickly woman's bodily autonomy is often used as a political lever. This imagined future is eerily close to what can happen if we fall under fascism.

[Amy ☁️ (tinycl0ud) · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

This was electrifying, I felt like I was watching a super tense action movie with a very high budget. Set at the end of this century, 'Buzzard' posits a dystopian America where the increasing militarism/incarceration and war against women's reproductive rights are taken to plausible extremes. This is a book written for a post-Covid, post-Epstein, post-Trump administration audience. What could the world look like in fifty years? What kinds of governments and cityscapes would emerge? Looking at our current climate/food/water/population crises, what would people in the future do? The future is here and it does not look great.

The protagonist is Mae, an old midwife who helped women terminate unwanted pregnancies, illegally, and got incarcerated for it. Towards the end of her term, she transferred to Buzzard, a so-called 'Uncarceration' programme for training young children to become military assets. Everyone there (who is not a boss) is under constant chemical control. So why are these young girls getting pregnant with no memory of how they ended up in that state? The answer is fairly obvious, but it doesn't make it any less nefarious.

Years later, still separated from her grown-up sons and living alone, Mae is approached by a Sona, an idealistic bureaucrat from InfiniCity hoping she can get promoted by exposing Obsityan's past corruptions. Mae allows herself to be interviewed. In the process of engaging in discourse with this older rebel and confronting some uncomfortable political truths, Sona finds her views challenged, questioned, even shifted.

[Alyssa Blackwell · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Updated review 26/03/2026:

Thank you to Bindery Books for an ARC of Buzzard by Inez Ray via Netgalley 🫶

**Content warning, discusses abortion**

Set in a not too distant future, corporations main priority is fertility and increasing the birth rate. Abortion is illegal and anyone caught performing the procedure is jailed, potentially for life.
Mae is one of the last surviving old school midwives, and is put to work in prison to look after the up and coming drone pilots.
When young recruits keep showing up pregnant, Mae is meant to report them, but instead she begins to untangle a giant web of lies.
What follows is a dystopian exploration of bodily autonomy.

This was a really solid debut from Inez Ray!
If you’ve read any Margaret Atwood / The Handmaids Tale, you’ll pick up on similar vibes and themes, but it’s different enough to stand on its own.
There’s a few time jumps and different perspectives which keep you engaged in the story.

There’s a few things that didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me and I didn’t quite understand, so I feel like a bit more attention to the background lore and information would’ve helped it flow more easily.

Buzzard releases 22 Sept 2026 and if you’re into dystopian vibes check it out!

Buzzard ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (really picky but I’m gonna say 3.75)
____________________________________________

Original review 24/03/2026:

A very solid dystopian debut!
Very Margaret Atwood-esque.

Need to sit with it for a few days to try and understand some things I’m confused by, and I would’ve loved to have seen the resolution of things more towards the end.

Full review to come!

[H.Z. Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buzzard - Inez Ray ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Bindery Books for access to this ARC.

Buzzard is a book that is an uncomfortable, gripping read set in a dystopian future where fertility is monitored and abortions are illegal. Mae is in hiding as the only woman alive who can perform the procedure. She has a marred history: arrested for ‘infanticide’ and sent to an experimental prison run by the corporation, Obsityan, all the while desperate to find her two sons. We follow Mae’s story before her arrest, in prison, in hiding through the lense of her own view and interviews with a young woman hellbent on bringing Obsityan to heal.

As a lover of The Handmaid’s Tale this book was right up my street! Ray created an expansive world with a diverse cast. I loved Mae as our main character - she was a toughened woman with a kind heart. Sona, our young interviewer, was tenacious. Kaax was such an interesting study on friendship and morality - her girl boss nature at war with what is the right thing to do. In such dire situations do you look after yourself or those around you? And my favourite character Aeryn - an orphaned child pilot within the prison experiment. I don’t want to say too much about her story but I bloody loved her. This book is an ode to female strength.

Without spoilers, I’m fairly certain I know where Mae’s other son was, and I would love a book featuring this character and their story, please.

Overall, this book was a frightening read given the current political climate within the US - is this what awaits us? This made the book all the more compelling as it explored the morals, relationships and politics of a world where women’s rights are stripped away. Please do check the trigger warnings before reading this book as it contains strong themes.

[Angelbelle Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Bindery for the gifted copy

Buzzard takes place in 2086 where midwife Mae Bastet was arrested and charged with infanticide. While serving out her sentence as a nurse in a private prison, a teenaged girl comes in and turns Mae’s world upside down. Now, she must decide between keeping her head down and finishing her sentence or uncovering a corrupt paramilitary corporation

🥀Dystopian
💫Reproductive control
🥀Dual timeline

“I bow to no one but death.”



Heart-wrenching ❤️‍🩹 I don’t think I’m able to get all of my thoughts out in a coherent way. I have so much going through my mind

The writing was done in such a way that we can visualize everything as it plays out. The way Inez is able to take us between present and past was a masterpiece 👏🏾

Then there’s the storyline. Absorbed is the first thing that comes to mind but that’s not nearly a strong enough word. I truly couldn’t look away

And the characters! They were compelling and flawed and it’s those flaws that helped drive the story

This is absolutely made for the big screen

I will say however, there’s something in particular that Mae did that left me with a bad taste and even after spending time putting myself in her shoes I still can’t agree with it. I understand it, but don’t agree with it. No matter someone’s age they should be made aware of what you’re doing

This is an important story that needs to be told and I highly recommend it.

Please please be mindful of your triggers while reading because it’s not a light or cozy read

‘ The skill is just gone. A continuation of a lie. You think once we stop teaching people how to do it, then somehow humanity will stop needing this procedure? ‘

[Dea]

"I bow to no one but death."

This was a stunning debut novel by Inez Ray, a doula, midwife, Chicana, and author whose rich life experience uniquely informs and molds this desert dystopia in which abortions are illegal. The story is set in the far future but remains grounded in the realities and politicized issues we live with today.

The story is fast-paced yet still has a rich focus on character. I found myself deeply invested in Mae, Aeryn, and Kaax throughout. The book is further bolstered by well-chosen, strong famous quotes that begin many chapters. Without giving away any central plot lines or twists, this story drew me in from the beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat. Easily one of my favorite reads of the summer.

"The [mom] who, when she was there, was kind and warm, fiercely protective. But she often wasn't there. And the love and resentment mix together and make a heavier compound."

On top of the action-packed dystopian main plotline, there was a touching and well-orchestrated portrayal of working motherhood and the difficulties it brings to parents and children alike. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes dystopias, female-led, fast-paced thrillers, and stories of the strength of families and friendships.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bindery Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

"Those who do not move do not notice the chains. -- Rosa Luxemburg."

[Aitana Vega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buzzard is a very solid debut by Inez Ray and one of those dystopias that will give you chills because of how real they feel. Authoritarism, private prison system, teenage soldiers, hormone control, and illegal abortions? Yeah, not that farfetched at all.

This was an uncomfortable and infuriating read, very crude and raw, it leaves no stone unturned and it doesn’t beat around the bush when describing terrible things.

My only complaint is the ending. I’m all for a book with an open ending, but more than that this felt uncomplete, leaving the biggest questions of the whole story (will Mae find her sons, what will Sona do with the videos) simply unanswered. I don’t know if it was building up for a sequel, but in that case, I wouldn’t be sad about having more books in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

[deja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Ingram for the ARC!

This was just okay. I was really excited about the concept, but I think it wasn't the strongest execution. I found my attention waning and it took me longer than usual to finish it. I didn’t really enjoy the switching from present to past - I’m picky about how it’s done. But if you don’t mind that, you may enjoy this. I do think it's a really timely topic and interesting way to explore it.

[Suki J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 stars.

In the 2080's, abortion is illegal in the US, and a midwife named Mae, who has previously been arrested for providing women's healthcare is now working as a nurse for a prison called Buzzard, run by a paramilitary group. While there she meets a teenager who needs her help.

This was a dystopian nightmare that felt all too plausible, and hit harder for that. It portrays the desperation that women go through when they are denied the healthcare they need, as is happening in our own lifetime around the world.

I liked our main character and really felt like we were getting a good insight into her and her motivations. The book zipped along at pace, and I was invested from start to finish.

A great dystopian read.

[Jen G · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world building was really good and the characters of Mae and Sona were well developed and complex. This was simply too bleak and close to home for me to be able to read carefully right now in Trump’s America and with r*pe all over the news with the Cornell 7 this week. I do appreciate the opportunity to read it and thank the author, punisher and NetGalley for the opportunity. Trigger warning: abortion descriptions.

[Bree Doby · Rating 3 out of 5]

torn on this one! i had to put it down & pick it back up a few times because i couldn’t get into it, though the story and the topic were compelling!

echoing what other reviews have said, this felt like a modern/future(?) take reminiscent of handmaid’s tale. though everything about this book enticed me, something also felt like it was missing??

would recommend if you’ve liked handmaid’s tale or animal farm and want to try something new!

thanks bindery books & netgalley for the arc!!!

[LeeAnn Balbirona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent plot hampered by clunky dialogue, slow action and terrible character names. A little too much melodrama thrown into the cooking pot. 3.5 stars. I wanted to like it more.