This book completely wrecked me in the best way. Buzzard is unsettling, emotional, and way too close to reality to be comfortable, which is exactly why it works. The world feels brutal and believable, and Mae’s story stayed with me long after I finished.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the choices she’s forced to make, the fear threaded through every page, and how much love and resilience can still exist in a place designed to strip people of both. It’s sharp, angry, heartbreaking, and necessary.

This is one of those books you read quickly but sit with for a long time after. Inez Ray did not play it safe and I’m really glad she didn’t.

Buzzard is raw representation of a post apocalyptic world defined by women’s lack of rights to choose. This nearly knocks it put of the park with eerie sentiments that echo current unwavering decisions today. Think of Inez Ray’s writing as The Outer Worlds game meets Handmaids Tale. A modern narrative of the fear of women existing to be property in a post-apocalyptic environment that only cares about their bottom dollar. Spine chilling writing that comes alive through expressive diction and a poetic register that enhances the narrative.
What does it mean to lose your agency? This is what Buzzard explores as it shows the dangers that agency removal implores. A well constructed narrative with the right pacing to keep you hooked without giving away too much information. Absolutely loved every chilling moment that is written here. The immersive blend of weaving advertisements from Obsityan and local dissidents was remarkable. What does it look like to revolt from the confines of an unjustified court room?
Bindery Books chooses beautiful covers that really deploy the narrative’s themes. You see yellow and think of this cheerful environment- however the world is anything but. Remember how yellow also stands for fear. It is a fear driven society that allows for agency to be revoked willingly. This book is a conversation starter to avoid a world written in blood. Thank you Inez Ray, Bindery Books, and Netgalley for this advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.

For tarot readings, recommendations, and reviews, visit my blog https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com

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.

This book was WILD. Like The Handmaids Tale and Brave New World, I was so uncomfortable with how close the dystopian world was to current reality. It was unsettling (but in a way that was good/important), and was just so good. I felt like this was so intense, but I also couldn't stop reading it either. Loved it, and would highly recommend if you think your brain can handle that in this current world climate!

I’m surprised yet again, Buzzard had a hard task to accomplish, as this genre of dystopian novels has had so many strong stories over the years, how could another be added!? (The home of the ever living god and, handmaids tale to name two)

I really appreciated the authors perspective as a doula and midwife, it really helped MAE solidify as a character for me. Highly recommend.

A devastating and haunting dystopian novel that feels unsettlingly close to reality. That uncomfortable familiarity is exactly what makes it such an essential read.

What good is the evidence without real action? Yeah, Buzzard is a must read. Also if you’ve ever worked with kiddos (or have been a kiddo) in the system; just be aware because there will be triggers. For the book itself I like the different formats it used to tell its story. It felt as if you were falling down a rabbit hole while doing research on a juvenile detention center and the entities it’s linked to.

This book unnerved me in the best way. The dystopian world felt both chilling and disturbingly plausible, and Mae’s struggle to protect her family while navigating a corrupt system kept me on edge throughout. The story is intense, thought provoking, and emotionally gripping, with themes of morality, resilience, and the lengths we go to for those we love. It’s a powerful debut that lingered with me long after I finished it.

I want to start by saying this is a courageous debut novel. Set in a not-so-far-fetched dystopian future, the story follows Mae during her time at Buzzard (not a prison, according to RONDA) after being sentenced for performing abortions. Mae is an incredibly believable character, and I found her easy to connect with throughout the story.

My main qualm with the book is that I wanted more development of the dystopian world. I was curious about what led to the great divide and hoped for more details about Obsityan and Infinicity. In particular, I wanted to learn more about Buzzard itself and how it functions within this society.

I also didn’t mind that the book addresses the sensitive topic of abortion, as it was handled thoughtfully and with care.

Overall, this is a solid four-star debut novel. I would definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

This was one of those rare books where I had to space myself, because I was enjoying it so much that I didn’t want it to end. I’m a sucker for a good dystopian story and this had everything I could want from one. Well written characters, societal problems that mirror real life problems going on right now, multiple timelines and storyline that keeps you hooked.

The whole theme of women having bodily autonomy is especially now very relevant and I was disgusted by the male characters and the systematic oppression of women in this book. I also enjoyed how many queer characters there were.

An amazing debut novel and can’t wait to read more work from the author in the future.

Thank you so much. This novel floored me. The women were powerful, the writing was beautiful and the message was relevant and necessary.

Buzzard is a ferocious and unsettling debut that imagines a near future where corporations control fertility and bodily autonomy has all but vanished. Set in 2086, the story follows imprisoned midwife Mae Bastet as she navigates life inside a brutal desert facility run by Obsityan, uncovering disturbing secrets along the way. The premise feels chillingly plausible, and the moral tension at the heart of Mae’s choices gives the narrative real emotional weight. It’s a sharp, timely dystopian novel that lingers long after the final page.

What happens when an authoritative government values greed and power over bodily autonomy and human rights? Welcome to modern day America, oop I mean the dystopian future where we follow the journey of Mae, one of the last know midwives, as she escapes an experimental private prison and goes into hiding.

Buzzard is a book that took me by surprise. What I expected to be an action packed sci-fi novel ended up being emotional, gut-wrenching, and scarily realistic.

Overall it was a really good and easy read. I loved the author’s writing style and honestly wished it was longer. The prologue was formatted differently than the rest of the book and almost put me off from continuing, but I’m so happy I pushed through. If you like dystopian stories like the Handmaid’s Tale you should definitely pick this one up.

Present day Mae lives alone on the fringes of society caring for her neighbors and holding knowledge others have long since forgotten.
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Told threw interviews and flashbacks, Buzzard explores Mae's history as she learned and utilized midwife training to perform illegal abortions in a war torn nation. Her eventual arrest and imprisonment brings her into a world she never could have imagined.
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A heartbreaking tale of corruption, evil corporations, and a system designed for profit over wellbeing. You cheer Mae on while simultaneously feeling horrified at what you're reading.

I both enjoyed and hated this book. I liked it for the story telling, the believable characters and the message. But hated it for how chillingly similar it feels to aspects of real life in current times. Just look at the world around you and you can see echoes of these issues within this book's pages.


Buzzard depicts a dystopian future where corporate power and greed has taken over personal autonomy and human rights. Communities are split, fertility is monitored, abortion is illegal, and midwives like Mae Bastet are hunted and charged as criminals.

I loved the way this book was written; at some points being back in time with Mae at Buzzard, and at other times giving us an interview transcript in present times recalling things that happened and more of the thought process behind them. It helps keep the story at a good pace, and keeps things interesting.

My only issue with the book is that I wanted more! You get this big climax, filled with action, and then it almost feels like a rush to wrap up the rest of the book. So many questions are left unanswered, and characters futures left uncertain, so I can only hope a sequel is in the works.


Overall a really good read, I enjoyed it a lot.
If you feel like a futuristic handmaid's tale-esque story will be up your alley, then definitely give this book a go!

A friend of mine, a cis man, has recently asked me why so much of what he called "women's fiction" (I would not call Buzzard women's fiction, but we will ignore that) has to do with sexual assault and unwanted pregnancy. As a woman, such a question put me in a state of great surprise, and without hesitation, I said, Because rape is a central theme in women's lives. It sticks with you. Whether you experience it, or hear about it, or see it happen somehow, it changes the way you think (ahem kinda spoiler but Sona..?). A sad admission, perhaps. He then asked why we would ever want to read about it. A loaded question, is it to see the injustice of the system reflected at us, to see ourselves represented, or is it to prepare ourselves for the worst? I do not know.

What I do know, however, is that despite my friend's judgment, Buzzard is not about rape at all. It is about women's ability to persevere through it, the desire to improve the system, and the importance of reproductive care and its accessibility. Buzzard is about abortion, yes, something you might not think you agree with or need until you suddenly do—Mae does say the Christians and Mormons were her best customers. It's about motherhood, and understanding that motherhood is not always the best choice, and, even when it is chosen, it is a tough path. It's about the heroism of the medical workers who follow their oath of "do no harm" in the face of the law, even when it means performing an illegal abortion. A hand can let go of the oppressed, a cage can rust and fall apart, but a human can not be replaced. Mato would agree.

"Buzzard is not a prison," RONDA, the stupid but friendly AI assistant, will tell you. And it's not technically, I suppose, in the same way, it was not Gilead that imprisoned Offred, not the house that the Waterfords inhabited, but rather the ideology of the regime. Mae's crimes are ideological in the same way as eating pork or killing spiders would be in some religions. Many people, myself included, I suppose, are comparing this work to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, but I would actually say it is more similar to The Testaments, both in its structure and the general ideas. Regardless, if you enjoyed either of those works, or 1984, or even works of different genres dealing with reproductive rights, like Ernaux's Happening, you will enjoy Ray's work. It's a good mix of plot and character development, futuristic technologies, climate awareness, and, of course, questions of reproductive care.

At times, the world of the novel is uncomfortably close to our own. One change here, one change there, and we are in Buzzard ourselves. Honestly, I don't discount the possibility of an already existing "Buzzard" in the US in 2026.

I would have appreciated more resolution on InfiniCity and more of a backstory/timeline on the original split/cessation of AZT, and the establishment of other mentioned territories. But I would have preferred more information on the history and ideology. While those are not necessarily essential for the plot of the novel and the central themes, considering this work is futuristic/dystopian fiction, such contextualizations might enrich the world (consider The Handmaid's Tale and the flashbacks detailing the onset of Gilead).

Overall, an excellent debut. I applaud Ray for writing something so touching and noteworthy in the oversaturated world of today's dystopian fiction, and particularly appreciate her commitment to the reproductive rights cause and the detail in which she goes into, both on the medical side and the thought process of the workers.

Thank you to the Bindery and to Netgalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Buzzard by Inez Ray, the year is 2086, abortions are illegal, corporations are monitoring fertility and parts of the world are under constant surveillance. Mae Bastet, our FMC, is a mother and a midwife and the last person alive who can perform medical abortions. Mae is now living in hiding after being arrested for infanticide (while performing healthcare to women in need) and escaping incarceration at Buzzard (an experimental privately owned juvenile detention center in the Sonoran Desert) run by the paramilitary corporation Obsityan. While serving her time at Buzzard, she performed healthcare to the minors who were there training as Drone Pilots, and she uncovered some deep dark secrets with potential to bring down Obsityan for good. One day a woman named Sonadorah, aka Sona, arrives at her secret home where she’s been living without Buzzard’s knowledge for 7 years, with plans to get Mae to open up about her time at Buzzard. Sona hopes she can use it for her own leverage. Mae who has been struggling for some time with C-PTSD, doesn’t trust this woman, but she is desperate to reunite with her sons. So she obliges under the condition that she get to tell her story from start to finish and that Sona use her resources to help her find her sons (whether they are now dead or alive). After years of silence and complicity, Mae has the chance to finally do right and seek justice for those at Buzzard. The story is told through multiple POVs, two distinct timelines, multiple tenses as well as through dreams and flashbacks.

While technically a dystopian setting, Buzzard is as haunting as it is unsettling by how close it comes to reality. It’s a bit Handmaid’s Tale meets Brave New World, sprinkled with Mad Max and 1984. The story takes on very heavy and sensitive subject matter as it explores women's bodily autonomy and agency, and is gut-wrenching at times. Admittedly, I did find it somewhat confusing to follow along in some instances as it switched through the different POVs, timelines and tenses, but not enough to take me out of the story completely or ruin my experience. This book is definitely the moment and Mae is a beautifully written character with a lot of heart and soul. This is an essential read and will stick with me for a while.

Trigger warnings: forced institutionalization, child sexual assault, rape, suicide, violence, military violence, somewhat graphic detail of a second trimester abortion

Thank you Inez Ray, Bindery Books, Left Unread and NetGalley for the early eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.

Buzzard is the kind of dystopian story that lingers long after the last page. What makes it so unsettling is that the world it presents doesn’t feel impossibly far away.

The government holds overwhelming power, everyday life is dictated by strict rules disguised as “guidance,” and what remains of personal freedom is tightly controlled.
At the center of the story is Mae, a forbidden midwife who has spent years helping people in quiet, hidden ways. In a world where compassion itself can become illegal, Mae’s work places her directly at odds with the system. Through her story, we see the lives of the people the government has forgotten or erased—those who exist on the edges of society while the official narrative insists everything is under control.

Mae’s choice to help others and speak about what she has seen comes with consequences. In this world, even acknowledging suffering can lead to punishment or exile. Yet through it all, there remains a thread of hope woven into the story, carried by people who refuse to stop caring about one another.

Buzzard is unsettling, thoughtful, and feels less like a distant future and more like a warning about what happens when power goes unchecked.

For fans of The Handmaid's Tale, Buzzard is a dark and incredibly timely addition to the dystopian genre!

This book is a fascinating exploration of moral injury and systemic complicity in the guise of a thriller. The novel is a visceral, fast-paced read that brilliantly uses speculative fiction to examine the psychological toll of navigating impossible choices within broken institutions. I enjoyed it a great deal, even when it made me uncomfortable to apply its lessons to current events. Give it a shot!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for another amazing story and for the chance to read it early!

*Buzzard* was an easy 4.5 stars for me, and honestly, one of those reads that will still be turning over in my head days later. It's tense and unsettling in all the right ways, but what really hooked me was how personal and grounded it feels. This isn't just a "big idea" dystopian story; it's about one person trying to live with themselves in a world that keeps asking for smaller and smaller compromises. The near-future setting feels uncomfortably close to our reality, which made every scene hit that much harder.

Every plot choice feels loaded, even the small ones, and I found myself holding my breath, hoping they'd find a way through without losing too much of who they are. The internal conflict is just as gripping as the external danger, and that balance made the story really hard to put down.

The relationships were a huge standout for me. They're messy and complicated in a very believable way, full of unspoken tensions, mixed motives, and moments of unexpected tenderness. I especially appreciated how the book shows the different ways people try to protect each other when the system is stacked against them. There are no easy answers here, but there are genuine moments of connection that keep the story from feeling hopeless.

The worldbuilding is also really well done. Instead of dumping a ton of background information, the book lets the world unfold through conversations, small details, and the characters' everyday choices. That slow reveal made the whole thing feel more real and more frightening, because you start to see how this world could grow out of our own. It's the kind of story that makes you think about where we are right now and where we might be headed.

Overall, *Buzzard* is dark, thought-provoking, and surprisingly full of heart. It's the rare book that works as both a gripping, character-driven story and a sharp warning about what happens when we look away for too long. Easy 4.5 stars from me, and I'll definitely be thinking about this one for a long time.

Set in a chilling near future where corporations control fertility and abortion is outlawed, this novel delivers a tense and unsettling look at reproductive autonomy. Mae Bastet, a midwife imprisoned for providing care to women in need, is a compelling and quietly defiant protagonist trying to survive inside a brutal desert prison run by a powerful corporation.

When unexplained pregnancies begin appearing among the teenage drone pilots she’s tasked with caring for, Mae uncovers a disturbing conspiracy that forces her to confront the system that destroyed her life. The story blends dystopian world-building with moral urgency, exploring power, control, and the cost of standing by one’s principles.

Dark, thought-provoking, and eerily plausible, it’s a gripping dystopian thriller that raises unsettling questions about who controls our bodies—and what happens when that control is taken away.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Bindery Books and Netgalley for an eARC of Buzzard by Inez Ray. I loved everything about this very dark dystopian novel about what happens when women lose the right to choose. Mae is a wonderful protagonist whom you sympathize with and respect. If you love dark and hard-hitting sci-fi, Buzzard is definitely for you.

This was a terrifying book to read in the current political climate of the US. The year is 2077, 2080, the year is 2086 and yet somehow also the year is now—as if I can already see the groundwork of Buzzard's events being laid, while also hoping very much to be wrong. I almost want to describe it as prescient, but calling it prescient sounds like I'm thinking things will turn out this way for the US and I would really love to be incorrect on that topic...

Honestly, I feel like saying I "enjoyed" this read would be the wrong word to choose, but it was definitely propulsive, and it captured my attention from the start. The alternating timelines and points of view were used well, in my opinion, and I liked the way the story was allowed to unfold slowly, in a way that combined both plot and character. Everyone in this book felt real in a very messy, very complicated way, and even the conclusion isn't tidy, which I feel really suits a story like this one. There are bits of storyline that don't get neatly wrapped up at the end, but to me that felt like the right way for the story to end, rather than with a bow tied up and put on top of the narrative.

If Buzzard was attempting to be an unflinching, speculative look at a future where reproductive rights are not only threatened but actively dismantled, and how determination and hope and community can thrive even in such desperate circumstances, then I feel as a reader like it succeeded in that aim.

This was a hard book to read in some ways, mostly because it is quite graphic and doesn't shy away from frank descriptions of acts of sexual violence or the medical processes involved in terminating a pregnancy. It also didn't feel gratutious, but I would advise readers to mind the warnings and be careful of their triggers.

Wow, this was a difficult read, but I'm still glad to have read it. We follow Mae, a midwife arrested for providing illegal abortions in a near-future USA. Mae is forced to work for a prison/corporation thats training youths with prior criminal activity who are also being forced to work for this prison/corporation as drone pilots. While Mae is working at this facility, she starts to notice pregnancies happening to the young girls who are pilots in training, and soon realizes this is a bigger and deeper issue than just a few teen pregnancies. She puts her own life on the line to try to stop the abuse of power that is happening at this facility, but at what cost?

Despite this book having really dark, difficult elements such as child sexual assault, descriptions of abortions and miscarriages, and child loss, the author did write these scenes with integrity to the women and children, and there wasn't unnecessary depth to the descriptions of abuse. As someone who's experienced some of this, reading it was difficult but I appreciated how it was handled. Please be sure to check trigger warnings for this one.

Overall this was a fast-paced and suspenseful read. I enjoyed how the story was wrapped up and look forward to reading more from Inez Ray.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! Holy moly I actually went through and read this book twice before leaving my review. It’s dystopian, futuristic, and oh so rebellious. I loved the future re-imagined through strict laws and the willingness of the main character to bend these laws for her own belief and moral compass. I will definitely be recommending this book!

This was a phenomenal dystopian debut and needs a sequel!! It really hits you in the the feels and tugs at your heartstrings with the harsh reality check of what if abortion becomes illegal (?) Combining the aspect of poverty.. . The writing style is so well done it's raw. This read felt like an experience, an emotional rollercoaster on it's own! I highly recommend!

Buzzard is an immersive blend of science fiction and real world ideas. At times the subject matter hits very close to home, feeling like a not-so-distant future, with just enough tech to make it feel new. Characters are multifaceted and relatable; no one is perfect here, but everyone is striving for some sense of security or what they believe is right. One of my favorite components of this story is the way the underground resistance/community of midwives and others is portrayed. There is an almost mystic quality to this group, with a dedication to their work and one another.

What a timely read! The topic of reproduction and human rights was handled masterfully in Buzzard. I liked how it explored the themes of a dystopian based on the impact of changing reproductive rights. I enjoyed the changing POV across history. Ray provided the story in a continuous drip that kept my interest from start to finish. Mae was such an interesting character to witness the change from the flashbacks to the interview. Overall I really enjoyed it!

A good dystopia with a scathing indictment of the pro-forced-birth madness and pronatalist alt-right movements of today. Sufficiently dark, gross, and willing to "go there" in order to tackle the topic well. Good thrill for booktokers

I liked the book! I enjoyed the subject surrounding abortion, and the pacing of the book really kept me on my toes, eager to read the next chapter!I also loved the epilogue with how every plot tied in together and the intricate characters/storytelling!

The dystopian future doesn't feel so far off. Buzzard is such an important read right now in the same way as Handmaid's Tale because the lines between horror, fiction and reality are so blurred. Mae is an indentured midwife serving out a sentence for providing illegal abortions to those in need, where she is forced into battle with her experience, her morals, and her chance at freedom. I don't want to give anything away, so let me just say this is a must read in 2026.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review~

It's hard to overstate how much I adored this. I was captivated - at times in a way where it was like watching a dog get hit by a car; I wanted to look away, but the horror demanded a witness. I was very much lost in the world of >i>Buzzard</i>. A politically charged, dystopian novel with <i> just </i> a schmear of sci-fi. An in your face commentary on the state of the world and where it can go. I think this work will be in the same league as <i>Handmaid's Tale</i> and will one day be talked about just as incessantly.

The problem at the center of this universe is antique: who has the right to women's bodies? Us, the Men or the Fetus? Orbiting this issue is the rights of trans individuals and the appetites of powerful men. Ray seamlessly weaves pronouns & the pain of womanhood & The Audacity of Authority to try and lord over any of it into this gut-punch of a novel.

An experimental prison in the middle of the desert? Great setting choice - the desert is always liminal and desolate, it's a great backdrop to this dark story.
A tough-tortured-spiritual adjacent-forthright woman for a main character? Mae is, at once, everything I fear becoming and everything I wish to be.
A small cast of both despicable and pitiable support characters? Sometimes a character can even be <b>both</b>?! You spoil me, Inez Ray.

4.6/5 - I wish there was more story, the ending came too quick. I just wanted to see Justice. Some form of it. Isn't that what women have always asked for?

Mae tells us:
"These guys, these companies, these empires. They're just always going to get away with shit like this. They always have and they always will."

Yet...we're still left with something. When Mae and Mato reunite, just before his child is born, that fluttering erupts in our chests. We feel it swell as Mae drops to her knees and Mato embraces his mother for the first time in over 20 years. Hope.

Beautiful, heart wrenching, hard to read but totally necessary book in the library of any woman.

This book NEEDS a sequel!!!

A dystopian world (it doesn’t feel quite as far off from our present as I’d like!) in which abortions are illegal. Fertility is heavily monitored. The rich are purchasing babies from ‘orphan farms’ and Mae is perhaps the last woman alive who knows how to perform surgical abortions.

As the story flashes back from present day, we learn the story of her imprisonment and separation from her teenage sons. We reach a precipice where she must choose between her morals and the chance to see her sons again.

In the present, Sona was raised in wealth and luxury under the wing of her father. She believes they are working for the good of humanity and seeks out Mae for evidence of Obsityan’s misdeeds. Her naivety up against Mae’s pessimism (or lived experience!) gave for some great conversations.

I’ve experienced withdrawal before and also thought it was depicted really well here. The ending of this book was pretty open and I would be very interested in a continuation.

My favourite two quotes:

“Look, little nurse, we're all gargling the dick of collapsed capitalism, but some of us get paid to do it."

“Have you not studied history? What are they teaching you? People don't care what happens to poor people.”

Thanks to Bindery Books/Left Unread and NetGalley for this ARC of 'Buzzard' by Inez Ray.

Inez Ray has set most of the action of her powerful debut novel about 50-60 years in the future, close enough so that everything she writes about feels like a very plausible timeline emanating from everything that is going on today in the United States, especially.

Misogyny, anti-reproductive health rights, rapid militarization of the police and federal law enforcement, deep political division based on geography, climate change, pedophilia by powerful men and child trafficking, drone surveillance, prison as a business, weaponry, and warfare. All of this happening now, all of it is institutionalized in this timeline, and all of it is completely believable.

There are multiple timelines with one main character, Mae, at the center of most of the action. She was midwife and reproductive care specialist as the US was breaking apart, was criminalized for it and imprisoned, then exploited for her knowledge within a prison-like corporate-military setup, and finally as the person a young and idealistic lawyer from one of the superstates sees as the lever that can tip over the whole edifice.

Woven throughout the various strands are a series of friends and family members who are well drawn and we see the push and pull of relationships - love, loyalty, betrayal, sacrifice, connection, disappointment, and more. It's really well done.

This is tight and chilling. The medical insights and scenes of abuse are visceral and disturbing and, too repeat again, all too believable.

Congratulations to Inez Ray and Left Unread at Bindery Books.

Thank you to Left Unread & Bindery Books for the ARC of this book!!
Buzzard follows Sonadorah as she abandons her job to find Maeven, the fifty-eight year old woman who might be the only person left that knows how to perform an abortion, hoping to gain a way to dismantle a corporation and empire.
This book found me at a time where I observed myself trying to find comfort in those controlled, ‘safe’ spaces like Buzzard where I wouldn’t have to worry about anything other than my assigned tasks. It’s hard sometimes, in the current state of the world we’re all experiencing together, to deal with how alone you feel. Buzzard has a sense of that loneliness, it shows how sometimes the only option is fighting back, or hiding under the wing of that oppressive force. The latter is pathetic, but the former can put not only you, but also your loved ones, in danger.
Mae, from Sona’s perspective was a lying, escapist, convicted criminal, but from mine she was a caring and attentive midwife, who wanted nothing more than to save a young girl.
I loved this book. The prose is commendable, and there were a dozen times where I could understand the exact sensations a character was feeling.
It sat in my emails for a while, and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to pick it up, and then I saw a review that incentivised me to open it within the hour. Buzzard is a phenomenal piece of art, and to me can be classed as a modern classic. It frightened me a couple times, when I realised how close we were heading toward that exact same path. There’s nothing I want less than to be there—and that’s exactly why books like this exist. Buzzard is a warning to never trust those controlled spaces, no matter how ‘well’ they try to treat you.

Buzzard-Inez Ray
5⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Left Unread Books for the advanced copy.
If I’m honest the first 40% of the book I was enjoying but it was probably gonna be a 4/4.5 star but that last 60%…..sealed 5 stars for me. The story really amps up and the waves of rage, worry and just the range of emotions I felt reading this was just spectacular writing. The themes in this book are very heavy, and uncomfortably mirror certain things in today’s climate, but done very well. The ending was satisfying and I would definitely read from this author again.

I found this book both compelling and extremely challenging to read. Margaret Atwood said of writing The Handmaid's Tale that she had not included anything that had not already happened somewhere (paraphrasing), and I feel as though Ray is doing something similar here. The near future dystopia that Ray creates is an impressively believable setting that unfortunately looks like it could be 2-3 years from now instead of 60 years in the future. This makes the book a little hard to read. The horrors that Ray describes are so real and anticipatory that the reading experience feels almost claustrophobic at times. This creates a tension that propels the action forward which I really liked. I did find that near the end the pacing started to lague which was too bad, since the first 60% or so is propulsive. Overall a very solid dystopian novel that shows us how quickly our current political climate could devolve into complete terror.

Buzzard is a visceral, boundary-pushing debut that feels hauntingly relevant to today’s disagreements about bodily autonomy. Set in a dystopian future Arizona, Inez Ray crafts a story that is unapologetically raw. Prospective readers should be aware of heavy themes, including reproductive violence and abortion, which are handled with a bluntness that may be difficult for some, but feels essential to the world-building.

The protagonist, Mae, is a standout—refreshingly likeable precisely because she is so flawed. Her mistakes and internal conflicts make her journey feel grounded and deeply relatable. I also loved the subtle nods to Egyptian folklore (like Mae’s surname, Bastet), which added a layer of mythic weight to the dusty, high-tech setting...although it did feel a little out of place in Arizona.

While the shifting perspectives and non-linear time periods occasionally felt a bit disorienting in the first half, the threads eventually pull tight if you stick with it. Once the rhythm of the chapters settles, the payoff is immense. This is a timely, sobering look at reproductive rights and corporate control—a "must-read" for fans of gritty, socially conscious sci-fi.

A way too real dystopian novel. I miss when I could read dystopian fiction and think it's solidly fiction but the fact is, many of the themes in this book are all too close to real. It reminded me a lot of Chain Gang All Stars which, if that's your thing, you're going to love this. There's some timeline jumping which is done exceptionally well (given that I hate having to pay attention to when I am in a story, this alone gets an extra star.)

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. If Michael LaBorn likes it, it's going to be a good book. If Michael LaBorn recommends it, it's going to be a great book. But if Michael LaBorn chooses it for his Bindery imprint?!?! It's going to end up on multiple shelves and the TBR's of everyone I know. I might be a little biased because I've never read a bad book he's suggested and I'm a member of his bindery community and a proud supporter.

A huge thank you to Bindery books, Left Unread Books and NetGalley for the EARC.

Nothing like a dystopian to make you grateful for your current timeline… because yikes. Between controlled resources, outlawed abortion, and orphan farms feeding corporate and military systems, this book really said “let’s make it bleak” and committed.
It didn’t totally reinvent dystopia, but it absolutely understood the assignment. Dark, engaging, and just a little too believable for comfort.

Thanks to Bindery and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Buzzard" was one of my favorites this year, and I'm not usually a sc-fi girl. In this book you get multiple view points. The author nailed the connection with reader and main character. It also is super thought provoking. The struggle is real in this one. I loved handmaids tend thats the closest comparison I can think of. This was a great read!

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!

3,75 stars

Reminiscent of Red Clocks by Leni Zumas, read that if you enjoyed this! Honestly this sadly didn't feel as out of reach and dystopian as I wished, it feels like a clear path in some respects, especially when it discussed the monitoring.

It's 2086 and corporations monitor fertility, abortions are outlawed, and the last known midwife who can perform them is in hiding. Seven years ago, Mae Bastet was arrested for infanticide in the Arizona Territory for providing necessary healthcare procedures to women in need. She was torn from her two sons and send to an experimental private prison called Buzzard run by the paramilitary corporation Obsityan.

Mae takes the prison issued meds, some of which are experimental, and attempts to keep her head down as she works as a nurse for the army of teenage drone pilots. All the teenagers working at Buzzard are on medication to suppress their fertility, so when more improbable pregnancies begin popping up, Mae finds it harder to turn a blind eye. (and of course, the people who arrested her for performing abortions now have her performing abortions for them). Mae must decide if she is going to keep her head down until her time is up or if she can stand up for what she feels is right.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

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.

This book was absolutely intense and I loved every bit of it.

Set in 2086, the powers that be have made abortions illegal and have completely take over all gender care as a means to "monitor fertility." Basic resources are controlled by corporations and the world as we know it is a dystopian waste.

I was hooked from page one. Not only is the subject matter relevant to current times, but the story is interesting, emotional, rage inducing, and serves as a warning as to what could happen when the wrong people are in charge. Inez Ray did a phenomenal job capturing the complicated emotions felt from the characters when faced with difficult choices and decisions. I also truly appreciated how authentic the FMC's emotions and having to deal with her own traumas, forced compliance, menopause, and medical defiance. Absolutely fantastic read and should be added to curricula.

"I bow to no one but death."

Mae is the last midwife who knows how to perform second term abortions - a piece of knowledge that landed her in Buzzard, a correctional facility that who likes its inmates to keep using the skills that brought them there.

When young girls start arriving in Mae's care with "impossible" pregnancies, she's forced to choose whether she fights for these women, or for her own children that she's been trying to track down for years.

I loved Inez Ray's writing style and the layered timelines and different POVs, which was masterfully done for a debut.

And such an important story for our time! I like my dystopian stories timely and heartwrenching and this was definitely both - fans of Chain-Gang All-Stars and The Handmaid's Tale will love it!

Thank you to @bindery_books and @leftunreadbooks for the arc!!

This book is dystopian and scary in a very realistic way. It touches on the topic of fertility, choice, and motherhood. It was gut-wrenching at times and brought out some raw emotions. While the book felt slowly paced in some parts, it all came together at the end for a satisfying, but not optimistic, ending.

Brutally hopeful, this book makes you angry but hopeful at the same time. Even when there are no choices, there's a choice if you're brave enough

Firstly, thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Buzzard via ARC.

I'm sitting here trying to write this review and come up with nice things to say, and I find myself struggling. Not because this was a bad book, or poorly written, but because I feel that Buzzard is so immensely importal as a novel that nice words and flowerly language just doesn't cut it.

Buzzard should be in every bookstore, on every library shelf, kept in every personal library.

This book is dystopian fiction but one could argue that it isn't far off from one of our potential futures as a country, and as a world at large. Inez Ray has crafted a sci-fi dystopian future that is almost haunting in its probability.

I do recommend that readers keep their triggers in mind before going in, as this book deals with very heavy topics. I found myself having to take breaks given the subject matter, but I kept coming back because of how good it is. The writing is phenominal, the plot is engaging, and the characters feel realistic.

Definitely a 5/5 from me!

If 1984 had a queer cousin, who was in a situationship with the handmaid’s tale, this would be them. If you love dystopia and rebellious women, or hate capitalism and men, this book is for you!!

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 (check), men greed for power to no limit (also check), the dualism (hypocrisy and salvation) of religion, 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 the current women's condition. The protagonist, Mae, tells us about all that she finds is wrong in the system, and some of her outlines I found match with the current state of healthcare - I'm disappointed, but not surprised. In her time, abortions are completely illegal. And the consequences for those ones that practice them are so ungodly that they fear to even just complete a miscarriage or terminate a pregnancy that puts the mother's health at risk. This is already happening in many countries, above all in America. This is a book that makes you grateful for the things that we still have, and reminds us to fight for them. And to regain what we have lost.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Perhaps I am getting soft in my old age, but I struggled with just how realistic a future this paints. Water has dried up in the West, and it's split into warring factions controlled either by corporations or religious groups, abortion is illegal in most places, prisoners are used as forced labor, and the leaders are pedophiles - it sadly isn't too much different from how it already is today. Given that, the lack of a solid, definitive ending for one of the main storylines left me feeling empty and a bit hopeless. It's a well-written book and definitely a standout in Cli-Fi, but I was left feeling a bit wrung out, and that's just not what I'm looking for these days.

At first this reminded of The Handmaid's Tale and then it became its own phenomenon. It brings up about some very pressing topics like population decline in America and presents a world one of the most dystopian solutions available. It's also very interesting coming from the perspective of a midwife (the main character and the author herself). That brought in a bit of a mystical quality as well which I found really interesting to read.

Some parts felt like they could have been fleshed out more, while others I think could have been pushed aside. For instance, I was very engrossed by Mae and Aeryn's relationship, but not as much with Kaax and Mae in the end. I also wanted to hear more about Mato and Vic and less about Sona. Some of their conversations fell flat for me, although the start of the book with Sona finding Mae was really captivating (cinematic even).

In the first third of the book I was sure I'd give this 5 stars but it started to lose me at some point. I stopped connecting with Mae because there was so much going on I guess and the details of what was happening started to blur a bit too. Maybe I read it too slowly though. I think it's a very timely and important book with themes of reproduction rights and population decline right at the forefront so I'd still recommend it.

A fantastic debut novel that felt somewhat along the lines of The Handmaid's Tale crossed with Fallout.

The character set up within this book was fantastic, very quickly getting to know what type of character Mae was and what she stood for. I would have half expected to be a little confused or dazed by the dystopian technologies of the near future, but they just added to the whole setting of the story.

The book felt really well paced and kept me hooked in wanting to know what would happen next without holding too much 'mystery' around any of the components of the story.

My inly remark would be that the characters are so well set up, that there were moments in the storytelling that felt rushed and a little too focused on moving on quickly.