This is a different type of book than any I have ever read. It is about wolves and Werewolves and I tried to follow it as I read it but It really wasn't for me. The story behind it was lost in the whole wolf study in it. I am not saying it is bad as I believe for the right person it would be a good book, it just was not for me. I did finish it so that says something about it.

I was lucky enough to not only get an eARC but an ALC of Feed Them Silence. I adored Lee’s other book, so a chance to read their novella was big, even if it’s dystopian (a genre I struggle to read) and one that is very likely to happen in our lifetimes.
We follow Sean, a middle aged scientist who is working on a project that allows her to link minds with a wolf in a virtual reality experiment. Sean has always had a connection with wolves, so to be able to link minds with one of the last wild packs is something she’s desperate for, even if it might cost her marriage to Riya, another professor at the university they work at.
I really enjoyed this book, but Lee could write anything and I’d adore it. He has the ability to make characters feel real, despite being flawed, which they all are. Sean gets lost in her work while Riya is watching their relationship shatter before her and seeks comfort in other places. Things keep going from bad to worse, as the wolf pack is forced to do what they can to survive with little food and winter quickly coming for them (even if it’s abnormally warm). Both of these lives, Sean and Kate (the wolf), are mirror reflections as the world gets more and more broken around them.
I think it’s a great short read by an author who knows how to write something so complicated and amazing. I highly recommend it, but know that it does deal with hard subjects. Look at trigger warnings first.

This is a fast-paced, short, speculative/sci-fi novel about a woman scientist who agrees to be the first human subject to have her brain meshed with an animal's brain through a neural implant. The woman, who is having marital problems with her wife, can only inhabit the wolf's mind when hooked up to a machine in her office, monitored by fellow scientists. The wolf is not supposed to be affected by this experiment, but it soon becomes clear both the woman and the wolf can feel one another's thoughts and emotions.

I am grateful to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for gifting me with an advance audio copy of this book. The novel is provocative and moving, particularly in its depiction of the wolf's inner self, and the novel raises important questions about the commercialization of science. The marital problems, which are exacerbated by the wife becoming more wolf-like, seemed less important than the work she was doing with the wolves -- which perhaps is the point. I highly recommend this quick book (which I have since seen called a novella), which will stay with you far longer than it'll take you to finish.

1.5 stars

I was going into this thinking it was going to be a super weird sci-fi horror but instead I’m just left confused. I feel like this is in the sub-genre of quiet horror. It’s what isn’t said that makes it scary but that’s not what I expected or what I wanted from this.

In this book, Sean is going into the the subconscious of a wolf in a local pack as part of her grant experiment and as a result, her connection to the wolf is destroying her marriage to her wife. This story instead seems like it’s telling about the slow process of their marriage falling apart.

I really wanted more from this. I feel like I need to read something else from this author because I enjoyed the writing, I just feel like this wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the Audio ARC of this book. I loved this, it was roughly 4.5 hours and kept my interest from the begining (I was a little nervous when I noticed it was so short). I wouldn't consider this horror, I think this fits solidly in SciFi and it was done quite well. We are dropped right into Sean's life, amidst the beginings of her research and her failing relationship. I found her research fascinating, I too was obsessed with wolves as a child, but I found the relationship with her wife to be lacking, which encouraged my lack of investment in it. My heart ached for these wolves by the end of the book and it definitely left me wanting more, in a good way.

i really enjoyed lee mandelo’s Summer Sons and so i was really excited for this one. it didn’t let me down.

i was absolutely, and i say this with the utmost professionalism, freaked the fuck out. i will never look at wolves the same way ever again.

also i’ll literally read anything with a leading lesbian and this book didn’t disappoint in that regard.

A rather interesting idea that was written well.
I can now say I have the curiosity of how this would have been to experience!
I grew awfully attached to Kate also and felt for Dr. Sean. ♥️
Good quick read, thanks NetGalley and Lee Mandelo

I support women's rights but I support women's wrongs too. I love when they do bad things.

Lee Mandelo has such a gift for writing obsessive characters clinging to ideas they know are harmful and I absolutely eat that shit up every time. Feed Them Silence brings its main character up against the limits of intimacy, the harmful nature of parasocial relationships, and the sacrifices required to succeed in a space that's designed to exclude you, with a healthy dose of climate anxiety and environmental ethics thrown in. Sean is selfish in a way that's not normally allowed to women in fiction, and while it makes her life so much harder and strains all her interpersonal relationships (including the ones with the wolves she studies), it's refreshing to read a character who's so believably flawed.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a horror novella—to me it feels more squarely near-future sci-fi, with a heavy emphasis on character study. That's not a critique, though; to me this was an excellent balance between speculative plot and slower-paced character interaction. Also saw someone else on goodreads tag this "dark academia", and I think that is a bold but accurate take.

Thanks to tordotcom and Dreamscape for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Well…that was a novella…that I read?

I feel like I should preface this review by saying that I don’t read a lot of sci-fi in general. It often goes straight over my head, but it’s a genre that I’m trying to become more familiar with. Especially when it’s Lee Mandelo writing it.

Feed Them Silence is weird - in every possible way. Like bad people doing bad things weird. It took me a while to understand what was going on (and even then, I don’t think I fully understood the intentions behind Sean’s research), but I couldn’t stop listening to it. Mandelo’s writing is infectious and creates this haze-like atmosphere that lulls you in and you can’t help but want to know more. Want to know how Sean and Kate’s story will end.

This is such an interesting and creative take on the inherent unethical nature of non-human animal research - especially ones backed by private grants. It poses questions about ethical limitations of technology and research, empathy in research, consent in animal testing, and privacy concerns with technology. While I don’t think that it answers any of these questions, it poses them to the audience to analyze their own beliefs.

While I enjoyed this and couldn’t stop reading, I definitely didn’t understand it fully. It’s weird..sometimes to the point of being overdone. It has this strange, Black Mirror-esque quality about it in a lot of ways. My primary complaint about this story, however, is Sean. Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon is, single-handedly, the most infuriating and unlikable character I’ve read about in recent history. Rhea, her wife, and all of her colleagues (especially Assim and Christian) deserve way better than her in their lives. It gets to a point where you don’t care if she atones for her selfish behaviors (and I definitely didn’t) because I didn’t think she deserved the sympathy. While this makes her engaging and interesting to read about, it was difficult to connect with her at all.

Mandelo’s writing style is always a winner - especially after the knock out Summer Sons - and I will read just about anything that he writes. Thank you so much to Netgalley, Tordotcom, and Dreamscape Media for the advanced audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 20%

The narration is really not working for me on this one. I really like the idea of queer wolves, and might try to pick up the ebook instead!

Thanks to Netgalley I received an ARC of the audiobook for Feed Them Silence. All opinions expressed are my own!
I had high expectations for this, as Summer Sons is one of my favorite books, and I was completely knocked back by Lee Mandelo’s writing. This book is so fucking gut wrenching and visceral. Sean, our main character, in an attempt to understand her beloved wolves better, undergoes a procedure in which she is nuerally linked to the brain of Kate, a wolf trying to survive with her pack under less than ideal conditions. As Sean’s mental state deteriorates, so does her relationship with her wife.

I would CW this for anyone who is a big animal lover, or feels very soft and emotional about them. The way the struggles of the pack are described hit you where it hurts, and this is not a happy story, although it was beautiful. I found Sean’s struggle and subsequent spiraling very relatable but proceed with caution!
I really enjoyed the audio version of this and would recommend it to anyone who loves to suffer.

Rep: sapphic mc & li, non binary sc

After reading the Green Creek series by TJ Klune, I keep searching for more werewolf books, and more specifically, sapphic werewolf books. While this isn't exactly what I had in mind, it’s very interesting nonetheless. I really liked the concept.

I love animals and I’m a very curious person, I like to know how things work and learn. So to see Sean be mentally linked to a werewolf, able to see through her eyes and feel all of her emotions, really got my attention. I think most people have wondered what animals think or what they would say if we could communicate with them. This novella mostly explores the former. I found their mental connection, one way as it is, very cool and I wanted to learn more. This storyline is what really got me invested and want to know more.

Multiple things come into play in experiments like this, number one being ethics. At the end of the day, they’re experimenting on a living being. It’s all fine when things are going well, but when things start going south, you worry what will happen with the so called test subject. This had me wondering about the realities of these kinds of experiments in real life, where they test on live animals. I assume they also make harsh decisions when things go south, unfortunately.

I was so invested in the link between Sean and the wolf, Kate, but not so much the relationship of Sean and her wife, Rhea. They drifted apart so much that I kind of just wanted them to break up and try to be friends instead. I get that this added to the story and Sean as a character, by showing how invested she was becoming in her research and Kate. Also of how much she was getting sucked in and so hypefocused on it. But I find the experiment and her connection with Kate was way more interesting and kind of overshadowed her real life issues with her wife. I honestly didn’t really care about them that much.

Novellas always get me hooked then end too soon. I would have loved if we got to see more of Sean and Kate experiments. <spoiler> And even what would happen if they got to meet in person more than that one scene. </spoiler> Also to see more of the effects Sean had from them. If there was any long term effects as well.

The narrator did a good job. The cover is also pretty cool yet simple.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book

This is for the former wolf girls. This book can best be described as unhinged wolf woman.

While I couldn't stand Sean, this book is still phenomenal. Like truly, I wanted to beat her over the head. That being said, a super interesting look into feeling connected.

This is super different from Mandelo's debut "Summer Sons", but keeps me intrigued to know what they're going to do next.

Oof, this is not a happy story.

The year is 2031, only two wild wolf packs remain in Minnesota, and Dr. Sean Kell-Luden has dreamed since childhood of sharing a wolf's experience. Usefully, a venture capital firm has funded a study in which Sean and one of the Minnesota wolves, Kate, have a "neural interface" through which Sean can share Kate's sensorium. Disaster is inevitable, as you might guess given that university funding wasn't forthcoming for such research using a human subject, that a venture capital firm has stepped in with a view to producing marketable VR experiences, and that Sean's single-minded, self-centered obsessiveness makes her oblivious to the consequences for herself, for Kate, for Kate's pack, and for her marriage.

I wonder how sympathetic Mandelo wanted Sean Kell-Luden to be. I appreciated her desire to share a wild wolf's umwelt, but her utter focus on connecting with a wolf has cost her almost all human connection: she has colleagues, whom she keeps at a distance even when they could be friends, and she has her wife, Rhea, whom she's busily engaged in alienating because she's absented herself from the relationship. She's a kind of character I'd expect to shy away from, but Feed Them Silence wound so inexorably, so excruciatingly, toward the inevitable conclusion that I couldn't look away. I listened to the audiobook in great gulps.

Mandelo has clearly done their research into the behavior of wild wolves. Kate's pack is an affectionate family, with a mated pair of leaders -- not the war of all against all described in common wolf mythology. The Feed Them Silence wolves' social signaling comports with reality. Where Mandelo may be taking liberties with wolf cognition, those liberties arise from the nature of the story they're telling. This is all really well done and so refreshing for someone (me) used to screaming at books that perpetuate ignorance about canid behavior.

The narrator, Natalie Naudus, does an excellent job -- she reads well and she clearly distinguishes the characters' voices. I think her work will suit both listeners who enjoy hearing a book performed and those who just want it read to them. Also, I often find it unpleasant to listen to high-pitched voices for long stretches; Naudus's warm alto never grated.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook ARC.

La premisa de esta novela corta de Lee Mandelo me parecía muy atractiva, el uso de una interfaz neuronal para que la investigadora protagonista de la novela pudiera compartir las experiencias de uno de los últimos lobos salvajes, en un entorno de cambio climático y desaparición de las especies. Un contexto similar al que ya vimos por ejemplo en No hay lobos en Tesakowa, pero en un futuro mucho más cercano y con bastante menos espacio para el desarrollo.


La novela tiene dos partes diferenciadas, teniendo cierta relevancia el espacio de estudio y las consecuencias de esta unión neuronal unilateral en la investigadora, que influye en la otra parte de la historia, en la que vemos reflejada su vida doméstica. Es muy llamativo que Sean busque ese sentimiento de pertenencia al grupo en su trabajo y en los lobos, cuando no es capaz de encontrarlo en su vida diaria. Las tensiones constantes con su pareja son un reflejo muy cotidiano de algo que puede suceder con demasiada facilidad cuando dos personas buscan progresar en sus carreras profesionales sin estar dispuestos a hacer concesiones para conciliar su día a día.

La novela es bastante corta y no llega a explorar en profundidad todos estos temas que me parecerían tan interesantes, además de que llega a una conclusión un tanto precipitada a mi entender. Hubiera preferido que Mandelo se explayara más sobre la investigación neuronal pero en las escasas cuatro horas que dura la narración del audiolibro resultaba muy difícil concentrar más información de la que ya se da sin caer en la sobrecarga de datos.

La narración del audiolibro de Natalie Naudus es perfectamente disfrutable, ya que la lectora es capaz de insuflar la frustración de la vida diaria en los diálogos de la pareja.

También me ha interesado mucho la crítica hacia el financiamiento de los estudios científicos, que al depender de capital externo y privado, queda a la merced de los caprichos del capitalismo o del mecenas de turno. No parecen importantes las consecuencias del estudio mientras se puedan obtener réditos económicos.

Creo que buscaré más obras de Lee Mandelo para ver qué tiene que ofrecer.

In a small number of pages, this sci fi novella offers a unique off kilter narrative. This story is built around such a strange premise… yet it worked.

I enjoyed the main character of Sean and her fraying relationship with her wife. His workaholic tendencies feel believable. The work with the wolves was quite fascinating.

Overall, this ended up being exactly the smart, unique science fiction story I was looking for. Despite being a shorter work, I felt it was the right length for the story and I would not have wanted it to be longer.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoyed this book, could not get into the story and felt like nothing happened in it. This was a really short book but honestly I just wanted to be done with it.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an AudioARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a definite improvement upon the scattered disorganization of Summer Sons, though it lacked the visceral imagery that peppered that book (frequently enough that I kept reading even though I wasn’t particularly enjoying it). FEED THEM SILENCE brings up a lot of important topics in passing: commercialization/privatization of scientific discovery, conservation as a fad rather than a directive, empathetic distance (ie how close something/someone has to be to trigger empathy), interracial/intercultural marriage, and more. But we spent so much time in Sean’s head that it felt like we kind of missed the mark on all of them.

The ending of the story also snuck up on me. When Natalie Naudus started reading the ending audiobook credits, I was totally caught off guard. My immediate response was “wait, that’s it?”

Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon has founded a ground breaking research project into animal behaviour. She invented a surgical procedure that can provide a brain link between a single human and specific wolf, allowing the human counterpart to experience the senses and emotions of their wolf. Even though she is aware that the neural intervention for Grey Wolves is significant she pushes ahead with research even at the behest of her partner Ria, who clearly points out the lack of ethics within this research,. This only adds pressure to their relationship, which is already crumbling due to her obsession with work.


Having recently undergone the procedure herself, Sean is neurologically linked to a wolf named Kate, which only leads to feed her obsessive behaviour. This futuristic dystopian novella is a cautionary tale about obsession and the use of unrestrained vivisection, with dire consequences.

The narrator was fairly good, although there was a lot of vocal fry.

Feed Them Silence felt a bit like a Black Mirror episode in book form. One that was maybe a bit too long.

Sean, a scientist, is working on a project that allows humans to link their minds with animals in order to better understand them. Sean's research team is testing it on wolves, and Sean volunteers herself to be the person linked to a female wolf named Kate. Sean starts finding that she's perhaps too connected to the wolf though she doesn't see this as a problem, while her struggling marriage pushes her to cling to the connection to Kate and the wolf pack even more.

The concept of being linked to animals like this was super interesting, and I liked the idea of it. However, even though this was a novella, it still somehow felt too long. I liked the spooky vibe of it but it was missing something I can't quite pinpoint to make it really come alive and make me feel the stakes of the story.

I was fortunate enough to get an audio ARC from Netgalley and the publisher and enjoyed the narrator. Feed Them Silence is a cool novella but failed to really capture me as Mandelo's previous book, Summer Sons, did.