Weird and nasty and so fun! I loved this. I'll take queer women in animalistic environments any day, anytime. Pick this up if you're looking for a quick and visceral horror story!

Okay, this novella is weird but it unexpectedly really worked for me. It's a horror novella but at its core I think it's about how many of us seek connection and depth of feeling by immersing ourselves in a virtual world in hopes of finding a sense of purpose and freedom from existential loneliness. All the while, neglecting the relationships we already have and compounding the problem. Feed Them Silence imagines a move toward a more extreme version of this while things go terribly wrong.

In the near future Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon and her wife are middle-aged lesbians with marriage problems. But even as that relationship erodes, Sean throws herself into her research studying neurological connections between humans and animals as a way to create empathy. Sean is herself the test subject, being neurologically connected via surgery to a wolf. While the study is supposed to be clinical, Sean finds herself reacting physically and emotionally to the experience of sessions being bonded with this wolf as she interacts with her pack. Finding comfort and connection that she struggles with in real life.

I really connected with this novella and the horror felt horrific to me. Is it because I have experience sustaining a relationship for well over a decade? Very probably. While the wolf stuff is weird, this touches on very real struggles that are common to long term couples. Taking someone for granted, not communicating, workaholic tendencies, getting too comfortable, losing yourself in media, neglecting to show care, or even (as in this novella with a cross-cultural relationship) failing to recognize where you've fallen into harmful patterns with racial or gendered ramifications. All of these are things you have to actively work to combat in a successful long-term relationship and this very effectively navigates the horror and trauma of a relationship falling apart. And of course creepy brain patterns from being connected to a wolf.

While I suspect this will be a miss for a cross-section of readers it was definitely a hit for me. And I think there's something about Mandelo's writing that just works for my brain. And fantastic audio narration! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

As someone who also had a phase where she was obsessed with wolves (still am to a certain degree) and dreant about being a shapeshifter, let's just say that this particular story had an immediate appeal. Using technology to connect with wolves and losing yourself in that process? Sold.

Sadly, the story itself is actually a little boring? Sean is an interesting, maybe unlikeable protagonist and it's her obsession that drives the plot. The book does not really go as far as I would have hoped based on the synopsis and stays fairly close to our contemporary world and understanding of science.
It also falls into the cliche where Sean projects every single one of her feelings and problems onto her wolf and its pack, extrapolating reasons behind their behaviour patterns without checking for her own obvious biases. It's frustrating since the book does engage with the question of the ethics of her research and, if you know anything about flagship species, kind of leans into that concept as well to form its argumentation. The surrounding conversations about the dying ecosystem at large where my favourite parts but the actual science and research aspects are minimal.

Sean's crumbling marriage is also important to the story and while entertaining, also fell into a predictable pattern. I especially thought the fact that her wife is a woman of color to just be thrown out there but not really grappled with.

Do not expect this novella to be wildly unpredictable or lean into strong horror elements. Overall, it kept me interested enough to finish it but its final chapter is boring, if open-ended.
The audiobook itself was perfectly serviceable, I just wished the story had been more intriguing.

Mandelo packs a lot of important conversations on consent, commitment, trauma and considering the ethics behind the intention. The fraying relationship between Sean and Riya was a good anchor for the story - especially with the insightful (and positive) therapy sessions. Following Sean and her need to feel important, loved, and cared for was frustrating forcing me to root for every other character but Mandelo manages to make me root for her ever-so-slightly still. Will definitely read more from this author!

3.5

This is a short atmospheric near future novella about a scientist doing research into wolves. I was initially drawn to it because I’d heard good things about Mandelo’s debut Summer Sons and the strength of the messy queer characters in that, and then I saw that Natalie Naudus was the audiobook narrator.

The narrative is strange and the plot is somewhat lacking, but I loved watching Sean. She is messy and driven and throughout the novella we see her workaholic propensity and how that is effecting her relationship with her wife. This novella brings up themes of conservation and human caused environmental degradation and the perils of private funding in research.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for an ALC of this book which I have desperately been trying to get my hands on.

Sean's dedication to her job and myopia has estranged her from her wife, but it could be worth it if she made the breakthrough in research she's been hoping by creating a neural link between herself and a wolf.


This book was a knife to my heart. I adore Mandelo's writing of messy queers and Sean is messy with a capital M. The descriptions of her work and relationships are so intriguing and I love the science fictiony aspects of this. I wish I got to feel for the main characters more in this but that feels like a side effect of it being so short.

The ending. Okay so without spoilers, the almost-ending was incredibly upsetting but then the ending-ending was so good for me. It felt right for the story and I really enjoyed that part!

Can't wait to own a physical copy of this next month!

CW: animal death, death, infidelity, toxic relationship

Smart, sexy, and also deeply discomforting. The premise keeps you feeling … off kilter somehow, waiting to see where the story goes, while the profoundly flawed humanity of our main character keeps you invested all the way through. A big impact for such a tiny book.

I appreciated the strange uniqueness of the premise of Feed Them Silence, but the execution was lacking something.

I was so eager and excited to read the next work from Lee Mandelo. The writing is so enticing, truly pulling the reader in. Our protagonist, Sean is dealing with her crumbling marriage and her important work at the same time, though the state of her marriage is in direct result of her being married to her work.

Sean is connected to a wolf pack through this incredible technology that connects her mind to one wolf in the pack. She is able to see and feel and experience life through this one wolf’s eyes. There is a stronger than strong pull Sean feels through this connection and I enjoyed it.

There was something missing though, in this book. Something missing that kept me from really and truly enjoying myself as I hoped I would.