Thanks a lot for the ARC!
This was such an absolute SLAY of a book and such a textured, rich read. The prose is FANTASTIC. I have nothing but top notch compliments and praise for it!

This is a novella that packs a punch. Lee Mandelo does a great work with narrative tension as always, and I basically inhaled this novel as we watched Sean fall deeper and deeper into the study and struggle to maintain her marriage and sense of self. It's a very compelling look at intimacy that has a lot to say, and does so successfully in an impressively thin volume that will definitely stay with you. I would recommend to readers looking for literary, speculative science fiction with deeply flawed, deeply human characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I read wolf books as a kid, ones that I read and reread, that stuck with me as a reader - first, <b>Julie of the Wolves</b>, then I graduated to <b>Wolf-Speaker</b> - and last year’s <b>Once We Were Wolves</b> has lingered with me like a ghost, a haunting. I don’t think it’s fair to <I>compare</i> books in some ways (and not fair to compare a book in any way to the spectre that is <b>Once We Were Wolves</b>) but I wanted to establish a baseline for the following statement, on top of my well-documented swooning over Lee Mandelo’s previous work, <b>Summer Sons</b>: there was no chance that I would not like this book.

One of the many things that grabs me about Lee Mandelo’s writing is their ability to write in such a visceral way that wallops you with its emotion. Look, I’m nowhere near as good with words as them, so I’ll put it plainly: their writing always makes me FEEL. And sure, some of the feeling this time was exasperation and dread and stop making the singularly worst decisions you can, won’t you, Sean? But the point is, this is writing that draws me in.

This was tightly laid out, and while I don’t feel like it’s necessarily missing anything in novella form, I think, for me, novel-length wouldn’t have been a bad thing. One thing that stood out to me is this growing sense of almost claustrophobia, like the walls were slowly coming together around me, and while more pages would mean more of that uncomfortable feeling, as Sean undoubtedly would use those extra pages to continue down her path of choosing the worst fork in every road, that is a sacrifice I would be willing to make.

All in all, yes, I <b>will</b> be stalking future Lee Mandelo releases with a fervour, thank you.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Feed Them Silence releases March 14/2023

“What did it mean, to make history?”

The premise of this was so intriguing. I think everyone at one point has given thought to what it would be like to truly communicate with non-human animals on the same wavelength, or even embody living life from their perspective.

In Feed Them Silence — Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon neurologically connects with one of the last remaining wild wolves.
Not only was this focused on the scientific research of wolves, but it also incorporated home-life-marriage dynamics, which I really liked.
Lines blurred between seeking connection from immediate loved ones, or from another species altogether, as well as the ethics of the whole situation.
The counter arguments made by Sean’s wife, Riya, held a lot of weight, and I loved the introspective thoughts that their characters brought to the plot.
The parasocial relationship between Sean and Kate, the wolf, was one of the most interesting things I’ve read. In my eyes, it was inevitable for them to form a more than surface level connection and chemical change that quickly reached out of bounds of what the funders of this research project intended.

“You’re chasing another creature to give you the intimacy you’re craving, a being that can’t reciprocate your desire the way Riya can and has.”

For a novella, this was very well rounded and packed a punch.
The ending leaves for a lot of reflection.
I think this would translate well to screen!

- sci-fi novella
- interracial F/F marriage
- they/them pronouns
- set in 2031
- does include cheating

Have you ever wanted to watch someone ruin their own life?

Feed Them Silence was a book I could not put down, though I desperately wanted to. It’s so well written, compelling, bleak. In fewer than 125 pages, Lee Mandelo put me through the wringer. The backbone of the book is a near future, science-y premise, but really the story is one of watching someone self-immolate and wondering how easily that could be…me.

To begin with, Sean sucks. In a novella, a character doesn’t get to be that many versions of themselves, and so…this version of Sean is one that would not pass muster in an AITA post on Reddit. She has a massive case of Main Character Syndrome (leaving out that she is, you know, the main character), and she acknowledges no one outside of what they can do for her.

And although I want to believe I’d be better than her, there’s a lot I recognize in these pages. Marriage inter-twined with ambition and ego. Losing yourself in a job or a hobby, finding yourself needing it to escape from a painful reality, and the closed loop created thereby. Convincing yourself the thing that YOU want is the Right Thing, and you definitely aren’t being selfish or behaving poorly right now.

Up until the very last page, I couldn’t guess how it would end. I didn’t WANT there to be an easy ending for Sean, who I both empathized with and wanted to strangle the entire time. Without spoilers, I’ll just say that if I knew Sean in real life, I would just slowly stop responding to her text messages and float away from her.

I definitely recommend this book. I can’t think of another recent story that I enjoyed reading so much, while so thoroughly disliking all the things it made me feel.

(Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for a free copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

Lee Mandelo's Feed Them Silence is a near-future novella set nearly entirely in two places: the lab, where researchers lead by our main character, an academic, study the behavior of wolves from a new perspective, inside of a wolf's mind transmitted to our main character through a technological implant and translated through her understanding, and in the home of our main character, where she (a butch white woman) lives with her wife (a woman of color, also in academia) as their marriage crumbles.

In this short book, Mandelo spans many topics: climate change and nature, academic observation vs .obstruction/intervention, marriage and gender roles in the home, domestication vs. wildness, connection and loneliness. He handles each topic with immense sensitivity and grace. Even where his characters are unlikeable, and the main character here is, he deftly and compassionately guides you through their thinking and understanding. I found this book to be thought-provoking on all fronts -- making me think deeply about nature and our connection to it, about love and the bonds we choose.

If this book has a major fault, in my opinion, it is that it was not longer. The shorter form is poignant, but the topics within and the narrative felt like they could have been expanded upon even more without losing what made this book great. I loved it.

This was one interesting premise of a book, and when I started it I had some high hopes for what was to come. I did not understand all the science behind it, which was fine, as they do not need you too. You know what is going on, which is good, and I admit I started withy mixed feeling about what the characters were going to be doing.

When it comes to the main character, I don't see much to like about her, if I am honest, but I do feel sorry for those in her life.

But the way the author describes the senses that the character shares with the wolf, now that was amazing and I enjoyed those bits immensely. The scents, colours, thoughts and feelings the interaction of wolf and the pack. That was some great writing.

I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but can like them all. But is this book worth reading? The it is a big fat YES from me.

Mandelo’s skill at writing embodiment is showcased in Feed Them Silence, with the viscera of human and animal experience laid raw and reaching. Same as with his first book, many scenes are crafted so vividly they feel like memories that I won't be able to shake for too long. At the risk of comparing two very different books, I want to note that I loved how distinctly different the introspection of this main character felt from their last book; the clarity, even when self-deluding, of Sean's inner voice is a delight to suffer alongside and establishes a maturity without skirting past her younger drives.

If you're not a frequent novella reader because you find it hard to connect with characters in such a short space, you likely won't have that problem here — Mandelo has deftly fleshed out main and side characters using small, unique gestures that were simple yet moving. Sean’s relationship conflict with her wife Riya was so deeply painful to watch play out and so well-crafted; so much of their dialogue will be a relable gut-punch for readers in longer-term relationships. The line “as if the pair of them were each acting the life they’d rather be living, for the sake of a minute’s respite” left me feeling a bleak sort of evisceration.

It feels necessary to comment on parasocial relationships and narcissism as they're the heart of this narrative, but I think I'd rather everyone reading this review just pick up the book and hear what Mandelo’s saying. Doubtless other reviewers will also cover this ground too, so I'll only add: so thoughtful, pointed, and well-crafted.

Mild, vague spoiler ahead:

My only note was a really bleak and rough event at the end was skated past quite quickly, which I believe was on purpose because the true emotional crush was Sean’s decision of what to do afterward. I'd be even more wrecked after reading what that scene -could- have looked like so thanks Mandelo, and also, emphatically, ow.

3.5 stars


Super conflicted feelings about this one. On one hand, Mandelo delivers the same fantastic narrative voice and style that they gave us in Summer Sons, one of my favourite books last year. I felt motivated to know what would happen, and since I love Mandelo's writing, I devoured it quickly.

On the flip side, there were parts that I really, really didn't like. For one, I SUPER did not like the main character. She's not supposed to be likeable -- she's very clearly meant to be disliked by the reader for how she treats her wife (a fellow academic, who is a woman of color) and for how she embodies qualities of toxic masculinity that are all too common in academia (both in her lab and in her daily life). And I really appreciated how the author critiques these aspects that people in academia can embody, no matter their gender or sexuality. But -- maybe because I encounter so many similar people in my professional life day to day -- I found her to be so unlikeable that I struggled to connect to her conflicts.

Additionally -- and this is absolutely a me problem -- I was not in the headspace to read a book that's so near-future and already so depressing regarding climate catastrophe. Climate crisis & catastrophe featured even more heavily than I had expected, and while I would absolutely describe myself as an environmentalist, I cannot dwell on that in my fiction reading. If that doesn't bother you in your fiction, I think this novella will be much more successful for you.

All in all, I'm glad I got to read this early! I would recommend it, but would definitely keep the aspects I disliked in mind if those are areas you're not interested in having in your fiction reading.

Feed Them Silence is one hell of a read. Bringing work-life balance to the center in this sci-fi tale about a scientist of dubious ethics researching one of the last packs of wild wolves, Feed Them Silence blurs the lines between animal and human and what's objective and subjective. It's a study in loneliness, and all the placebos for true connections technology lets us explore. Watching Sean continue to make one bad decision after another in her personal and professional life was a transgressive delight. Trust me, this book is going to live in your head rent-free well after reading the final page.

Thank you, Tor/Forge, for allowing me to read Feed Them Silence early.

Summer Sons is one of my most favorite reads, so of course I wanted to read Feed Them Silence badly. The story is way different from Summer Sons, but boy, oh boy, did I enjoy myself. I just read it in one sitting until late night. Can't wait to buy a copy!

Upon hearing that Lee Mandelo was releasing something new, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC which gave me extremely early access to yet another masterpiece from this author. After Summer Sons, I knew that Mandelo would be one of my immediate buy authors for the rest of the foreseeable future. Their haunting prose is what truly sets them apart from a lot of the other authors I read. The idea of a sort of parasocial relationship between a woman and a wolf isn’t normally something I would jump at reading, but like I said, I would jump at anything Lee Mandelo writes. Not only did I devour this, but I was devoured by this.

Feed Them Silence is a lot different than a lot of what is being put out lately and it grabs you right from the start. The mix of the obsessed artist type Sean and her toxic relationship with both an endangered creature and her estranged wife is absurdly addicting. Sean’s need for communication even though she could have it if she only turned around is heartbreaking and relatable. And while the conclusion is shattering it also has an air of hope that screams realistic, especially in today’s world. On sale March 14, 2023; don’t miss it!