Feed Them Silence

by Lee Mandelo

Overview

Lee Mandelo dives into the minds of wolves in Feed Them Silence, a novella of the near future.

What does it mean to "be-in-kind" with a nonhuman animal? Or in Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon’s case, to be in-kind with one of the last remaining wild wolves? Using a neurological interface to translate her animal subject’s perception through her own mind, Sean intends to chase both her scientific curiosity and her secret, lifelong desire to experience the intimacy and freedom of wolfishness. To see the world through animal eyes; smell the forest, thick with olfactory messages; even taste the blood and viscera of a fresh kill. And, above all, to feel the belonging of the pack.

Sean’s tireless research gives her a chance to fulfill that dream, but pursuing it has a terrible cost. Her obsession with work endangers her fraying relationship with her wife. Her research methods threaten her mind and body. And the attention of her VC funders could destroy her subject, the beautiful wild wolf whose mental world she’s invading.

Also Available by Lee Mandelo:

Summer Sons

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250824509
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	159,198
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

LEE MANDELO is a writer, critic, and occasional editor whose fields of interest include speculative and queer fiction, especially when the two coincide. His debut novel Summer Sons, which has been featured in NPR and the Chicago Review of Books, is a contemporary southern gothic dealing with queer masculinity, fast cars, and ugly inheritances. Other work can be found in magazines such as Tor.com, Uncanny, and Nightmare; he has also been a past nominee for awards including the Nebula, Lambda, and Hugo. Aside from a stint overseas learning to speak Scouse, Mandelo has spent his life ranging across Kentucky, currently living in Louisville and pursuing a PhD at the University of Kentucky.

Editorial Reviews

An NPR Best Book of 2023!

“It's rare to find such a bold exploration of [our fraying relationship with nature] as we do in Feed them Silence.” —Charlie Jane Anders for The Washington Post

“Feed Them Silence is a toxic love story with the world we're killing, delivered in Mandelo's visceral, melancholic prose. You'll want to put it down, but you won't.” —Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Once and Future Witches

“Holy hell, what a visceral and heart-clenching book. Feed Them Silence is a searing portrait of what it means to give up distance for the sake of understanding.” —Sarah Gailey, bestselling author of Magic for Liars

“Lee Mandelo's crisp, urgent novella, centered on a study that links the consciousness of a researcher to that of one of North America's last wild wolves, is a new leader of the pack.” —Scientific American

“Feed Them Silence is a creative exploration of belonging and the burdens of humanity with an incredible amount of depth.” —Liam McBain for NPR

“Mandelo delivers a powerful message about environmentalism and the limits of technology that doubles as a page-turning story about a collapsing marriage. Urgent, intimate, immediate, this is sure to wow.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Marvelously original and told with sensual perfection, Feed Them Silence is a beautiful, haunting testament to human need—and a lament for everything it destroys.” —Andy Davidson, author of The Hollow Kind

“Lee Mandelo shows how quickly catastrophe can breed distrust in both people and starving wolves. When a single element falters, the entire environment begins to crumble.” —Los Angeles Review of Books

“An unsettling exploration of intimacy...Feed Them Silence subtly illuminates the disintegration of boundaries: humans and animals, work and love, research and exploitation.” —E.J. Beaton, author of The Councillor

“This novella... will make readers consider their own beliefs regarding ethics, research, technology, and relationships.” —Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2022

In the near future, neuroscientist Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon creates a novel observational experiment using a neural brain-mesh to combine her brain with Kate's, a wolf who is part of one of the world's last wild packs. By pursuing her life's dream, though, Sean is also fraying her marriage with her wife. As marital tensions rise, her research method also presents a terrifying complication for both her and Kate. Sean will need to navigate the implications of her research on both her personal and professional lives. The novella presents an interesting "what-if" scenario wrapped within an ethical conundrum. This allows Mandelo to focus on the relationships between their characters and to push them in unsettling and challenging directions. VERDICT Supported by Mandelo's (Summer Sons) characteristic, melancholic prose, this novella may not be for every reader, but it will appeal to those who appreciate delving into thorny ethical dilemmas and will make readers consider their own beliefs regarding ethics, research, technology, and relationships.—Laura Hiatt

Library Journal

Narrator Natalie Naudus captures the deep sorrow at the heart of this hauntingly beautiful novella. She fully embodies Sean, a scientist who has discovered a way to link her brain with those of animals to better understand their emotional realities. When Sean links up with one of the few remaining wild wolves, her understanding of herself and the natural world begins to shift. Naudus's narration is close and tense. As Sean becomes more attached to her wolf, her narration becomes more growly. In scenes in which Sean fights with her wife or observes the wolf pack facing danger, her voice breaks with emotion--as if Sean can hardly bear what she's experiencing. This short audiobook casts a powerful lingering spell. L.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

Narrator Natalie Naudus captures the deep sorrow at the heart of this hauntingly beautiful novella. She fully embodies Sean, a scientist who has discovered a way to link her brain with those of animals to better understand their emotional realities. When Sean links up with one of the few remaining wild wolves, her understanding of herself and the natural world begins to shift. Naudus's narration is close and tense. As Sean becomes more attached to her wolf, her narration becomes more growly. In scenes in which Sean fights with her wife or observes the wolf pack facing danger, her voice breaks with emotion--as if Sean can hardly bear what she's experiencing. This short audiobook casts a powerful lingering spell. L.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile