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scifi_rat's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Grief, Cursing, Alcohol, Medical content, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism and Vomit
charlotteer's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The writing style felt almost lyrical to begin with but towards the middle/end it became more repetitive, with the same words or a similar description used noticeably more than once or twice.
The plot was interesting and was explored well in its 105 pages but I felt as if it fell short of a few expectations and was a little lack-lustre because of this.
Overall, a little too monotonous for me but I did enjoy reading it!
The plot was interesting and was explored well in its 105 pages but I felt as if it fell short of a few expectations and was a little lack-lustre because of this.
Overall, a little too monotonous for me but I did enjoy reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Medical content
Moderate: Gore, Infidelity, Animal death, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Alcohol
sarahholliday's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked up Feed Them Silence on a whim at the library, initially intrigued by the title and then completely sold on the eco-fiction-meets-speculative-horror premise. That this short novella manages to tackle the ethics and politics of academic research; domestic unease rooted in miscommunication that finds its source in deeply internalized gender norms; environmental crisis and the responsibility we as humans have to earth's other inhabitants in the midst of it—and that it tackles all of these things with a hefty degree of nuance is astounding.
Sean is a fascinating protagonist, at once reprehensibly selfish and pathetically sympathetic, and I loved how Madelo used her conversations with Riya to dig into the ethics of research questions and funding sources.
The writing in Feed Them Silence is layered and beautiful, capturing the various tones in which Sean engages with Kate (her canine research subject) and the world around her.
I really loved this novella and think it's a testament to what can be done with this genre of writing.
Sean is a fascinating protagonist, at once reprehensibly selfish and pathetically sympathetic, and I loved how Madelo used her conversations with Riya to dig into the ethics of research questions and funding sources.
The writing in Feed Them Silence is layered and beautiful, capturing the various tones in which Sean engages with Kate (her canine research subject) and the world around her.
I really loved this novella and think it's a testament to what can be done with this genre of writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty
devin_raquel's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Medical content
booksthatburn's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
FEED THEM SILENCE is the story of Sean, an academic researcher trying to gain a sense of intimacy in her own life through a technologically assisted neurological interface connecting her to a wolf, rather than nurturing intimacy and connection with the humans in her life (such as her wife). She feels deeply connected to the wolf she’s studying. Part of this is through anthropomorphizing the wolf with the assistance of the technology that maps the words, thoughts, emotions, and perceptions onto her own, human brain. She specifically thinks of this as not anthropomorphizing, and I’m not quite sure how literally to believe that in the story, especially when it’s about how her obsession with treating this as the most important relationship in her life leads her down a path where the being she feels most connected to is one that is likely unaware of her presence. To whatever extent the wolf ("Kate") knows of her, it is as a blurry memory of kidnapping and pain when the other terminal of the neural interface was implanted.
At home, Sean's wife is feeling disregarded and unloved, like Sean just wants her there to cook and clean. They’re both academics with their own careers, but one of Riya's complaints is the way that Sean is behaving like a white man who just wants a housewife. Riya has put her own desires aside for a long time because of the demands of Sean's research and academic schedule, but as their relationship deteriorates, Riya tries to get Sean to initiate connection, or at least reciprocate it. But she feels like an ancillary note to Sean's research, research that she feels has massive ethical concerns. Sean’s thoughts are consumed by her work, it seems as though she’s been obsessed with this idea for a very long time. Then the reality of it, and whatever is going on with the neural link, has turned it from a dream into an obsession that is distorting her ability to put care into other parts of her life for any significant stretch of time.
There’s an ongoing question about whether what is happening is cruel, as there is no way for the wolf to meaningfully consent to the experiment. Having tied her own brain to Kate, Sean ends up more and more torn in her thoughts, because the only way that she’s obtaining this intimacy is through what began as and continues to be a massive violation of the wolf's autonomy. Her fellow researchers see Kate and her pack as part of an experiment, having accepted that the process of observing them during a harsh winter is likely to mean watching them die. But, as she feels more connected, Sean is unable to accept this. Because her change in her stance is driven by an increasing (and one-sided) emotional bond with Kate, Sean is also unable to meaningfully articulate her changing feelings without letting on to her colleagues how much this process is affecting her.
Set in the 2030's, climate change and the associated ongoing loss of many animal species forms a backdrop to this drama, as part of the reason for this particular research is that this is the last wild wolf pack. I’m not sure if it’s the last one in the region or the last one on Earth, but the main point is that the trajectory for the species is one of decline and impending extinction. This makes the various questions around how to study the wolf pack even more important, but whatever precise way they matter to the characters, these considerations don’t overly end up affecting the story. There wouldn’t be a book if they weren’t going to go ahead and do the research. That choice at the beginning sets many things in motion so that the environmental and ethical concerns become matters of conscience after the fact, more issues of how to gain some sense of stability, and potentially assuage any moral compunctions or lingering guilt over what happened.
I specifically enjoy this audiobook narrator’s performances, I’ve been reading a lot of them recently. I like the ending because it feels realistic for the characters without feeling inevitable. It doesn’t feel like this was the only way that things could’ve gone on every front, but there is a kind of slowly unfolding horror; realizing the way things are likely to go and seeing the characters seemingly unable to avoid it. In terms of character development, I like how the various members of Sean‘s team have different reactions to what’s going on. They’ve accepted animal death as part of their research, but seem to not be taking seriously the level of cruelty that’s involved in this particular experiment until it's already in motion and they figure out how to make some kind of peace with it.
At home, Sean's wife is feeling disregarded and unloved, like Sean just wants her there to cook and clean. They’re both academics with their own careers, but one of Riya's complaints is the way that Sean is behaving like a white man who just wants a housewife. Riya has put her own desires aside for a long time because of the demands of Sean's research and academic schedule, but as their relationship deteriorates, Riya tries to get Sean to initiate connection, or at least reciprocate it. But she feels like an ancillary note to Sean's research, research that she feels has massive ethical concerns. Sean’s thoughts are consumed by her work, it seems as though she’s been obsessed with this idea for a very long time. Then the reality of it, and whatever is going on with the neural link, has turned it from a dream into an obsession that is distorting her ability to put care into other parts of her life for any significant stretch of time.
There’s an ongoing question about whether what is happening is cruel, as there is no way for the wolf to meaningfully consent to the experiment. Having tied her own brain to Kate, Sean ends up more and more torn in her thoughts, because the only way that she’s obtaining this intimacy is through what began as and continues to be a massive violation of the wolf's autonomy. Her fellow researchers see Kate and her pack as part of an experiment, having accepted that the process of observing them during a harsh winter is likely to mean watching them die. But, as she feels more connected, Sean is unable to accept this. Because her change in her stance is driven by an increasing (and one-sided) emotional bond with Kate, Sean is also unable to meaningfully articulate her changing feelings without letting on to her colleagues how much this process is affecting her.
Set in the 2030's, climate change and the associated ongoing loss of many animal species forms a backdrop to this drama, as part of the reason for this particular research is that this is the last wild wolf pack. I’m not sure if it’s the last one in the region or the last one on Earth, but the main point is that the trajectory for the species is one of decline and impending extinction. This makes the various questions around how to study the wolf pack even more important, but whatever precise way they matter to the characters, these considerations don’t overly end up affecting the story. There wouldn’t be a book if they weren’t going to go ahead and do the research. That choice at the beginning sets many things in motion so that the environmental and ethical concerns become matters of conscience after the fact, more issues of how to gain some sense of stability, and potentially assuage any moral compunctions or lingering guilt over what happened.
I specifically enjoy this audiobook narrator’s performances, I’ve been reading a lot of them recently. I like the ending because it feels realistic for the characters without feeling inevitable. It doesn’t feel like this was the only way that things could’ve gone on every front, but there is a kind of slowly unfolding horror; realizing the way things are likely to go and seeing the characters seemingly unable to avoid it. In terms of character development, I like how the various members of Sean‘s team have different reactions to what’s going on. They’ve accepted animal death as part of their research, but seem to not be taking seriously the level of cruelty that’s involved in this particular experiment until it's already in motion and they figure out how to make some kind of peace with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Cursing, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Racism
alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Animal death, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Gore, Sexual content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
bikelpie's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A great commentary on the affects of both intentional and unintentional exploitative human nature. An analysis of the different ways a person can be selfish even in the name of selflessness, and how even the best intentions are never truly good if there is an anticipated reward. I enjoyed the almost demand for introspection after finishing the book. Very well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Medical content
Minor: Medical trauma, Cursing, Confinement, Vomit, and Alcohol
starrysteph's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A bleak & distressing journey into the near-future that felt a bit like a Black Mirror episode (though not quite as tech-y).
We follow Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon, a work-obsessed researcher who is intent on bridging the gap between humans and animals. Her newest project uses advanced neuroscience to translate the live perception of a wolf through her own eyes (she’s always been fascinated by wolves & is hoping to protect one of the last remaining wild packs). But between her greedy VC funders and her strained relationship with her wife, her world is teetering on the edge of ruin.
It’s a sad tale from start to finish. Mandelo’s characters waver ethically, hurt each other, and challenge their humanity & their empathy for the world around them.
Sean is not particularly likable - she’s not a good partner and doesn’t feel motivated to change that, she’s so blinded by her curiosity that she doesn’t critically consider who is funding her project, her desire to be close with wolves overrides any consideration of animal ethics, and so on. But her fascination and attachment to the wolves was incredibly compelling. And the foil of the one-sided relationship between Sean and her wolf and Sean and her wife was very well-done!
Feed Them Silence both challenges academia and eerily captures human greed for knowledge without care of who it may hurt or destroy. It’s a look at intimacy and selfishness and greed and obsession.
I think the limits could have been pushed further; I was ready to be repulsed by more weirdness. I also had very mixed feelings about the ending. But I was definitely immersed in this uneasy little story.
CW: animal cruelty & animal death, animal medical experimentation, medical content, grief, blood, gore, vomit, injury, violence, infidelity, racism, sexism
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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Infidelity, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Medical content, and Violence
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In this haunting near future novella, a misguided experiment hastens the collapse of a lesbian neuroscientist’s years-long marriage. Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon has managed to secure private funding for a research project centered on the last wild pack of gray wolves. Via surgical device implantation, Sean’s brain will be connected to one of the wolves’, which will feed Sean sensory input only during highly-controlled in-lab sessions. As Sean begins to experience first-hand the chilled forest air, the bond between packmates, feelings of hunger and desperation, she develops an intimate connection with “her wolf.” An obsession she mistakes for love will certainly end in heartbreak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Alcohol, Blood, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit
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