The Neotenic Queen

Tales of Sex and Survival in the Sonoran Desert

By: Alejandro Canelos

Narrated by: Matt Staples, Dawn McMillan, Alejandro Canelos

For the animals and plants of the Arizona desert, every day is about staying alive. But it’s all the other stuff—desire, fidelity, hope, envy, grief, betrayal—that bridges the gap between science and fiction, and highlights the interconnectedness of the human and natural worlds.

A wealthy Gila monster suffers from halitosis. A young peccary chooses a side in war. A rattlesnake upends the historic enmity between serpent and man. A subterranean termite princess comes home. Two mothers, a dove and a woodpecker, are confronted by an unthinkable crime. A rogue saguaro cactus learns to listen. A jilted roadrunner moonlights at a hummingbird sex resort. These and dozens more characters run, hop, slither, and fly through captivating storylines and natural history-style illustrations, which are included in the full color companion pdf.

Equal parts biology, fantasy, tragicomedy, and conservation, The Neotenic Queen is a collection of stunning revelations.

Contains mature content.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Alejandro Canelos (P)2022 Alejandro Canelos

Audible recording

I really enjoyed listening to the Audible version. So entertaining and interesting and bonus art illustrations provided.

I’ll never look at hummingbirds the same way again!

Loved these stories of desert animals! They’re anthropomorphized, but from a perspective I’ve never read about or even considered. If I ever see a rattlesnake, tarantula or javelina in person, I’ll be thinking about this book. And the accompanying PDF art is really beautiful.

Sonoran desert as you have never seen it before. It’s

This is a wonderful book. Extraordinary well read and so close to the hearts of desert rats like me. Everyone should listen to it!

Fun and recommended book!

I really enjoyed this excellent book. The short stories mix science and anthropomorphized animals in a way that’s unique in my experience. Some of the stories (maybe all?) are allegorical. It was fun to ferret out the author’s intended meaning. I learned a little bit of science about each animal.

The accompanying illustrations are marvelous. A bonus is the Sonoran Desert setting since I’m a Tucson native and long-term resident. The book has a feel like a children’s book with talking animals and excellent illustrations, but it’s NOT a children’s book.

I unreservedly recommend this book.