The bad news: The Mystic Sands by Alflor Aalto is a funny animal novel. The characters, all anthropomorphized animals, are interchangeable surrogate humans. There is no reason for any of them to be raccoons, rabbits, foxes, weasels, squirrels, or anything other than humans. They are all human-sized, wear regular human clothes (imagine a human-sized squirrel wearing Victorian clothes), eat human diets, etc. They do occasionally refer to their animal natures:

And don’t you worry your fluffy ringed tails, my friends. (p. 36)

The good news: The Mystic Sands by Alflor Aalto is a ripping good page-turner, a guaranteed attention-holding light thriller of the 1930s Weird Tales sort with anthropomorphized animals that will have you wanting to finish it in one session. Go buy it!

Las Vegas, NV, Rabbit Valley Comics, May 2013, trade paperback $20.00 (245 pages).

The front cover blurb reads: An Erotic Historical Tale. It is rated NC-17. Isaac Ellison, a part-albino cheetah (with unusually pale fur and a beefy physique like a Marine), and his inventor buddy, Raziel, a humanoid reptile (“He looked quite draconic, but slender as opposed to the more bulky builds of lore. Small spines dotted his scalp where eyebrows would be, and two long, black horns swept back almost uniformly with his fire colored mane that consisted of fur and light feathering, before the mane started springing out wildly in any direction it damn well pleased.” –p. 7), go back in time to an anthropomorphic Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians mistake them for warrior and fertility gods, and a tremendous amount of enthusiastic sex is had by all. In fact, until the ending, The Jackal Queen hardly offers anything but. Isaac and Raziel worry about changing history, but not much.

This is a mature content book. Please ensure that you are of legal age to purchase this material in your state or region. (publisher's rating)

FurPlanet Productions, July 2013, trade paperback $9.95 (138 pages). Illustrated by Kadath.

Researchers have found that Egyptian Jackal is actually a member of the Grey Wolf species complex. [thesaprophelite/a.f.f]

Phylogenetic testing confirmed that the species – previously classified as a sub-species of the Golden Jackal – is most closely related to the Indian and Himalayan Wolf, confirming long-held suspicions over its heriatige.

The paper also notes discovery of individuals in the Ethiopian highlands, and suggests the taxon be renamed the African Wolf.

A team of 18 working for the Supreme Council of Antiquities have discovered the ruins of a temple believed to be dedicated to the cat-god Bastet, according to Head of Antiquities Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud. Its presence suggests the continuing worship of the feline deity after the decline of ancient Egypt.

The temple belonged to Queen Berenice II; wife to Ptolemy III, who reigned 246–222 BCE and erected the Stone of Canopus - the first in the bilingual Rosetta stone series.

Initially depicted as a leonine, male figure, the being once known as Bast had, by this time acquired a more domestic, feminine persona nicknamed the perfumed protector; a suitable choice for a queen. However, the cat-god ultimately failed to prevent Berenice's son from murdering his mother and marrying his sister.