Crier's War: 1

Product Information

Saying Too Much: Rosi is a devout member of the Anti-Reliance Movement, and she gives Crier a lot of information about Kinok's plans in their casual conversations because she thinks that Crier must already be involved. Crier leans into this to pump her for as much info as she can. Crier's Waris a beautiful poem of a book that touches meaningfully on such complex themes as forbidden romance, political subterfuge, and what exactly it means to be human. Fans of both fantasy and sci-fi: this book is for you." —Tara Sim, author of the Timekeeper trilogy

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Before you dive in and fall in love like we have, here’s what you need to know: After a war tore their kingdom apart, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, took over and bent the human race to their will. And now, so many years later, Ayla, a human servant, is determined to get revenge by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Crier. The only problem? Their mutual intrigue turns to love. It’s a slow-burn, nemeses-to-lovers revolution and, basically, it’s everything.At this point, while I’m still not addicted to it as I was with the previous book I read (like I seriously couldn’t put ACOTAR down, I read each book at least four times). I was finding myself enjoying it more than I had in the beginning. And it didn’t feel like an effort anymore to read/understand. Historically, the BAE was divided into "Eras" (centuries) itself, which were then divided into individual years. The War of Kinds began in Era 900, Year 24 (Also presented as simply Year 924). But now Ayla stared out at the marketplace, at the crowd of sleek, beautiful Automae— leeches—and tried to keep the hatred and disgust off her face. Nobody bought flowers from a girl who looked like she’d rather be selling poison. Please Put Some Clothes On: Occurs after Ayla and Lady Crier are taking a bath in a river, and actually goes in both directions. Crier is initially unwilling to disrobe because she assumes that humans are hung up on the nudity taboo and that Ayla won't want her to take her clothes off, so Ayla eventually has to tell her to get in the river. When she gets out of the river to dry she then forgets to re-dress, and Ayla has to remind her.

Love, a glowing lantern in their hearts; hunger, a liquid heat in their bellies; souls, dark wells in their eyes. Benjy kisses Ayla before they begin the mission to steal Kinok's compass. Ayla herself does not know what Benjy intended, and thinks that it felt like "closure". Capital Letters Are Magic: The steps and final products in the alchemical process are all spelt with capital letters: Objects (And Automae) are Designed and Made, and if there is an error then the final product is Flawed. There’s something almost…spiritual about this description that I can’t quite put my finger on but that I LOVE. Once again, I could call out tons more beautiful passages but I want you to experience them yourself within the book!In a nigh-unrecognizable world, humans are kept as servants on large estates controlled by Automa, impossibly advanced creations who have recently seized power. The history of how artificial intelligence took over develops in interstitial chapters told by various historians while tensions rise in the present. Humans have various skin tones, including swarthy and brown, but racial categories don’t seem to matter in a world where the main axis of power is human versus Made. Crier is the daughter of Sovereign Hesod, who loves appropriating human culture while brutally oppressing the people under his rule. She is also betrothed to Kinok, an Automa with more separatist beliefs toward humans as well as a plan to make him and his kin invulnerable. Meanwhile Ayla, a human girl who lost her family to Automa violence, takes a job as Crier’s handmaiden in an attempt to take them down from the inside. Dizzying political machinations intertwine with a burgeoning romance between mistress and servant, especially since Crier suspects that she was built with a capacity for love that her kind shouldn’t have. The plot zooms ahead despite being a setup for the sequel, with nail-biting sexual tension between Crier and Ayla—queerness is unremarkable in this world but cross-species relations are unthinkable. Condescending Compassion: Lady Crier does earnestly mean well, but her perspective on humanity is so skewed and influenced by her position and education that she doesn't understand how poorly they are treated by her fellow Automa or how difficult their lives are. The Hunt was an old human ritual, so old that most humans did not use it anymore. But Hesod was a Traditionalist and historian at heart, and he fostered a unique appreciation for human traditions and mythology. When Crier was Made, he had anointed her forehead with wine and honey for good fortune. When she came of age at thirteen, he had gifted her a silver dress embroidered with the phases of the moon. When he decided that she would marry Kinok, a Scyre from the Western Mountains, he did not make arrangements for Crier to take part in the Automa tradition of traveling to a Maker’s workshop, designing and creating a symbolic gift for her future husband. He had planned for a Hunt. I almost forgot, 7h into this 11h audio book is when you FINALLY get their first and LAST kiss of this book. They then almost immediately become adversary’s again. Readers will find themselves immersed in a sapphic story shrouded in political intrigue.[…] A lush […] fantasy debut with science fiction elements and LGBTQIA+ representation, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass.” — School Library Journal

I was hooked right from the start into this unique world the author creates, where Automae, humans re-made with better abilities, rule and Humans are inferior. The world-building is absolutely fantastic, with a complex history and rules of its own. I was curious from the start and, as I read on, I was fascinated. I couldn’t stop reading. Time in Zulla is currently divided into two different eras: Before Automa Era and Automa Era. The story starts in year 47AE.Crier leaves early and ends up at the human’s celebration of the Reaper’s Moon. Ayla spots her after admitting to Benjy that it’s her fault Nessa is dead. She refuses to let him speak knowing that he’ll admit something she isn’t ready for, since again he’s her only connection on Kinok’s wall. Ayla spots Crier and leaves begging Crier not to tell her father about their gathering in fear of everyone’s death. Crier agrees more because she is furious by her father after the council meeting, and tells Ayla a story before they go their separate ways. Crier cannot stop thinking about Ayla, and breaks into Kinok’s study (something Ayla wanted to do) where she discovers notes referring to Yora’s Heart. Which according to the beginning timeline of the book is an Automae that doesn’t require heartstone to survive.