10/14/2019
Fifty years ago, the Automae—created with alchemical magick, automaton components, and flesh and bone—won the War of Kinds, subsequently enslaving their human creators. Crier, the Designed daughter of Sovereign Hesod, an Automata, prepares for a politically advantageous marriage to Kinok, a philosophizing war hero. After Kinok uses blueprints to reveal that Crier is Flawed, she is thrown into an existential crisis, even as she questions Kinok’s ultimate objectives. Meanwhile, 16-year-old human revolutionary Ayla schemes to kill Crier in order to avenge the murders of her family by Hesod’s soldiers. But after Ayla saves Crier’s life and is rewarded with a coveted position as her handmaiden, the two young women must confront their shifting emotions about human and Automae coexistence, even as the tension between their Kinds builds toward war. Tropes, including an enemies-to-lovers plotline, prevail in Varela’s dystopian debut, which employs increasingly captivating political machinations among the intricately linked characters to create a suspenseful read with particular appeal to fans of queer romance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Oct.)
Crier’s War is a beautiful poem of a book. Fans of both fantasy and sci-fi: this book is for you.” — Tara Sim, Author of the Timekeeper Trilogy
“Dizzying political machinations intertwine with a burgeoning romance. The plot zooms ahead with nail-biting tension. A fresh, suspenseful take on the robot apocalypse.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Rife with mystery, romantic tension, and political intrigue, Varela’s debut novel is perfect for readers craving queer fantasy with dense world building.” — Booklist
“A lush #OwnVoices fantasy debut with science fiction elements and LGBTQIA+ representation, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass.” — School Library Journal
“Masterful storytelling, woven with gorgeous poetic prose. You can’t help but be lured into this vividly imagined world. As heart-wrenching as it is unforgettable.” — Erin Summerill, author of the Clash of Kingdoms trilogy
"Captivating political machinations among intricately linked characters create a suspenseful read with particular appeal to fans of queer romance." — Publishers Weekly
“This interesting mesh of sci-fi and fantasy situates androids within court intrigue, enhanced with a steamy, well-paced lesbian romance that will make readers impatient to nab the next novel.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
This interesting mesh of sci-fi and fantasy situates androids within court intrigue, enhanced with a steamy, well-paced lesbian romance that will make readers impatient to nab the next novel.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Masterful storytelling, woven with gorgeous poetic prose. You can’t help but be lured into this vividly imagined world. As heart-wrenching as it is unforgettable.
Rife with mystery, romantic tension, and political intrigue, Varela’s debut novel is perfect for readers craving queer fantasy with dense world building.
Crier’s War is a beautiful poem of a book. Fans of both fantasy and sci-fi: this book is for you.
Rife with mystery, romantic tension, and political intrigue, Varela’s debut novel is perfect for readers craving queer fantasy with dense world building.
This interesting mesh of sci-fi and fantasy situates androids within court intrigue, enhanced with a steamy, well-paced lesbian romance that will make readers impatient to nab the next novel.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
This interesting mesh of sci-fi and fantasy situates androids within court intrigue, enhanced with a steamy, well-paced lesbian romance that will make readers impatient to nab the next novel.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
09/01/2019
Gr 9 Up— Crier is an Automae, made by the King of Rabu to become the perfect successor. Ayla is human, desperate for revenge against the king for her family. But when the two meet, will they set aside their differences for the connection they feel with each other, or will they lead one another to their doom? As the two slowly inch closer to one another, the political climate of this world around them continues to fester. Readers will find themselves immersed in a sapphic story shrouded in political intrigue. Crier and Ayla both find themselves dealing with inner turmoil while their crafted world slowly descends into chaos. Politics plays a major role in the story as Varela pulls from historical tactics and ideas. This book takes the time to build the world and highlight important instances that led to the humans being overthrown by the creations they made. As the history and the present unwind, choices will be made that will forever change the future. VERDICT A lush #OwnVoices fantasy debut with science fiction elements and LGBTQIA+ representation, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass .—Zoe Leonarczyk, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Narrator Kim Mai Guest valiantly leads listeners through the richly imagined kingdom of Rabu, where the tension between humans and Automae—alchemically created humans who have subjugated humanity—has reached an all-time high. Caught in the middle are Crier, an Automa noble with political ambitions, and her human handmaiden, Ayla, an undercover member of the resistance, who are set on getting revenge against the Automae. Guest’s conspiratorial tone sets the scene as Ayla and Crier become involved in political intrigue and take sides in the growing conflict, only to discover their hearts and allegiances aligned. Guest’s unhurried yet emotional performance will pull listeners into a star-crossed romance that could change the course of the war all while Crier secretly begins to become aware of her true nature. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Kim Mai Guest valiantly leads listeners through the richly imagined kingdom of Rabu, where the tension between humans and Automae—alchemically created humans who have subjugated humanity—has reached an all-time high. Caught in the middle are Crier, an Automa noble with political ambitions, and her human handmaiden, Ayla, an undercover member of the resistance, who are set on getting revenge against the Automae. Guest’s conspiratorial tone sets the scene as Ayla and Crier become involved in political intrigue and take sides in the growing conflict, only to discover their hearts and allegiances aligned. Guest’s unhurried yet emotional performance will pull listeners into a star-crossed romance that could change the course of the war all while Crier secretly begins to become aware of her true nature. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
2019-07-13
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.
A fresh, suspenseful take on the robot apocalypse. (map, timeline) (Fantasy. 14-18)
