Older Than They Look: Automae age much slower than humans, and have a commiserate longer lifespan. However, since Automae were only first created 65 years ago, none of them have yet reached advanced age. This manifests mainly as people in their middle-age looking in their prime.

This deep into the woods, dawn had barely touched the forest floor—the perfect time for a hunt. Not that Crier enjoyed hunting. And besides, if there were something off, something Flawed, something different about her, she’d know it already . . . wouldn’t she?Secret Path: There are many passageways in the Sovereign's palace which the Automae do not know about, and which can be used by humans to move about the palace without being discovered. The thing is, these passageways aren't actually secret or hidden, they're just used by the servants in the course of their duties so the Automae don't pay attention to them. When Ayla and Crier pose as a married couple to seek shelter at an Automa women’s estate, she keeps trying to pump them for gossip. Even asking for stories from their wedding in case they know the same people. However, Crier’s War did stumble at places. The setup wasn’t the most original to begin with. There was very little worldbuilding, and the sole focus on the two leads rendered most of the side characters one-dimensional and forgettable.

The distinction between humans and Automae, and the power structure based on this distinction, definitely functions as a metaphor for a number of structural inequalities like racism, sexism, classism, and any other number of -isms. A book that uses a fantasy metaphor to explore social inequality can easily come across as ham-fisted. In this case it was well-executed and it worked. Artificial Limbs: At the climax of the conflict, a cybernetic leg is made for Ayla after her leg was shattered. Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war. Chapter 1-6 Benjy’s anger was different now—he’d grown, learned more about this broken world, learned about the Revolution. Some bitterness had seeped into him; some passion. But he was still soft. Would always be. For years, that softness had annoyed the hell out of Ayla. Made her want to grab his shoulders and shake him till some fury came out.Make an Example of Them: It is standard policy for the Automae to publicly hang the clothing of humans they have executed to discourage others. The story opens with Luna's white dress on display, and later Nessa's shoes replace it. After all, it was fury that had kept Ayla alive all these years; fury that had lit a flame inside her chest and made her keep going out of sheer anger.