Peter Fehervari’s Out Caste is a very brief (i.e. micro-short) prequel story to the wonderful novel Fire Caste, focused on the character of Jhi’kaara, a scarred and battle-hardened t’au Fire Warrior. Nominally set sometime before the events of Fire Caste, it sees Jhi’khaara in reflective mood, looking back on her path through life and the events – some positive, others profoundly painful – which led her to where she’s ended up. It’s a story about identity and the specific importance which that concept has for the t’au, shown through the lens of a warrior looking from the outside in.
The narrative is split into two strands, each with a different tense – third-person present as Jhi’kaara meditates on what sets her apart from her fellows, and first-person past as she relives moments of her life – which is an unusual stylistic choice for such a short story but an effective one nonetheless. It’s not essential to have read Fire Caste in order to enjoy this, but for anyone unfamiliar with Fehervari’s style – and his unique perspective on the Greater Good – it might come as something of a surprise, while existing Fehervari fans will find plenty to enjoy here. It’s only short, but despite that it’s a perfect distillation of the darkly insightful way Fehervari has of getting into his characters’ heads.
