# Fire Caste impressions



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Been working on this book for a while now, but I must say I find it one of the most difficult to read and follow books from Black Library ever. The plot feels extremely disjointed and running in multiple strata, and im starting to wonder if the middle part of the book actually is a prelude to the beginning events. In comparission, I had no problem working on the labyrinthine Atlas Infernal.

I know Peter Fehervari is a new author for Black Library, but if this is what he is capable of putting out, Im not encouraged to read any future offerings from his hand.


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

I was waiting for someone to talk about it.

Could you go into more detail? With spoiler tags and all that.


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

The book is a confusing mess about guardsmen sent to a near death world the Imperium have been fighting with the Tau over for 50 years, becomming a meat grinder. The degenerated human natives siding with the tau, and it seems theres a lot of guard deserters too. A tortured commisar hunting deserters, a guard regiment plagued by awful secrets. An admiral and an conffessor with schemes of their own. 

Ill try to finish it, to see if it will make the plot more clear and understood.
Though one thing stood out, the guardsmen in the regiment have an armored group called steambloods, basically wealthy nobles each maintaining a huge clanking suit of armor. Which gave me an impression of an Imperial Knight, an one man titan suit. Could those be attached to the guard in the future, instead of being sworn to the mechanicum, or just an overly creative handling of fluff like C.S. Goto is infamous for?


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks alot for your feedback.
I was very excited to read this book, but now, I wonder...


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

A friend just finished it, he said it was extremely odd. Something which I only can agree about.


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## CosmicVoid (Mar 4, 2013)

Ahh.. not sounding too good then! I'm still going to give it a read though, been looking forward to reading a book with more of The Tau in!


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

I managed to finish the book and my impressions still stand. While it does present an interesting perspective on things, too many plot threads was left unfinished. And I think it was a rather cheap way the book ended, as if to spare the author any more work on the long term ramifications of the plot and its consequences. Both longterm and for the characters involved.

All in all I can not give the book more than 4/10 and that is generous, a below average book. I found Blood of Asaheim a far superior read for the releases this month.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

That's a shame. Been playing a bit of Tau in Dark Crusade this week and its got me all... Tauey. Might wait for a few other opinions on it, if its all the same as this might have to give it the wide berth.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Brother Subtle said:


> its got me all... Tauey.


Hmm, Fire Warriors and Kroot running around would have made a certain tv program very entertaining :laugh:



Some less than stellar reviews here, I may just give it a miss :wink:


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

Just saw this. I was wondering if I should cancel my order from bookdepository when they emailed me that my order was on the way. Oh well, guess I'll see how the book is.


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## CosmicVoid (Mar 4, 2013)

I just finished it and actually really enjoyed it! The narrative does jump around to several different characters but their actions are all interconnected and the flashback scenes are incredibly enjoyable, always leaving you wanting to find out more about what happened. There are points though where the story does jump ahead and back in time without actually informing you, there's a point roughly two thirds in that it did this noticeably but aside from that I quite enjoyed it.

Each chapter starts with a diary entry from Commissar Iverson which helps you really dig into what his mind set is, exploring his past (regrets, actions/inactions etc) and for the most part I enjoyed the majority of imperial characters. The Tau feature less than I expected but the glimpses you get of them are really good, showcasing how the Tau choose to fight. The Vespid & Kroot also feature in the book which is nice touch and there's some small parts that explore why humans chose to fight for the Tau.

Overall I enjoyed this a hell of a lot more than I enjoyed Deus Encarmine which was the last book I read. It's probably not going to appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it and I'd say is worth taking a chance on!


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## Paceyjg (May 12, 2011)

Book read!

It took me about a month to do the first 100 pages or so and then just a couple of days to finish it.

I thought it was a very refreshing way to tell a story and it really picked up when Iversen started his search for the 'rebels'.

I actually liked the fact that, all of a sudden a character you have just been introduced to, is suddenly dead etc.

Well worth buying imo.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

I absolutely loved _Fire Caste_. This is the grimdark, unrelenting and insane 40k that you read about so often. The Dark Man definitely had some Lovecraftian undertones, and the madness of Phaedra well captured the idea of insanity in warfare and that comes from the mind being dissociated.

I would really recommend that more people read this book. It's fantastic, best IG novel out there in my opinion. And this is coming from someone who when it comes to the Guard only likes Ciaphas Cain and nothing else.

One thing that I think Fehevari did that was perfect for the setting (Both Phaedra and 40k in general), was not having an answer to every question the book poses. One scene in particular, which he has actually told me has no correct answer to it, is the best example of that, you don't know whose right or wrong and it's up to you to decide what is true and what is false. What other 40k novel gives you that option??

http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/04/fire-caste-peter-fehervari-review-lord-night/?fb_source=pubv1

I reviewed FC a little bit ago, that should sum up the rest of my opinion quite nicely.

If I had to describe this book in a single equation i'd say it was this. _Heart of Darkness_ + HP Lovecraft = _Fire Caste_


LotN


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

The book reminded me of Heart of Darkness, oh god I hate that book. But this was an ok book, I'm not going to condemn it or give it any awards. It showed how easily the Imperium is corrupted and how easy it is for humans to fall to chaos, 

At several points I expected the zealot recruit to start raving and screaming "Blood for the Blood God" I'd bet if he survived he eventually would of fallen.
, also it shows how some tau can be giant douches.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

locustgate said:


> The book reminded me of Heart of Darkness, oh god I hate that book. But this was an ok book, I'm not going to condemn it or give it any awards. It showed how easily the Imperium is corrupted and how easy it is for humans to fall to chaos.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It also shows how easily they, we, go mad.



He would have. I asked Peter about Audie Joyce and he says that his intent with that character was to show that you don't need intelligence to succeed in 40k, just faith. Joyce was a bit simple-minded, he had a child-like level of intelligence and he just put his faith in the wrong person and the wrong belief. Peter says that he would have eventually slipped down the red path, but he would have called Khorne the God-Emperor until the bitter end.



Those Tau were, I think, what the Tau were like before the Ethereals came and what they are like when the Ethereals are not around. Each one still in a sense believed in the Greater Good, but each one believed that their way was the correct way and that the others needed to follow their Caste's leadership.


LotN


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## Ferrous_Ironclaw (Apr 24, 2013)

i'm about halfway through Fire Caste. it's an alright read i guess. nowhere near the best of the black library, but not close to the worst either. if you need a 40k fix and have read everything else that's out, go for it. or read betrayer again.


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

So I was a little worried seeing as a lot of the early reviews were bad. Boy, I'm glad I don't follow those 100%. I really loved this book. It's Apocalypse Now meets 40k and that's always a good thing. I liked the large cast of characters and what the author did with them. It would have been cool if he'd shown the Tau some more but it's fine. I'm hoping he writes some more 40k, he's certainly knows how to do grim dark.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Truthfully _Fire Caste_ is a very esoteric novel and because of that it isn't for everyone. Either you like it or you don't, but it's the style that I think will make some dislike it rather than the actual writing. Peter Fehevari does the esoteric madness and grimdark nature of 40k very well, he really grasps what it's about.


LotN


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## Ferrous_Ironclaw (Apr 24, 2013)

Garrak said:


> I liked the large cast of characters and what the author did with them. .


did get kinda hard to keep track of who was who. had to keep looking back to the character list until like halfway through the book. still enjoying it though...


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

CosmicVoid said:


> and the flashback scenes


I have come to the opinion that any book or film or tv show that uses flashback scenes is commiting :suicide: I'll give this book a miss.


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

Sorry for the necro, but I pre-ordered the book ages ago and it;s been sitting on my 'in' pile for ages and over the last couple days I finally sat down and devoured it.

I loved it! But them I'm used to negotiating multi-track stories with flashbacks and whatnot woven in. Seven-thousand pages of Peter F Hamilton has made it so I think it's weird when there's only one plot thread to follow.

The story was dark and twisted and chaotic, which fit the tone nicely. It was brutal and disjointed and not everything got answered to the asker's liking, but there weren't really any loose ends. It was a story about a brutal, disjointed place.

That said, it was super grimdark, chock full of grimdark, wrist-cuttingly grimdark. In short: everything I expect from 40k fiction not involving Commissar Cane or the hijkinks of Deff Skwadron.

And like LtoN, I don;t really care for non-Cain guard books, but this one was as brilliant as it was brutal.
I'd even suggest it to people I know who know very little about 40k as a great intruduction to the setting.

If anyone wants to talk about it I'm up for it.



My only complaint is that they didn't vaporize the Sea Spider's little floating empire from orbit on their way out...but then being left to rot without any fresh blood is probably a fitting fate for the sick SOB. Everything else seemed to tie up. Some concrete answers we may never get, but shady unverifiable answers will have to do...Was Reve really Lomax' daughter? Seems likely but we'll never know for sure...neither will Holt. I like that, helps me identify with him. 

And then in the end where it all ended up being futile and circular...it was just the perfect expression of the nightmarish and brutal circuity of the 40k universe. no matter where you go there you are, stuck in hell because the 40k universe is a terrible, shitty place and it will never, ever have a happy ending. Every time you think you've saved the day and broken the cycle you find out it's all part of the same bloody death spiral. Raven and Cutler were trying to stop the demon that ravaged Trinity from escaping again and instead they ended up creating it. A giant kick in the balls right at the end...what else could you possibly expect in the 40k universe?

Also, was I the only one who knew Abel had to be a Tau? 'Abel' described 'Si' as being ancient...which he is, for a tau but no high-ranking human would see an octogenarian as ancient. 



PS: This has me looking at guard again...can't decide if I want to do tau'd up renegades or come up with some specialty Arkan stuff (not sure how you'd do the knights though...allied marines? Sisters?)


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Galahad said:


> If anyone wants to talk about it I'm up for it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually i've spoken, or corresponded, with the author and he has told me one or two things regarding what you've said.



The reason that Fehevari had Iverson not annihilate the Spider's web is that he wants to revisit it. He's currently working on a novella set Post-Fire Caste about Jhi'kaara, who survived, and featuring Karjalan, his daughter Natalja, the mysterious Magos Caul, Mr. Fish and Klete Modine. As to Karjalan's disease according to Fehevari he won't rot, more he'll keep growing. Much like his daughter. He says the novella will focus on the new phase of the war on Phaedra now that the Imperium and Tau do not care about it anymore and the sector-wide war they feared is happening, what will happen to those still on Phaedra that have been forgotten by both sides??

Regarding Reve I loved that mystery too. According to Fehevari there is no actual answer to it. The answer is whatever you decide is correct. I personally think Reve was an assassin sent by Karjalan to make sure Iverson never made it to Kircher. I think Lomax's death happened a bit too quickly after Iverson left and then her daughter that she didn't even hint at, and to me a Commissar having a family is odd, showing up all of a sudden is also odd. But perhaps it really was as she said and Iverson gunned down an ally in cold blood fuelled by paranoia. That's 40k for you.

In fact Fehevari told me that he created a lot of lore for Arkhan and that he used only the bare minimum of it. And if BL will let him he'd like to do a novel about Investigator Kharter hunting the Dark Man across the surface of Providence with Imperial and Chaos agents in the mix. I'd personally love to see that. A 40k detective novel with Fehevari's excellent grasp on the futility and grimdark nature of the universe?? Yes.

One of my favourite parts was definitely Mr. Fish's exit.

_"For the Emperor and the Imperium."_

_Wow_ doesn't even cut it.




LotN


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

Wow, I am absolutely ready for more from this guy. I want to read Outcaste but I think it's only available on itunes.

All of those things sound awesome. I'd love to see more Arkan...the whole post civil war steampunk jive is super hot right now, GW should ride that wave.



I loved the poetry, I love how it haunted the knight captain, I loved Iverson's journals and how the prose bent and twisted along with the state of his mind, I loved all the little literary touches...I even loved the little hidden Star Trek reference...which I credit long hours with Commissar Cain for allowing me to spot...just a great piece of literature. I handed it off to my dad who only has a passing familiarity with 40k and its lore, we'll see how he likes it. Pardon me for not remembering the names of everyone despite having just read it. I gave up on getting attached to anyone but the main characters pretty early on. People died too fast and miserably for me to bother learning many names.


Man, I really want to make some Arkans right now...

There's bound to be a bunch of readily available civil war minis, just swap in lasguns, or even just modify the old rifles with lasgun tips and power packs... punk up some sentinels...attached SM Captain in arty armor and a squad of marines for knights...boltguns aren't that far off from heavy stubbers. A little slower, a little shorter range but same strength and better ap, they'll do as a stand-in...and you could find some really cool steampunk minis for them...


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## Anakwanar (Sep 26, 2011)

Its a very strange novel - i read it 4 times - and complete the full circle from hate to ignorance - to interest - to delight. Really waiting more from him.


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## Hachiko (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi all-
Bumping this thread a bit after what, close to two years. 
I just posted the first part of an interview with Peter Fehervari on my blog.

Just finished a re-read of Fire Caste recently once I had found out that his newest short, the AM story Vanguard, was going to be set on Phaedra. The book still holds up as a classic, and Vanguard is chock full of connected storylines and character updates.

Check out the interview here: http://hachisnaxreads.blogspot.com/2015/05/hachisnax-interviews-peter-fehervari.html


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## jasonpittman (May 17, 2010)

Hachiko said:


> once I had found out that his newest short, the AM story Vanguard, was going to be set on Phaedra. The book still holds up as a classic, and Vanguard is chock full of connected storylines and character updates.


Excellent I am a big fan of Fire Caste and will have to give Vanguard a read


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