The Great Migration by Steve Ramirez takes one unexpected turn after another, eventually leading readers to themes of existential importance.
Note: This is a spoiler-free review of The Great Migration by Steve Ramirez. Here you’ll find everything you need to decide if you want to read it yourself. This book is highly recommended!
A great and cunning demon, a monster with claws and fangs retracted out of sight and the faint aura of a devil’s horns fading in and out of perception about its mantle, awoke quietly in the jungle. Inconspicuous among the other animals, the beast set out across the world, insatiably hungry for new airs and fresh horizons, and free to act without guard, caretaker or judge.
The animals would come to fear it, as would the Earth.
The claws sprang forth and the fangs descended, marring the perfectly delicate peace of the world until, as if in a drunken stupor, the demon looked back at its own deeds with horror. What sorrow its existence had caused! What a terrible dismantling of breathtaking beauty and balance! Yet its hunger persisted. Perhaps in the next valley it would be satiated and learn from the past, taming its most monstrous instincts. The result, however, was always the same. The beast, stunned into anguish, found itself in an utterly barren and destroyed landscape with nowhere else to go.
The spear of existential guilt that pierced the demon is the same that has disfigured humanity. Would there was an authority to accept our surrender and bind us safely in chains. If only a judge would hear the case against us and hold us where we may safely pass away or else serve our time and find redemption. If only responsibility could be taken from us who have shown such poor ability to wield it. As one observes the state of the world today, and the direction humanity seems to be intractably heading in, it’s easy to understand why a sense of despair and shame have swept over Western society.
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Humans, it seems, have been a plague to the Earth. Much has gone wrong, and we find ourselves facing the possibility that there is no going back and no next time during which to get things right. Can this really be the truth of things? Were we born demons fated to leave a legacy of destruction? Should we feel guilt for the mere fact of our existence? Among others, these are the fascinating questions that unexpectedly lie at the heart of The Great Migration: Book 1 of the S’orne Saga by Steve Ramirez, a sci-fi/fantasy adventure that constantly proves itself to be more than what it seems.
The journey of The Great Migration
Bellona Stanick is an adventurous and somewhat introspective woman who was in search of growth and meaning when she signed up for the Great Migration, a dangerous, year-long journey through Thunder Valley, stalking herds of mighty brontotheres (similar, in ways, to large rhinoceros). The book opens as Bellona’s camp is attacked by massive, hyena-like predators called barong, just days before she is due to complete her long trek through the wilderness. Following their lead guide Luta, Bellona’s group is caught in a race for survival. Either they reach the village of the local Zuni people or they perish, victims of the magnificent, yet unforgiving nature of Thunder Valley.
“Ramirez, it seems, is one of the few authors who instinctually engage readers through effective writing, steady world building and insightful character development, increasing the impact of big events as they eventually unfold.”
At the outset of The Great Migration, Bellona is already a changed person and, though untold, one can relate to her story of becoming a deeper person by witnessing death, testing one’s limits and accomplishing something to be proud of. Bellona’s transformation, however, isn’t what The Great Migration is about. In fact, as much as the action of the first couple of chapters draws readers in, Bellona’s Great Migration isn’t what The Great Migration is about. Ramirez’s vision is far more colorful and intricate than that. Truth be told, it takes a significant amount of reading and exploration of Ramirez’s medieval/renaissance-era world before the real picture comes into focus, and the journey is by no means laborious or tiresome.
Instead, readers are treated to a whole host of characters and locales detailed and interesting enough to warrant the time spent with them. As The Great Migration jumps from one place to the next, readers are constantly confronted with entirely new facets of the world that only slowly and intriguingly become integrated with the rest. From the wilderness of Thunder Valley, Ramirez takes readers to a bitter and disenchanted King Cortez in The Crystal City, where he struggles with the abdication of his eldest son and the maniacal antics of his daughter Dorinda. We meet Sergeant Cordero, a gruff but dutiful officer of the law in The Crystal City who, despite his training, is woefully unprepared for what’s about the befall the kingdom. Several other characters round out a cast that gently guides readers as they learn about the world, relieving any pressure that might otherwise be felt to plow through the plot. Ramirez, it seems, is one of the few authors who instinctually engage readers through effective writing, steady world building and insightful character development, increasing the impact of big events as they eventually unfold.
The destination of The Great Migration
Very little in The Great Migration is as it first appears to be, and reading it is an act of discovery in which one becomes fully engaged. Beginning as more of a fantasy than anything else, even the genre of The Great Migration is sure to surprise by the end, after taking a sharp but impactful turn into science fiction. I found myself too drawn in by Ramirez’s world to worry about anything in the book but the reading experience, and I wish I could spoil the whole story here to discuss the themes and philosophical quandaries hinted at in its pages. Hopefully the beginning of this article will suffice to interest you in the depth of thought at play in The Great Migration. In any case, I shouldn’t reveal what the Great Migration really is or what secrets Luta has to tell. I won’t even hint at the S’orne or the role they play in The Great Migration. That’s for all readers to enjoy discovering for themselves.
From a more critical standpoint, The Great Migration does include more than a few typos, and Ramirez is particularly overzealous when it comes to comma usage, but being an especially tricky point of grammar, and often a matter of personal taste, this is easy to overlook in order to focus on the story at hand. As his first published work, The Great Migration clearly shows that Ramirez has a natural aptitude for storytelling, and probably had the help of smart beta readers as well. Even so, his supporting characters could be better fleshed out. While one has the feeling Ramirez knows his creations in and out, they fail to show on the page what makes them unique as people or important to the story, leaving one nearly, but not quite, apathetic regarding their fates.
When exploring modern fiction, particularly in action-driven genres like fantasy and science fiction, one should expect at least a fun and exciting plot, as well as one or two relatable characters, in order to maintain some standards, but Ramirez offers audiences so much more in The Great Migration. Besides the issue of existential guilt that caught me so strongly, The Great Migration explores topics of nature, technology, redemption and courage, making it a must read for critical thinkers and lovers of the imagination. I, for one, can’t wait to dive into the next two books in the trilogy.
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