Sorcery dawned 500 years BCE, but did it ever really end? To know what happened, we return to the middle ages - to a time that birthed legends whom history forgot. The Ambrosius Chronicles begins around 500 BCE, in a world with a history very different from what we recorded. Due to unseen hands, meddling from the shadows, figures we believe to be legend are true, but events surrounding them, not so much. When using realism, you can draw on iconic figures from mythology. When world building, you can do anything. Thomas Richards has set the series up for both, with the remarkable premise of a history rich with magic and all manner of mythical creatures, which, in the series's future and our past, becomes forgotten. Readers step into a world with lore both familiar and unfamiliar, where kings of human, dwarven and elven realms rule medieval Albion, and large portions of the continent have been scorched into desolate areas. Wizards occupying the ancient kingdom of East Anglia strive to exert supremacy over all magical affairs and Animism, similar to the struggles in the middle-ages between kings and popes for control of the church. Then there's Faerie, created following the mysterious Fae Wars, some 200,000 years ago, where dwell the giants, sidhe, vampires, sprites and witches. Ezekiel Stone is an 18-year-old aspiring sorcerer at the Grand Tower - the apex of magical academia across the land. He is a relatable young adult protagonist, working hard with visions of going places, only to never be afforded an opportunity in a competitive environment. He is a troubled youth, bearing frustrations but also a quiet determination to persevere. His journey begins after he joins the tower guard, contemplating forsaking his dream to become a wizard, only to be drawn into a conflict orchestrated by a shadowy adversary after circumstances enable him to tap into a latent potential. Readers are immediately provided with a glimpse of Zeke's mystery, although he won't discover the implications until later. In contrast, Laura Tailor is from an unremarkable family and was generally held in low regard, yet her determination was rewarded upon a chance recognition, leading her to become the youngest enforcer in the history of the realm. While she begins her journey as a junior, awaiting regiment assignment, her ingrained drive to prove herself lands her in the middle of the same events that Zeke was inserted into by an unknown hand using the single letter 'V' as his seal. Druid Nathaniel Pearce is Zeke's best friend and an expert in old and forgotten enchantments, but even his knowledge doesn't compare to the vastness of Malachi's mental archive. As a mysterious alleged madman, operating under various identities, there is much of his story left to be discovered. The Corral Ring is an ambitious first novel, immediately drawing on the wealth of this fantastic world's mythos and hinting at other adversaries operating in the deeper shadows. Readers need not worry about unfamiliarity with the alternate medieval Albion, which contains out-of-place kingdoms - for example, Elmet, which in reality was assimilated by Northumbria. In this poetic version of events, the two ancient kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira never formed Northumbria, so Elmet survived. The author is quick to introduce this alternate world, while simultaneously exposing the protagonists to the world beyond the walls of Norwich, setting the scene for readers to leap into the next instalment with the promise of a greater focus on the characters' individual journeys, following the implications of The Corral Ring's conclusion. A brilliant start to what promises to be an amazing high fantasy series in an alternate history of magical realism, home to sword and sorcery, powerful monarchs, feudal lords, mythical creatures, hidden agendas, a little politics and a lot of action and adventure.