Steve McHugh Books in Order
Browse all Steve McHugh books in order, from the Hellequin Chronicles to Riftborn and beyond, with quick summaries, series background, and simple tips on where to start.
Last updated: December 22, 2025
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Publication Order
31 books
A Murder of Crows: An Urban Fantasy Thriller
by Steve McHugh
2026
Dr. Callie Mitchell has tapped the deepest magic of the Rift and destroyed an Ancient, shattering the balance of power. As the last Raven, Lucas Rurik must bargain with furious godlike beings and race against time to stop her next move from unmaking both Earth and the Rift.
The Pilgrims of the Damned
by Steve McHugh
2025
After a previous case leaves him shaken, Miles Watson is pulled into a new mission: track a human wielding chaotic magic who’s rampaging through a dangerous, desolate Maine. Partnered with a journalist and a young witch, he must stop the threat before it becomes apocalyptic.
Hellequin Chronicles: Novellas and Short Stories: Collection 1
by Steve McHugh
2025
This collection gathers key tales from the Hellequin universe, including the novellas Infamous Reign, Frozen Rage, and Hunted, plus new stories that reveal formative moments for Nate Garrett, Mordred, and others. It’s a companion volume that deepens the series’ history and politics.
First Hunt
by Steve McHugh
2025
Centuries‑old vampire Miles Watson rescues a terrified puppy and turns her into Church, his fiercely loyal canine partner. When a fledgling vampire goes on the run from human hunters, Miles and Church take on their first field case together, determined to find her before the hunters do.
A Deliberate Act of Violence
by Steve McHugh
2025
A rash of brutal killings in London points to a newly turned vampire, but the suspect is the privileged son of a powerful businessman backed by the Assembly. Miles Watson must fight Assembly politics, criminal alliances, and his own limits before the murders spiral out of control.
Undying
by Steve McHugh
2024
Decades after a string of brutal murders in the Welsh village of Anfarwol, people are still vanishing without trace. When Remy Roax disappears while investigating, Nate Garrett and his allies head into the hills to rescue him and expose the killers who have evaded justice for fifty years.
The King of Avalon
by Steve McHugh
2024
Once twisted into a monster by his enemies, Mordred has fought his way back and now wears a crown he never wanted. When criminals target a museum dedicated to war’s dead, he must hunt them through his own city and remind the world who he was before he became a king.
Promise of Vipers
by Steve McHugh
2024
Rift tears are ripping open across the sky, unleashing new horrors into the world when Lucas Rurik is dragged back into the Rift to repay an old favour. Hunting the saboteur behind destroyed settlements, he uncovers cults, coups, and a rising Guild intent on erasing the Ravens.
Those Who Dwell in Darkness
by Steve McHugh
2023
Vampire Arbiter Miles Watson enforces the secret laws that keep humans and undead in uneasy balance. When an illegal scheme to create new vampires ends in disaster, he follows the trail from London’s underworld to the wilds of the Pacific Northwest and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy.
Blessed Odds
by Steve McHugh
2023
Lucas Rurik, last survivor of the Raven Guild, is pulled into a deadly case when bodies start piling up around a crime boss known as the Croupier. Working with revenant allies and federal agents, he uncovers a zealot cult determined to wipe out both the Rift and humanity.
Atoned
by Steve McHugh
2023
Felix Drake, son of the man who once tried to destroy the Union Empire, now serves as a Warden protecting its ruling Council. Investigating the murder of a powerful family drags him into old war grudges, deep corruption, and a past he thought he had left behind.
A Talon's Wrath
by Steve McHugh
2023
After a high‑profile arrest turns him into an unwanted celebrity, Lucas Rurik is approached by Ancient riftborn Noah Kaya to find a missing friend accused of murder. Vanished rift‑walkers and tainted crime scenes soon point toward an old enemy Lucas thought long dead.
The Last Raven
by Steve McHugh
2022
Once a feared riftborn enforcer, Lucas Rurik now tries to live quietly—until a friend at the Rift‑Crime Unit asks for help with a case killing agents on both sides of reality. Hunting the unknown predator drags Lucas back toward the massacre that destroyed his Guild.
No Gods, Only Monsters
by Steve McHugh
2022
On the wild edge of the Roman Empire, Diana, goddess of the hunt, tries to live quietly until an old ally begs for help. Drawn back into divine politics and ancient grudges, she must track a ruthless enemy before more innocents die.
Blackcoat
by Steve McHugh
2021
Celine Moro joined the elite Blackcoats to investigate crimes across Union space and finally bury her past. Framed for treason and thrown into a cell, she breaks out and turns her training on the corrupt politicians who betrayed her, intent on dragging their secrets into the open.
Horsemen's War
by Steve McHugh
2020
Arthur’s forces bring the war with Avalon straight to the Earth realms, laying siege to Washington, DC. Nate Garrett hunts for his captured friend and the tyrant leading the assault, while Layla and Mordred gather allies for a final stand that could save—or doom—every realm.
Frozen Rage
by Steve McHugh
2020
In the remote, snowbound realm of Dreich, Nate Garrett and his friend Tommy provide security for a wedding meant to unite rival werewolf and werelion clans. When guests start turning up dead, Nate must unmask a killer before the truce explodes into war.
Death Unleashed
by Steve McHugh
2020
A venom attack leaves Nate Garrett’s father and best friend dying, forcing Nate into a desperate search for a cure while war with Avalon looms. As Layla Cassidy fights among Valkyries and Mordred hunts Excalibur, the rebellion’s fate hinges on impossible choices.
Sorcery Reborn
by Steve McHugh
2019
After losing his powers in a devastating battle, Nate Garrett hides in the quiet town of Clockwork, Oregon, pretending to be an ordinary man while the world believes he’s dead. When Avalon’s agents arrive with a plan that endangers everyone there, he must fight back magic or no magic.
Hunted
by Steve McHugh
2019
Cursed by witches, Remy Roax has spent centuries as a half‑man, half‑fox and has only just begun to explore his own magic. When a sorcerer obsessed with his curse sends killers after him in North Dakota, Remy decides to turn the hunt back on those who came for him.
A Thunder of War
by Steve McHugh
2018
With Abaddon’s forces preparing to crush all resistance, Layla Cassidy and her allies brace for one last battle. To save both the human world and the magical realms, they must gather every ally and power they can find and hope it’s enough to stand against the coming storm.
A Glimmer of Hope
by Steve McHugh
2018
Layla Cassidy wants nothing more than to finish university and leave her violent family history behind. When she accidentally awakens an ancient scroll and gains dangerous new powers, she’s thrown into a hidden war filled with monsters, fanatics, and people eager to use her as a weapon.
A Flicker of Steel
by Steve McHugh
2018
Sixteen months after her life was upended, Layla Cassidy leads a small team against Avalon’s growing power. A rescue mission turned ambush reveals new enemies and old betrayals, forcing her to confront the darkest parts of her past as her abilities surge beyond her control.
Scorched Shadows
by Steve McHugh
2017
Avalon comes under attack from a hidden cabal led by the mysterious My Liege, whose strikes spill into the human world. Nate Garrett and his allies race across realms, joining forces with former enemy Mordred to stop a war that could end everything.
Promise of Wrath
by Steve McHugh
2016
A magical storm is brewing over London, and only Nate Garrett can stop it—until his enemies use an ancient stone tablet to hurl him and his friends into a brutal other realm. Trapped and outnumbered, he must survive and find a way home before war ignites.
Prison of Hope
by Steve McHugh
2015
Long ago, the Olympian gods bound Pandora inside a mortal named Hope, creating a living engine of chaos they later hid in Tartarus. When she escapes, Nate Garrett must hunt her from 1936 Berlin to the present day before she sparks catastrophe among gods and mortals.
Lies Ripped Open
by Steve McHugh
2015
A century after a sadistic group of killers stole souls for a secret purpose, Nate Garrett learns they’re back and focused on revenge. As their attacks close in on the people he loves, he must revisit what he uncovered long ago and finish the fight they started.
With Silent Screams
by Steve McHugh
2014
When an explosion nearly kills him and a friend’s corpse appears with a cryptic note, Nate Garrett is pulled into a conspiracy involving tattooed victims, a locked‑away madman, and a ruthless alchemist. To stop a coup in the hidden realm of Shadow Falls, he has to survive a clandestine war.
Infamous Reign
by Steve McHugh
2013
During the closing days of the Wars of the Roses, Nate Garrett is sent to London to investigate the disappearance of two young princes from the Tower. His search uncovers a plot against the crown and forces him into a race to save both the boys and the kingdom.
Crimes Against Magic
by Steve McHugh
2012
Ten years after waking on a warehouse floor with no memory, Nate Garrett uses his sorcery to work as a thief for hire in London. When a job goes wrong and a teenage girl is threatened, he must protect her while confronting the buried past that refuses to stay forgotten.
Born of Hatred
by Steve McHugh
2012
Asked to look into a string of savage murders, Nate Garrett follows the trail to a creature made of pure malice and dark magic. As echoes of an older showdown in the American Old West surface, Nate must remind his enemies why they once learned to fear his name.
Where should I start?
If you want Nate Garrett’s story from the beginning: Crimes Against Magic → Born of Hatred → With Silent Screams → Prison of Hope, then continue the Hellequin novels in order.
If you like a fresh heroine stepping into the Hellequin world: A Glimmer of Hope → A Flicker of Steel → A Thunder of War.
If you want the post-Avalon war arc: Sorcery Reborn → Death Unleashed → Horsemen’s War.
If you enjoy noir-tinged urban fantasy: The Last Raven → Blessed Odds → A Talon’s Wrath → Promise of Vipers.
If you’re here for vampire thrillers: Those Who Dwell in Darkness → A Deliberate Act of Violence → The Pilgrims of the Damned.
Author bio
Steve McHugh was born in Mexborough, a small town in South Yorkshire, and grew up on a steady diet of comics, action films, and anything with magic in it. Today he’s best known for fast-paced urban fantasy like the Hellequin Chronicles, the Avalon and Rebellion books, and newer series such as Riftborn and The Assembly. He lives in Southampton in the south of England with his wife and three daughters.
As a kid he discovered early that stories could get him into trouble. In an English lesson he handed in a violent, foul-mouthed tale that impressed his classmates but earned him a serious chat with the head of year. His next effort, a much quieter piece called "One Boy and His Frog," won top marks and convinced him that writing was something he wanted to keep doing.
For a long time, though, writing stayed in the background. McHugh worked regular jobs, played games, read widely, and fit short pieces of fiction around everything else. It was nearly a decade after that school incident before he sat down to wrestle with a full-length novel and see if he could actually finish one.
That experiment became Crimes Against Magic, the book that introduced readers to Nathan Garrett, a centuries‑old sorcerer and former assassin trying to rebuild a life in modern London. McHugh first put the novel out himself, found an audience almost immediately, and went on to expand the story into a seven‑book series. Over time the Hellequin books tightened the links between myth, history, and noir‑style heists, sending Nate from fifteenth‑century France to the American West and far beyond.
Rather than leave the setting there, he pushed outward. The Avalon Chronicles follow Layla Cassidy, a student who inherits dangerous power and a messy family legacy, while The Rebellion Chronicles picks up after the events of Hellequin and Avalon, throwing Nate, Layla, and their allies into a full‑scale war against Avalon’s rulers. Across these books McHugh leans into big, cinematic fights, gods from several pantheons, and a core group of friends who keep choosing to do the hard, right thing.
More recently he’s built new corners of the same broad universe and stepped outside it. The Riftborn novels follow Lucas Rurik, a rift‑touched investigator walking a thin line between our world and a violent parallel one. The Assembly books center on Miles Watson, a vampire Arbiter policing the uneasy peace between humans and the undead, while Atoned and its sequels in The Wardens push his love of action into a science‑fiction empire full of political grudges. He also writes standalones and novellas, from myth‑soaked adventures like No Gods, Only Monsters to grimy space‑noir in Blackcoat.
Along the way McHugh’s work has picked up award attention—Scorched Shadows, the final Hellequin novel, was shortlisted for a major fantasy prize—and a growing readership that turns up for each new release. The books share some clear through‑lines: characters who have done terrible things and are trying to be better, found families built under pressure, and magic systems rooted in familiar myths but twisted just enough to feel new.
Outside of writing, he keeps his hobbies firmly in the geeky lane. He paints tabletop miniatures to switch his brain off from plot problems, reads comics, and unwinds with video games or a good action movie. Most days, though, he’s at his desk putting more trouble in front of sorcerers, vampires, detectives, and space cops.
For readers, that means a lot of different ways into his work. Whether you start with Nate Garrett stealing for hire in Crimes Against Magic, Layla Cassidy grappling with power in A Glimmer of Hope, or Lucas Rurik chasing killers in The Last Raven, you can expect sharp banter, big stakes, and worlds that keep expanding just when you think you’ve seen it all.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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