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Crimes Against Magic (The Hellequin Chronicles, 1) Paperback – September 17, 2013

by Steve McHugh (Author)

4.4 10,445 ratings

Book 1 of 7: The Hellequin Chronicles

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Book 1 in the Hellequin Chronicles.

How do you keep the people you care about safe from enemies you can’t remember?

Ten years ago, Nate Garrett awoke on a cold warehouse floor with no memory of his past―a gun, a sword, and a piece of paper with his name on it the only clues to his identity. Since then, he’s discovered he’s a powerful sorcerer and has used his magical abilities to become a successful thief for hire.

But those who stole his memories aren’t done with him yet, and when they cause a job to go bad and threaten a sixteen-year-old girl, Nate swears to protect her. With his enemies closing in and everyone he cares about now a target for their wrath, he must choose between the life he’s built for himself and his elusive past.

As the barrier holding his memories captive begins to crumble, Nate moves between modern-day London and fifteenth-century France, forced to confront his forgotten life in the hope of stopping an enemy he can’t remember.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve McHugh lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games. Crimes Against Magic is his first novel, and the first novel in the Hellequin Chronicles.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1477848088
Publisher ‏ : ‎ 47North; Reprint edition (September 17, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781477848081
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1477848081
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,485,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,135 in Occult Fiction
- #10,084 in Contemporary Fantasy (Books)
- #14,707 in Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 10,445 ratings

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Steve is a bestselling author of urban fantasy, historical fiction, and science-fiction. He has now published over 25 books, with his novel Scorched Shadows being shortlisted for a Gemmell Award.

Steve was born in a small village called Mexborough, South Yorkshire, but now lives with his wife and three daughters in Southampton.

Customer reviews

10,445 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable and fun to read. They describe the storyline as interesting with twists and turns. The characters are well-developed and fun. Readers praise the writing style as well-written, with good dialogue and socializing. The pacing is good throughout, with high-speed car scenes. They appreciate the mix of old stories with new characters and new plots.

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Enjoyment Storyline Character development Writing style Pacing Storytelling Start Series quality

342 customers mention "Enjoyment"319 positive23 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it a fun and engaging read with good pacing and well-developed characters. The story is described as exceptional and well executed. Many readers find it worth reading again.

"...a huge fan of fantasy or urban fantasy novels but this series is truly is exceptional...." Read more

"...are both better for less that does not diminish the fact that the book is good but it does limit the audience that this book will have as it was the..." Read more

"...By: Steve McHugh Narrated by: James Langton This is an outstanding book! Read these books in order!..." Read more

"...An all around fun book, really good for a debut." Read more

335 customers mention "Storyline"288 positive47 negative

Customers find the storyline interesting with a well-developed plot and characters. They appreciate the skillful blending of medieval and contemporary stories that creates suspense and keeps readers guessing throughout. The action scenes and alternate chapters between present-day and historical flashbacks keep readers engaged. Overall, the book has an engaging storyline that keeps them hooked until the end.

"...Given that the story was still fun and had enough action to at least keep you distracted from the lack of plot and several holes in the story...." Read more

"...Great fantasy, characters, lots of action, fantasy, and the freshness is so thrilling! I am absorbing it all!..." Read more

"...The world that the author started building for this series is really intriguing, looks like it will be great fun to discover everything it will have..." Read more

"The story was well written and very involved. Almost from the beginning the writer grabs your attention quickly and brings you into the story...." Read more

166 customers mention "Character development"140 positive26 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They find them fun and interesting, with enough differences between them to make them distinct. The main character is a sorcerer with high morals and flaws. The hero is protective of those he cares for.

"...course of the book and the course of the series the author fully develops the lead character (and others) and that ongoing character development is..." Read more

"...Good: - fun characters with enough differences between them to make them fun to read about...." Read more

"...The characters are awesome and as more is revealed, the better it gets! All of these characters are so awesome...." Read more

"...I definitely liked the secondary characters (and the villains) in that story. As a bit of fun, it was a bit of fun...." Read more

128 customers mention "Writing style"98 positive30 negative

Customers find the writing style well-written and edited. They appreciate the first-person perspective, good dialogue, and coherent plot. The narrator is described as descriptive and interesting. Overall, readers find the book flows smoothly with good action and socializing.

"...He has enough vocal range and the talent needed to give each character their own distinctive voice and because he is the voice of the first 5 books..." Read more

"...The narrator is sooooo perfect for these books. I have listened to them so much, I almost start to talk British, lol...." Read more

"...Well developed characters with deep back stories and realistic dialogue. This author is truly a master word-smith. So excited for book 2!" Read more

"...Although there were a few misspelling (few), and that was not because of transference of British English to American English as that was done well,..." Read more

102 customers mention "Pacing"92 positive10 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the plot engaging with fast-paced writing and high-speed car scenes. The writing style alternates between past events to slow down the action, keeping readers hooked and finishing it in a few days. Readers appreciate the fun characters with enough differences between them to make them enjoyable.

"...Good: - fun characters with enough differences between them to make them fun to read about...." Read more

"...This had all that and more. In most cases the writer kept the action at a high tempo and fairly constant...." Read more

"...I commented while I was reading it that it read very, very smoothly for the flock it flies with...." Read more

"...Crimes Against Magic by Steve McHugh is a fast-paced, in your face, urban fantasy that grabs you on the first page, and doesn't let go even after..." Read more

64 customers mention "Storytelling"62 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling. They appreciate the historical flashbacks that provide depth and grounding. They like the mix of old stories with new characters and new plots, an alternative history of the Arthurian legend, magic, and a little historical fantasy. The characters have deep backstories and realistic dialogue. The 15th century story is much better presented. There is a blend of ancient mythology, historical fiction, and urban fantasy, with a little mythology mixed in.

"...but this was done in an interesting way with you getting good background information about both the world and Nate. Bad:..." Read more

"...backs were written into the story line to provide background for the reader around historical periods...." Read more

"...The 15th century story was much better presented. I knew what the character was doing and why he was doing it and I mostly cared that he succeeded...." Read more

"...Well developed characters with deep back stories and realistic dialogue. This author is truly a master word-smith. So excited for book 2!" Read more

40 customers mention "Start"40 positive0 negative

Customers enjoyed the book's start. They found it engaging, with a promising premise and an interesting beginning. The book was described as a great debut novel with a strong start and finish.

"...An all around fun book, really good for a debut." Read more

"Great start to a great series. Something that can be reread. 3rd time for me and still love it. Worth it." Read more

"...Too bad, because I think the premise is good." Read more

"...the time jumps, but altogether it fell into place and made it a great series intro...." Read more

26 customers mention "Series quality"26 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the series. They find the premise interesting, the characters enjoyable, and the plot has potential. The first book in the series is described as an incredible opener with imaginative world-building. Readers look forward to reading the next books in the series.

"...Read these books in order! This starts this great series in which Nate can't remember his past...." Read more

"...tale with the beginning of character development and promise of things to come...." Read more

"...and Greek strains in the plot offer rich possibilities for development as the series progresses...." Read more

"...However, the plot is interesting, the series has potential, and the author eschews the easy endings that would have kept the main love triangle alive..." Read more

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DangFineGuy
A brillient First Book In A Wonderful Series
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2017
Verified Purchase

I’m not normally a huge fan of fantasy or urban fantasy novels but this series is truly is exceptional. Rather than building a world of arcane and stilted language or creating a feeling of awkwardness or unfathomable weirdness, rely on bumbling as a plot device, the author wisely chose to respect the readers’ intelligence. First he created a very likable, intelligent, and easy to relate to protagonist/hero. That’s right, over the course of the book and the course of the series the author fully develops the lead character (and others) and that ongoing character development is a big part of the story(s). I won’t say more about this because I do not want to spoil the story(s).

As I said, something that’s very important to me as a reader is respecting the reader’s intelligence by providing intelligent protagonists and antagonists who actually use their brains and almost never make stupid mistakes. Too many authors rely on the stupidity of protagonists to get themselves into situations that require a whole book to escape. The author also respects the readers’ intelligence by keeping plot devices such as magic and magical beings logical and consistent. The author succeeds here in that where magic and magical beings are used in the plot, and they are key to the plot(s), they are always subject to well laid out and easily understandable magical laws of nature.

Another thing that is important to me as a reader is complete stories. In my opinion ending a book with with a cliffhanger is an amateurish and insulting way of forcing the reader to keep buying books. Author Steve McHugh takes a far superior approach with the Hellequin series in that each book is its own separate story with its own conclusion. Each installment then builds on previous stories and together build toward an overall series plot that leaves you wanting more without ever feeling cheated or left hanging. As of today I’m up to book-six in the series and will continue buying and reading them as long as the author keeps writing them.

Finally, a comment on the Audible version, the quality and consistency of the performance is very important to most readers. In this case, voice actor James Langton performs brilliantly. He has enough vocal range and the talent needed to give each character their own distinctive voice and because he is the voice of the first 5 books there is a consistency of voices, personalities, and pronunciation that makes the story easy to follow from book to book.

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40 people found this helpful

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Nobody
Expensive for a Kindle Book but...
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2012
Verified Purchase
Okay so the story is an old one with a person who loses their memory and has to go through the steps of finding out they were a stone cold killing machine with a lot of enemies who remember them. Given that the story was still fun and had enough action to at least keep you distracted from the lack of plot and several holes in the story.

Good:
- fun characters with enough differences between them to make them fun to read about. The characters are not what I would call fully fleshed out but they are not card board cutouts either. Not the kind of characters you fall in love with but not the kind that you forget as soon as you are done with the book.
- magic system was fun and uncomplicated you got the feeling that you understood it without really understanding it if you get the drift. As the story goes when they use magic you have that feeling of yeah I could see that but when you stop and think about it really you have no idea. A nice bit of illusion that I appreciate.
- I usually hate flashbacks but this was done in an interesting way with you getting good background information about both the world and Nate.

Bad:
- The most irritating part of the book is that he continually has the same situation pop up where the hero cannot do anything else but cooperate with the villain. Or gets pushed into doing something he does not want to do by some third party. This happens so constantly that I becomes the only way that the hero does anything. After reading the book I cannot think of one situation that he was not pushed into doing something never does he come up with the plan that moves the plot forward. I mean come on is he a nimrod or something he never discovers anything.
- The plot itself was highly dependent on a lot of not thinking overall it just did not come together for me as a good plan by anyone.
- Price there are a lot of Kindle books that are both better for less that does not diminish the fact that the book is good but it does limit the audience that this book will have as it was the last book on my list I read a lot and like to go cheap before taking the chance on losing 5 books on a mess.

Overall:
Overall it was fun and enjoyable and I would recommend it to those who want a good action book. Don't think to much about the plot and try not to get irritated that the hero kind of gets pushed around by everyone. But seriously I did enjoy the book and did think it was a fun light read. Will I read the squeal? Yes like I said it had some irritating things about it but more often then not I was ingrossed in the book and enjoyed the world and the characters.

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19 people found this helpful

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Montzalee Wittmann
totally awesome!
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
Crimes Against Magic
The Hellequin Chronicles, Book 1
By: Steve McHugh
Narrated by: James Langton
This is an outstanding book! Read these books in order! This starts this great series in which Nate can't remember his past. He knows he has powers but he just doesn't know how powerful he really is or who he really is... it is so exciting. The characters are awesome and as more is revealed, the better it gets! All of these characters are so awesome. The author is telling two tales at once, one in the past and one now. It is for a reason later... The plot is so good and all weaves with later books. Great fantasy, characters, lots of action, fantasy, and the freshness is so thrilling! I am absorbing it all! I am trying to squeeze as much Hellequin Chronicles time in as possible!
The narrator is sooooo perfect for these books. I have listened to them so much, I almost start to talk British, lol. For this midwest American gal that would be something!

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George Anton
Modern day sorcerer
Reviewed in Canada on October 27, 2021
Verified Purchase

Great blend of history and modern world. Nate is both humble and very powerful when needed. Great supporting characters and opponents.

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Rens Rudolf
Non stop actie
Reviewed in Belgium on May 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
Actierijk, gestileerde urban fantasy met de nodige love-interest.

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VJ
Absolutely stunning start to an incredible series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is my second read of this series, I'm a prolific reader however Nate Garrett will always remain as one of my favourite leading men. The storytelling of the author is of epic proportions, the right balance between, magic, mystery, all things supernatural, plus some incredible fighting scenes a mixture of fighting styles expected from someone 1.6k yrs old. the most supreme is the character depth and development, also the world that they run through. I fell in love with Nate every imperfect but striving to be better inch of him. Something tells me this won't be the only time I'll come back after a while to start this epic journey again.

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steak
an excellent read
Reviewed in Australia on November 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
Great characters, great plot and a story telling mechanic that I don’t usually enjoy done so very well that I loved it.

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AmazonKunde
Tolle Serie
Reviewed in Germany on September 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
Ich habe die bisher erschienene Serie von 5 Teilen gelesen und zum Teil auch gehört, da bei einigen Teilen auch das Hörbuch dabei war.

Die Bücher sind in der Ich-Perspektive geschrieben, was für mich ein "Muss" ist.
Sie sind besser als die Druiden Chroniken von Kevin Hearne und kommen nah an Jim Butchers Dresden Files heran.(Diesen zu erreichen ist denke ich sehr schwer)

Es ist immer Schade, wenn man ein Buch so schnell fertig hat und ein Jahr warten muss bis der nächste Teil erscheint.
Ich denke bei dieser Serie ist es das warten wert.

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars A brillient First Book In A Wonderful Series

4.0 out of 5 stars Expensive for a Kindle Book but...

5.0 out of 5 stars totally awesome!

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern day sorcerer

4.0 out of 5 stars Non stop actie

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely stunning start to an incredible series

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent read

5.0 out of 5 stars Tolle Serie

A brillient First Book In A Wonderful Series

Expensive for a Kindle Book but...

totally awesome!

Modern day sorcerer

Non stop actie

Absolutely stunning start to an incredible series

an excellent read

Tolle Serie