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Forges of Mars

by Graham McNeill

The Forges of Mars series by Graham McNeill has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Priests of Mars (2012).

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
2012
Status
completed
Shelved under
Science Fiction
Start here: Priests of Mars (2012) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Priests of Mars
Priests of Mars (2012)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Priests of Mars

    Novel
    Priests of Mars is the first book in Graham McNeill's Forges of Mars trilogy, published in 2012 at 416 pages. It's followed by Lords of Mars, the second of three novels that would complete the series by 2014.
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  2. Lords of Mars

    Novel
    Lords of Mars is the second book in Graham McNeill's Forges of Mars trilogy, published in 2013 at 314 pages. It follows Priests of Mars and precedes Gods of Mars, the trilogy's closing volume.
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  3. Gods of Mars

    Novel
    Gods of Mars is the third and final book in Graham McNeill's Forges of Mars trilogy, published in 2014 at 320 pages. It follows Lords of Mars and closes out the series.
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Key facts about the Forges of Mars series

Our list has 3 books in the Forges of Mars series. Since all 3 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with Priests of Mars, since it opens the publication order in 2012. Lords of Mars is book 2, from 2013. Gods of Mars is book 3, from 2014.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2012 and 2014, while their length runs from 314 to 416 pages. That is a run of 2 years.

Graham McNeill has 35 books on our list. Additionally, they write Ultramarines, The Ambassador Chronicles and High Elf Novels, plus 2 more series. We shelve the books under science fiction.

About the Forges of Mars series

The Forges of Mars trilogy sends Archmagos Explorator Lexell Kotov and a vast expedition fleet of the Adeptus Mechanicus -- the tech-priest faction of Warhammer 40,000 -- out across the Halo Scar, a lawless, dangerous fringe of the galaxy, in search of forbidden and forgotten technology. Priests of Mars establishes the fleet, its rival factions of tech-priests, and the mysterious world of Katen Venia at the expedition's heart; Lords of Mars and Gods of Mars escalate into war against a splinter Space Marine legion, ancient AI horrors, and the expedition's own internal betrayals as the true nature of what Kotov is searching for becomes clear.

Where McNeill's Ultramarines books are Space Marine action and the Legend of Sigmar trilogy is myth-scale fantasy, Forges of Mars leans into 40K's stranger, more cosmic-horror-adjacent corners: rogue artificial intelligence, the unsettling theology of the Machine God, and factions willing to sacrifice entire fleets for forbidden knowledge. It was originally planned as a duology before McNeill and Black Library expanded it back out to a full trilogy mid-series.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Forges of Mars trilogy?

Three: Priests of Mars (2012), Lords of Mars (2013), and Gods of Mars (2014).

What order should I read Forges of Mars in?

Publication order, which is the only order -- it's one continuous expedition story following the same fleet and characters throughout.

Is Forges of Mars connected to Graham McNeill's other Warhammer 40,000 books?

It's set in the same 40K galaxy but follows an entirely separate cast (an Adeptus Mechanicus tech-priest expedition) with no direct character overlap with the Ultramarines or Horus Heresy novels.

Was Forges of Mars always planned as a trilogy?

No -- it was originally announced as a two-book series before being expanded back out to three novels during its run.

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