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Series · science fiction
Ultramarines
The Ultramarines series by Graham McNeill has 7 known books (7 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Nightbringer (2002).
- Books
- 7 known books (7 novels)
- Published
- 7
- First published
- 2002
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: Nightbringer (2002) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Nightbringer
Nightbringer opens Graham McNeill's Chronicles of Uriel Ventris in 2002, sending Ultramarines captain Uriel Ventris to investigate a cult uprising on the world of Pavonis that turns out to be tangled up with a Necron threat far older and stranger than a simple insurrection. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nightbringer - Book 2:
Warriors of Ultramar
Warriors of Ultramar followed a year later, in 2003, opening the duology that sees Uriel exiled from his own chapter after breaking one of the Ultramarines' core tenets. It runs 288 pages, slightly shorter than the series opener.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Warriors of Ultramar - Book 3:
Dead Sky, Black Sun
Dead Sky, Black Sun came out in 2004 at 416 pages, closing the exile duology as Uriel fights his way through savage Tyranid swarms and the daemon world of Medrengard itself to earn his way back to his chapter.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Sky, Black Sun - Book 4:
The Killing Ground
A four-year gap separates Dead Sky, Black Sun from The Killing Ground, published in 2008 at exactly 320 pages -- matching Nightbringer's length -- as the second trilogy opens with Uriel's return to grace and a war against ork Warlord Snagrod's WAAAGH!.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Killing Ground - Book 5:
Courage and Honour
Courage and Honour followed in 2010, back up to 416 pages and matching Dead Sky, Black Sun exactly, continuing the war against Snagrod's orks with real stakes for the Ultramarines' homeworld.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Courage and Honour - Book 6:
The Chapter's Due
The Chapter's Due arrived in 2011, a year after Courage and Honour, closing the second trilogy's war against Warlord Snagrod at 475 pages -- the longest book in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Chapter's Due - Book 7:
The Swords of Calth
The Swords of Calth closed out the series in 2021 -- a full decade after The Chapter's Due, the largest gap between any two entries -- catching up with Uriel after his ascension to the Primaris Space Marines, leading a company against the Necrons. At 228 pages, it's the shortest book in the sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Swords of Calth
About the Ultramarines series
Officially titled The Chronicles of Uriel Ventris, this is Graham McNeill's flagship Warhammer 40,000 series and his first major Black Library work, following Uriel Ventris, a captain of the Ultramarines Space Marine chapter, across two decades of publication. It opens with Nightbringer, in which Uriel investigates a cult uprising on the world of Pavonis that turns out to be tangled up with a Necron threat far older and stranger than a simple insurrection, and continues through Warriors of Ultramar and Dead Sky, Black Sun, a duology that sees Uriel exiled from his own chapter after breaking one of the Ultramarines' core tenets and forced to earn his way back among savage alien Tyranid swarms and the daemon world of Medrengard itself.
The second trilogy -- The Killing Ground, Courage and Honour, and The Chapter's Due -- follows Uriel's return to grace and a war against the ork WAAAGH! of Warlord Snagrod, with real stakes for the Ultramarines' homeworld. McNeill returned to the character a decade later with The Swords of Calth (2021), which catches up with Uriel after his ascension to the ranks of the Primaris Space Marines, leading a company against the Necrons on a world haunted by an old enemy.
McNeill's background as a Games Workshop game designer shows throughout: battles are tactically legible, chapter politics and Codex Astartes doctrine are treated with real weight, and Uriel's central conflict -- a soldier who keeps bending the rules he's sworn to uphold because bending them is sometimes the only way to actually do right -- gives the series more character throughline than most Black Library tie-in fiction of its era.
Frequently asked questions
How many Ultramarines / Chronicles of Uriel Ventris books are there?
Seven novels, published between 2002 and 2021: Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky Black Sun, The Killing Ground, Courage and Honour, The Chapter's Due, and The Swords of Calth.
What order should I read the Ultramarines novels in?
Publication order, starting with Nightbringer. The first three books and the following three books each form continuous arcs, and The Swords of Calth (2021) is a direct sequel to all six earlier novels.
Is Storm of Iron part of the Ultramarines series?
No, despite sometimes being shelved alongside it. Storm of Iron follows the Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines rather than Uriel Ventris and the Ultramarines, and is tracked as a separate standalone novel.
Do I need to read Warhammer 40,000 background material first?
No -- Nightbringer was written as an accessible entry point into the 40K universe and explains its setting as the story goes.
Is the series finished?
The Swords of Calth (2021) is the most recent entry and reads as a satisfying continuation, but Graham McNeill has not stated the series is permanently closed.
If you like the Ultramarines series
Reading order last verified .