Ash, Mercury, and the Names We Gave the Fire

Ash, Mercury, and the Names We Gave the Fire

By Michael Batches
Michael Caine
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length46m

About this audiobook

Ash, Mercury, and the Names We Gave the Fire is a quiet, human-centered novel about ancient alchemy as lived practice rather than legend. Told through the voice of a young alchemist shaped by illness, failure, restraint, and care, the story follows years of patient work in hidden workshops and borrowed spaces. Instead of chasing gold, the narrator learns to listen to fire, materials, and limits, discovering that true transformation lies in attention, survival, and ethical restraint. Grounded in concrete details of daily labor and human relationships, the book explores knowledge passed through humility rather than spectacle. It is a reflective historical literary fiction about craft, balance, and the kind of wisdom that does not shine but endures.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★★ 5.0 (2)
GenreLiterary Classics, History
Length46 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 17, 2026
LanguageEnglish
STATUS SYMBOL
STATUS SYMBOLMichael Batches59m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Wheel That Taught Us to Dream
The Wheel That Taught Us to DreamMichael Batches50m4.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Long Breath Home
The Long Breath HomeMichael Batches47m4.0 (1) Only with Ultra
Quiet Streets, Loud Hearts
Quiet Streets, Loud HeartsMichael Batches51m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Slow Burn of Glass and Silence
The Slow Burn of Glass and SilenceMichael Batches43m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
Salt in the Bone, Names in the Water
Salt in the Bone, Names in the WaterMichael Batches45m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Quiet Weight of Tomorrow
The Quiet Weight of TomorrowMichael Batches40m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Quiet Arithmetic of Becoming Rich
The Quiet Arithmetic of Becoming RichMichael Batches43m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
What We Gave Without Being Asked
What We Gave Without Being AskedMichael Batches47m Only with Ultra
The Day We Chose Each Other
The Day We Chose Each OtherMichael Batches45m Only with Ultra
Above All Voices
Above All VoicesMichael Batches48m4.0 (1) Only with Ultra
When Money Learns to Speak
When Money Learns to SpeakMichael Batches54m4.0 (1) Only with Ultra
MrBIGGS and the Weight of Small Choices
MrBIGGS and the Weight of Small ChoicesMichael Batches42m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
This Year, I Stay
This Year, I StayMichael Batches45m Only with Ultra
Honeyed Throats, Open Skies
Honeyed Throats, Open SkiesMichael Batches44m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
Voices That
Voices ThatMichael Batches45m4.0 (1) Only with Ultra
Chalk on the Hands, Fire in the Mind
Chalk on the Hands, Fire in the MindMichael Batches52m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Quiet Power on the Plate
The Quiet Power on the PlateMichael Batches46m Only with Ultra
What the Bottle Promised and What It Took
What the Bottle Promised and What It TookMichael Batches47m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
High Roads, Heavy Doors
High Roads, Heavy DoorsMichael Batches48m5.0 (1) Only with Ultra
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m4.8 (150)$0.99 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic Novel
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Ivanhoe (Annotated)
Ivanhoe (Annotated)Walter Scott22h 52m4.8 (88)$2 · $0.00
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$0.99 · $0.00
Braving the Truth
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
Richard Wagamese Selected
Richard Wagamese SelectedRichard Wagamese3h 14m4.6 (594)$15
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
Pathways to Light
Pathways to LightPrakash Amte7h 6m4.6 (1.3K)$8
These Vital Signs
These Vital SignsSayed Tabatabai3h 20m4.7 (215)$18 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time Regained
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
Lessons in Truth
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The Poetic Edda
The Poetic EddaJackson Crawford6h 24m4.5 (19.8K)$17
Betty Crocker picture cooky book
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
Pearl of Great Price
Pearl of Great PriceJoseph Smith3h 8m4.7 (7.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Redeemer’s Return
The Redeemer’s ReturnArthur W. Pink13h 18m4.7 (589)$20
The Happiest Man on Earth
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
Motherland
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to Die
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m4.8 (150)$0.99 · $0.00
Revolutionaries
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of Battle
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of Auschwitz
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's Promise
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Saving My Enemy
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m4.6 (2.3K)$20
On Democracies and Death Cults
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the River
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
The Red Record (Annotated)
The Red Record (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett5h 19m4.8 (102)$0.99 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and Beyond
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
Endurance
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m4.6 (40.8K)$20
Beyond
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00

You may also like

What I Talk about When I Talk about Running
What I Talk about When I Talk about RunningHaruki Murakami4h 24m4.0 (245.4K)$12
The Book of Knowing and The Book of Overthinking
The Book of Knowing and The Book of OverthinkingGwendoline Smith4h 13m4.1 (3.2K)$15
The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom
The Crest-Jewel of WisdomAdi Shankara3h 52m4.3 (381)$2 · $0.00
Letters to a Young Poet (Annotated)
Letters to a Young Poet (Annotated)Rainer Maria Rilke2h 45m4.3 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: the Wisdom of Life
The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: the Wisdom of LifeArthur Schopenhauer5h 6m4.2 (18.1K)$1 · $0.00
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
How to Live on 24 Hours a DayArnold Bennett1h 19m3.8 (13.1K)Free
Biographia Literaria (Unabridged) (Annotated)
Biographia Literaria (Unabridged) (Annotated)Samuel Taylor Coleridge15h 53m3.9 (3.5K)$0.99 · $0.00
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (The life of William Henry Davies) (Annotated)
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (The life of William Henry Davies) (Annotated)W. H. Davies9h 36m3.9 (3.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Enchiridion
The EnchiridionEpictetus0m4.4 (41.3K)$1 · $0.00
ON BEING ILL
ON BEING ILLVirginia Woolf1h 48m4.1 (3.8K)$2 · $0.00
Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook
Dr. Montessori's Own HandbookMaria Montessori2h 42m4.3 (1.3K)$10 · $0.00
Little Things of Life
Little Things of LifeJackson Michael47m4.8 (59) Only with Ultra
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Annotated)
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Annotated)Thomas De Quincey5h 19m3.4 (1.1K)$0.99 · $0.00
Menopause Confidential
Menopause ConfidentialTara Allmen6h 25m3.9 (507)$24 · $0.00
Little Annie's Ramble (From "Twice Told Tales")
Little Annie's Ramble (From "Twice Told Tales")Nathaniel Hawthorne1h 31m3.0 (34)$2 · $0.00
Keys in the Palm: A Quiet Story About Why a Car Can Change a Life
Keys in the Palm: A Quiet Story About Why a Car Can Change a LifeSherese Dozier45m5.0 (2) Only with Ultra
CARRYING HOPE QUIETLY
CARRYING HOPE QUIETLYJacob James46m5.0 (34) Only with Ultra
The Traces
The TracesMairead Small Staid7h 25m4.0 (48)$17
Mortal Summer
Mortal SummerMark Van Doren2h 13m$1 · $0.00
The Mind and Its Education
The Mind and Its EducationGeorge Herbert Betts8h 3m3.6 (26)$2 · $0.00