Nolan, Clive: The Mortal Light

Clive Nolan is back with the third installment of his Alchemy series, the first two appearing in 2013 and 2017. Like those, The Mortal Light is a double album, but considerably longer at roughly 140 minutes. It chronicles “the thrilling adventures of Professor Samuel King as he faces his most formidable foe yet, Makaria, a malevolent demigod in Norway’s remote Hamningberg,� according to the promotional materials. And it takes listeners “on a sweeping journey from the murky tunnels of London to the desolate Land of the Dead, storm-ravaged seas, dangerous harbors, and the mystical realms of Vardø, culminating in a climactic confrontation with Makaria herself. The musical features twelve principal singers, a 32-voice chorus, twenty-three cameo performances, and a fully immersive orchestral and rock soundtrack.�

I like to think that I have a reasonable attention span, but I couldn’t get through this one. It’s not that the story is impenetrable; it’s that the music and theatrics are not interesting to my ears. There is almost nothing “prog� about this album, unless you consider frustrating sprawl to be one of the genre’s defining characteristics, and I don’t.

Fans of Nolan’s work with Pendragon and Arena who are tempted to buy this without first giving it a listen online are cautioned.

Track Listing
Act 1
1. Wedding (5:19)
2. Overture (1:41)
3. Demigod (6:33)
4. Prophecy (4:22)
5. Magician (6:06)
6. Decisions (10:28)
7. Cavalry (5:53)
8. Fade (5:11)
9. Escape (3:32)
10. Guidelines (4:26)
11. Conversation (1:44)
12. Guardians (4:21)
13. Promise (1:36)
14. Unbowed (3:37)
15. Makaria (5:16)

Act 2
16. Port (3:33)
17. Confession (3:41)
18. Crime (3:41)
19. Spy (3:54)
20. Thunder (2:55)
21. Agreement (4:42)
22. Witch (7:31)
23. Portal (4:31)
24. Wings (3:25)
25. Threat (1:44)
26. Satisfactory (1:46)
27. Justice (4:36)
28. Arrival (2:02)
29. Seduction (6:50)
30. Tovenaar (4:13)
31. Siege (2:46)
32. Trust (2:28)
33. Convergence (1:18)
34. Explosion (0:56)
35. Sunset (2:42)

Added: April 5th 2026
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Clive Nolan Online
Hits: 139
Language: english

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