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norbezjones · 12 days ago

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Bez Reviews Independent Books 5: The Last Bread Mage

Hey everyone! I wanna do little reviews/writeups for the independently-published books I find on itch.io, and so, here I am. I want to review one book every month or two (or quicker, if I’m lucky); it’ll get me reading more, and get authors who often go without feedback some thoughts on their work! I think it’ll be cool for everyone!

If you want your book reviewed, the only requirement I have is that it’s hosted on itch.io. Even if itch is just one of many places you can get the book, I want to review books that have a home there at least. Feel free to get in touch with me with your books—I’m @NorbezJones on Twitter (I refuse to call it X), Bluesky, Pillowfort, Threads, Instagram, and Tumblr; I’m norbez2.0 on Discord.

Looking forward to seeing your books! <3

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After I reviewed M. Kirin’s Memory Leak, Kirin ( @maxkirin ) contacted me and asked if I wanted a review copy of another one of their books, The Last Bread Mage! I said yes, and here we are! So to make it plain as possible: I was giving a free copy of this book in order to review it. However, that does not sway my opinion of the book either way, and my opinions are 100% my own.

So, what’s The Last Bread Mage about? Well, in a fantasy world, the end times have arrived. A red mage named Fel manages to survive the destruction of his magic school, and he finds a saint named Amara, who insists they must go to The Pinnacle, the center of the world. Along their journey, they find a knight named Virgen and a thief named Dormi. The four journey to the center of the world using the help of Fel’s magic, and when they get there, they make a surprising discovery.

There are almost 30 chapters, and between each chapter is a mini-chapter that describes something that ended off the previous chapter and/or will start off the next chapter. This “something” can be an object, a person, a piece of worldbuilding, anything really. These mini-chapters are a cool idea and add a lot to making the world feel real.

So, I won’t bury the lead: I liked this book a whole lot. I really, really love it. And not because I got it for free—like I said, that does not affect my opinion, and I honestly wish I could go back in time and spend money on this. I’m going to make this review as in-depth as possible to make up for the fact that barely anybody has read this fucking amazing book. I have criticisms, obviously, but overall, this book is a 10/10 from me.

It reminded me of the thick sci-fi & fantasy epics I read to pass time in the hospital (to be clear, that is a compliment), immersing myself in deep worlds with rich characters between the pages. I wish I’d had The Last Bread Mage during my last trip to inpatient. I’m glad I have it now, at least.

Also, it’s one of those books that the more you read it, the more the meaning of the cover becomes clear & changes. The last time that happened was with Still Life With Woodpecker, and it was pretty cool to see it happening here.

You might be asking, “Why is it called The Last Bread Mage?” This is because Fel is the last red mage, and “bread mage” is another name for “red mage” due to the fact that red mages make bread for hungry people. They basically use their magic to bend the rules of the universe using the three basic components all things are made of: texture, fiber, & substance. By mixing & matching these basic materials, they can turn one thing into an entirely different thing, like when Fel renders the bars of a cell into bread. They use up energy when they do that though, so they can’t do it forever—after all, even magic-users are only human.

The magic system in this book is very interesting, and makes for some very unique ways for Fel to get him & his friends out of the perils they end up facing. It also soon leads to theological implications, because red mages’ magic changes the logic of the universe set by God. However, God can only “see” the basic components all things are made of, so since a transmuted item retains the same basic materials, in God’s eyes, nothing has changed. These theological implications are explored in various ways and go in many directions I didn’t expect, like when Fel uses his powers to make him & his friends not exist in the eyes of God.

There are also times where Fel’s powers go awry, though, through no fault of his own. Basically, the apocalypse occurring in the world is causing the world’s logic to fall apart, drowning continents and making fantastical creatures appear that previously only existed in fiction. This means that the logic behind Fel’s powers sometimes fails him, such as when he tries to make a doorway for him & Amara to escape down the block from a threat, but when they go through that doorway, they’ve been transported halfway across the world.

By making the story about the logic of the universe and how it can be exploited or make what should go right go wrong, the book carries a consistent throughline throughout the whole thing, even & especially when Fel does his most shocking action near the end of the story. It’s a very admirable feat.

Speaking of the ending, I do want to talk about that. If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip to the “SPOILERS END HERE” line.

**SPOILERS START HERE**

When Fel and his friends reach The Pinnacle, they meet a few other folks there—and they meet God. I wasn’t sure if God was going to end up being real or not, but there it is, fretting as the world comes to an end. It’s revealed that God made the world in an effort to make order out of chaos, but chaos keeps seeping through, no matter what it does. It has ended & restarted the world many, many, many times, always bringing back The Chosen Four (Amara & three others named Lumbre, Huesos, & Frio) and The Fated Four (Fel [true name: Felicidad], Virgen [true name: Virtud], Dormi [true name: Domino (a name Dormi finds “fucking stupid”) & Beatrix [true name: Hambre])

Beatrix is a very interesting character. In this lifetime, she was the butcher in the prison Dormi was locked up in, ruthlessly killing many of Dormi’s friends. But she regrets being that person, thought she had to make herself into what she now realizes is a monster. Her & Dormi’s reflection is shown in this passage:

“Dormi and Beatrix‌—‌who had been incredibly lost until this point‌—‌found themselves looking at one another. They thought about the life they’d led and wondered how different things would’ve been had they switched places. It humbled Beatrix, for she had been taught to hate the people of Gritlan, and it scared Dormi, for they were terrified of the butcher they might’ve become.”

The eight of them are always created when a new cycle begins. Amara remembers every single cycle, every single timeline that has ever existed. So does God, of course. And now, it’s time for the world to end for a new cycle to begin.

The Chosen Four all carry pieces of The Worldly Egg, from which a new cycle of the world will hatch. They take out their pieces, the egg forms—but God doesn’t hatch it. Instead, God admits to them that it is tired of change, of chaos. It longs for predictability, and wants this all to end. It wants this to be the last cycle to ever exist.

Of course, everyone else protests. So, God asks them all to vote whether this should be the last cycle of the world. God votes Yea, as it is tired of doing this over & over again. Everyone else votes, until finally, Fel has to be the tiebreaker.

But instead of voting, Fel takes the The Worldly Egg and rends it, crunching it down to its most basic materials and absorbing them into himself. In doing so, Fel absorbs everything existing into himself—the world, his friends, even God—and becomes the new creator of the universe. The Prince of Absolute Chaos.

He creates a new cycle, brings his friends back. God is reborn as a child, and as a being who has never had a name, it asks Fel to have his—to be named Felicidad. Fel says yes, as long as, “[Y]ou must promise me to honor the name by living a life full of joy, laughter, and smiles. Do you promise?”

The previous God thinks about it—after all, life could be full of “joy, laughter, and smiles” or it can be full of “misery and misfortune”. In the end, it promises Fel it will uphold the name, and the book ends on that final exchange.

I teared up quite a bit as I read through the ending, and even going back to find quotes for this review made me tear up again. Saving your friends, saving the world, and even saving God—there’s something very beautiful in that, I think.

I also love how Kirin was able to bring aspects of his Mexican culture into the book, by making all of the true names that of “the first language” within the book’s universe (Spanish). It’s a nice little touch and I think it’s neat.

**SPOILERS END HERE**

Now for my criticisms. Like Adrian in Memory Leak, Fel is referred to as “the young man” quite a lot. Sometimes this happens multiple times in the same paragraph. This seems to be in an effort to avoid using pronouns instead, but sometimes, it’s better to just say “he”, as someone who also has this problem in eir writing (thanks, OCD [literally, not a figure of speech]!).

That’s basically my only nitpick. I wish I had more to criticize honestly, but I really don’t. Good problems to have.

In conclusion, I’ve never been angrier that a book isn’t popular than when I finished this one. Where are the Tumblr shitposts and multiple pieces of fanart for this book? I’m so mad lmao! Also, I imagine I will have that feeling quite a bit as I continue this book review series.

I want to leave off with these words that Amara says to Fel, because I think they’re beautiful:

“‘The only thing worth a damn in this world is being the best versions of ourselves. What does that look like to you, sweet Fel? What does the best version of you look like? It may seem far away, unreachable at the best of times, but you should reach out for this impossible ideal. Be the truest version of yourself. That��s the only thing we can do. Everything else? My dear, everything else is a gamble.’”

So true, bestie. Amen.

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