Hoodwink:: First Published 1983 :: 16 Pages
Hoodwink, yet another Torn and Restored handling. With the amount of Torn and Restored effects on the market, it would have to bring something very new or different to the community. Being a card magician, I was looking forward to checking out Ben’s approach to the classic plot. But, after exploring every Torn and Restored plot that I have come across, admittedly, it would be hard to impress me.
Again, as with all of my reviews of Ben’s eBooks, the first thing that really does stand out is the quality of the books. They're just brilliantly put together. The time put into the project is apparent from the second you open the book. With his “Authentication” mark on top of the book so you know you’re getting a quality product.
We slide past the 4-5 pages of copyright declarations once again and finally get to the introduction. The history behind this is yet again very interesting. This is a revisited version of another of Ben’s earlier works “Prime Hole Card”. The development of an effect is, in my opinion very important to get everything just right. Ben has hit the nail right on the head. We move on to the effect.
Now unlike the conventional Torn and Resorted plot, the card is not torn into quarters and restored quarter by quarter. This version see’s the magician tear the card completely in half, display both pieces and in the blink of an eye restore the card. This is the first time we are introduced to the “Flash” restoration which I believe brings a very slick finale to the ending, almost as if the pieces jump together. After viewing a video of this effect online, I must admit to you that I was fooled. Unlike most torn and restored effects, this had such a simple handling and looked so clean. I saw the card being genuinely torn, displayed separately to each other and then in less than a second, it was restored all without anything else being in his hands. Now, that to me seems like a cool handling of Torn and Restored.
The book is well laid out and is incredibly simple. There are Circular photos with lines and nuggets of text to help you along. The handling is incredibly simple and brilliantly clever. I enjoyed how the long drawn out process of 1) tear up the card into quarters 2) display them 3) take 15 minutes just to restore it quarter by quarter. This is replaced by a tear up and one second visual restore. If I were to perform a torn and restored card effect, it would have to be something drastically different or a quick simple presentation much like this. I genuinely enjoyed Ben’s handling of torn and restored and will defiantly use it once or twice. The added value that it is completely impromptu, can use a signed card and has an incredibly deceptive and simplistic handling really helps sell the effect.
Although this is not the most groundbreaking of torn and restored cards, I think it is a brilliant approach to a quick “in and out” handling of the effect that can be performed anytime, anywhere and with any deck of cards with no prior set up. That to me sounds like a winner.
Rating **** 4/5 Stars
“A valuable approach to the classic torn and restored plot. A no nonsense, in and out handling that is defiantly to be considered by all serious card magicians.”
