I posted this elsewhere but thought I should put it here in particular as its being sold here...
I got this when it was at the lower price and I thought it was underpriced then, I'm glad to see the price has risen but is still too cheap in my opinion at $28. What you get is not only the diabolical date divination method but also a full routine complete with some really nice subtelties and a delightful back story to set the scene for the piece.
The routine itself shows all the signs of coming straight from a worker's set list - it has all situations covered and each stage of the process has been boiled down to be as direct as possible and the subtleties selected seem to be the result of actual permforming rather than speculative idealism. So often I have bought an ebook and thought "great but this just won't work in the real world." I'm pleased to say this isn't the case with David and Peter's well crafted routine - motivated, direct and the justification for the methods selected is laid out in the book. As a straight bit of mindreading it plays well right of the box so to speak. I perform storytelling/bizarre type magic informally so needed to swing wildly away from the presentation described in the book in order to fit my style - that is where the true genius of their creation shines brightly.
At the core of Isabella's star is an ORIGINAL method (quite a rarity these days) for divining the actual date a spectator has in their mind. The method is wonderfully direct and relatively simple when you consider similar star sign divinations. I'm sure those who would be most interested in this are like me - they have a stack of sign and date divinations which we read in earnest hoping for something practical and convincing but ultimately fell short in delivering. Many I have read used long fishing sequences and/or required considerable memorising and/or calculation. Izzy's star does not suffer from that hinderance. In fact I prepared a small crib and was able to play around with it amongst friends fairly quickly.
What excited me the most about this, indeed compelled me to sing its praises to anybody who'll listen, was the method. It is possible to remove it from the given routine and apply easily to other effects, even replacing other methods within one's current routines. It doesn't involve endless fishing, outs or guesswork, by its nature it creates little hits on your way to the reveal and to be honest it wasn't too taxing on my simple brain (which is most pleasing!)
I had for some years been searching for a book test that would allow me to force (in order to reveal) a particular date from the huge book - Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. I had played with the idea of an imp pad or c.t, allowing it to be a free choice followed by a reveal but I disliked having the spectator writing anything down. I never found anything that I liked so it remained an idea gathering dust at the back of my mind, until I discovered this gem of a method. It was whilst experimenting with the book of dates that I remembered another smaller book I had bought on impulse and never found a use for - a victorian lady's pocket diary with birthday reminders in the back of it. About 120 names and their birthdays were inscribed in fine script and perfect for the Izzy's Star method transitioning it from the stage to intimate close up. Once you have it in your arsenal the more innovative will undoubtedly find far greater and more complex uses for it but for me it is enough to have my spectator select their date I reveal it with a little help from my spirit guide/genie in a bottle/resident ghost or whatever takes my fancy. I love that I can use my old props and reveal or have the spectator imagine a date of their own choosing, that it's easy to do but so clever that it defies reverse engineering and to be blunt - that it just so direct with no akward wordplay or ambiguity.
I have to thank David and Peter for devising and releasing this and making so many things possible for me now that I had long abandoned. It's a well thought out routine for those inclined to play it as is but the method is simply sublime - congratulations on such innovative thinking. I cannot imagine how on earth you came up with the core modus but I'm glad you did. I really do hope there is more to come from you guys but you have set quite a bar for yourselves - this should become a principle anybody interested in date and star sign related divination needs to be familiar with. Direct, simple and the method itself can be applied to other effects - what more could anyone want? For the price I still think you get a lot of value for money, maybe the price will rise once people start using this (they will) and others catch on to the value of having in their possesion this most devious tool.
Sincerely and fraternally
James
