reviewed by Larry Brodahl (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 05 April, 2022)
This booklet has one problem. There's so much good thinking in it.
The POCKET POWER is so stupidly clean and clever it almost makes you just blow past it. As I've said before, I read Mr. Mellers' to get ideas on HOW to think, not what. And this trick isn't new. But the premise is, and it makes great sense.
#2 in the booklet is the BREAD KNIFE CARD STAB...and much as it kills me to say this, "WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS!". It's a brilliant idea. A super easy way to do a knife stab. And he gives you an excellent reason to DO the knife stab. His supplied script gives you enough info to see which way to go without giving you a complete script to just copy.
#3 TOSSED OUT DECK - with some clever handling twists, and VERY clever presentational twists that really make this look like a fun trick to do.
reviewed by Larry Brodahl (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 05 April, 2022)
Conflicted on this booklet, since there's not a single item in it that I will do - and there's only 3 items.
But each item is nice. The problem is that I already do a version of the Gypsy Thread, although oddly enough, he and I picked the exact matching premises.
The Six card repeat isn't really my cup of tea, and again...I already have a version. HOWEVER...he does have a cute bit with this trick that could be applied to any other trick with counting, so I'll say this one's a plus.
Finally, the final trick "Scattered" just isn't something I'd do. But I do appreciate the thinking behind the trick, and I'm sure if I actually saw the trick, it would fool me completely.
So why a 5 star? Because I don't necessarily want to learn a new trick, or a new line or script. I think the big value of reading magic books is seeing how the author thinks. And this booklet does that perfectly.
reviewed by Larry Brodahl (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 05 April, 2022)
First off, understand that I love Mel Mellers' work. Not necessarily to learn a NEW trick, but to learn about NEW presentations. New ideas for how to make the tricks entertaining. Different approaches.
This booklet is no different. It's basically a SINGLE trick explained in a decent fashion. But, it's a trick you probably already know at least 1 if not more ways of doing.
Mr. Mellers' method is not new by any means, but the presentational aspects of it are!
It's a clever idea...and that's what I paid for.
reviewed by CARLOS ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 30 March, 2022)
Really great card trick, easy to do and with an incredible impact.
reviewed by Steven Broomhead (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 28 March, 2022)
This has to be one of the best, ingenious ways to “memorize” a deck. So easy to learn and easy to perform. Kudus to Unknown Mentalist.
reviewed by Tim Brown (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 19 March, 2022)
This product, if it is not known to you, is akin to having a personal coach. And a very good coach at that. I've read it through a few times. And then I refer to it often. It gives you material to make a checklist to tick off everyday in order to exercise your mind. And I've found that although it'd probably be ideal to say, yes, I can always tick off all 13 points, it is still valuable that you have the satisfaction to pursue those that you can. I recommend this to anyone who loves to see their life as full of possibilities and loves to like it like the challenge that our lives are.
reviewed by Scott Weilblood (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 14 March, 2022)
Nick Trost was a genius. 3 great effects and some really great principles here.
reviewed by James Macdonald (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 12 March, 2022)
I have no conflicts of interest. I'm a professional who has been doing magic for sixty years; primarily platform and stage magic, concentrating on sleight-of-hand.
I built this item, and have presented it in public on many occasions, mostly Halloween shows. I intend to build a second house, using what I learned from making my first one. It's easily portable and only requires one person (you!) to operate. The audience reception has been quite good.
You should know when building this, that doll-house parts (e.g. windows and doors) are not cheap. Getting the opening door and opening window to function reliably was a matter of trial-and-error. If you don't have access to a table saw and jig-saw, construction won't be easy. Please use the thinnest, best-quality plywood you can get! I have easily sunk a couple of hundred dollars into this effect.
I've modified the tricks that happen in the house to suit my style and wrote my own patter.
Definitely a worth-while routine.
reviewed by James Macdonald (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 12 March, 2022)
I have no conflicts of interest concerning this item. I've been doing magic for about sixty years, primarily stage and platform magic, where my greatest love is sleight-of-hand. I am a professional.
To help y'all decide if this is for you, you need to know that the show requires a primary performer plus two secret assistants (and possibly a stooge). It is designed for performance on a full stage with wings. The ability to control house lights is useful but not required. For transport purposes, the largest single piece is a sheet of hardboard, six feet by seven feet.
The spook show runs for about twenty to thirty minutes. There is lots of opportunity for elaboration.
The text is clear and the illustrations are complete and helpful. Although I have not personally performed it, this is a well-thought-out routine. I do intend to have a version whipped into shape for Halloween season.
reviewed by Simon Beck (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 11 March, 2022)
Not my best buy. I bought this when I was trying to master the Elias multiple shift. I can do the Elias multiple shift, but with little help from here. The videos are rushed, unclear and unhelpfully explained, adding little to the terse text.
reviewed by Simon Beck (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 11 March, 2022)
This is an extremely useful booklet. Every time I go back to it I marvel once again at the magic you can bring about with the deck that usually sits idle in the card drawer. It is clear, well-written, insightful and engaging. A very good buy.
reviewed by bob tong (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
Simple straightforward and no ambiguity involved in the understanding of Spiritualism and historical backgrounds supported by genuine incidents that occurred pertaining to the area of discussion and information sharing. It is quite astounding that there are still charlatans that desire to disillusion those who may have some level of belief in spiritual matters. It is very objective though at times, subjective to the extent of the spiritual matters concerned. This does open the corridors to differentiate between fraudulent and genuine incidents and issues on spiritualism. Hence, I would give a 5-stars rating for the excellent work done to understand Spiritualism though it does depend on the individual concerned to be able to discern between reality and fantasy.
reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
Perfect large group card trick. Lots of comedy potential.
reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
A bit dated, but this idea has a lot of potential.
reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
Very practical. No fancy moves, but short and effective.
reviewed by Gianluca Bertuzzi (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 08 March, 2022)
reviewed by Wiley Allen (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 06 March, 2022)
This is a must for anyone doing seance or bizarre work. Wish it had gone a little longer. Highly recommended!
reviewed by Larry Ekin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 05 March, 2022)
Might possibly merit 4 stars. Decent graphics, an interesting plot and a bonus effect "Saints and Sinners" make it an attractive package, and one that, with a bit of effort can be improved. You can find your own headline/fake newspaper generator on the internet, so you might adapt the content to make it suit your own approach. But definitely worth the money.
reviewed by Larry Ekin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 05 March, 2022)
Sadly, this effect seems little more than a prolonged game of hangman. If it is going to take you four or five guesses, that's probably too many. There are other travel effects on the market that disguise the method better.
reviewed by Phillip Dennis (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 02 March, 2022)
Great set of packet tricks. The outstanding "Ghost Flight" by Peter Duffie is worth the $10 by itself, and the others are very good too. A bargain at $10.
reviewed by Stefan Leenen (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 02 March, 2022)
Sorry, but this is not a Gag book, it is a book full of insults. If you like to insult your audience this is your book.
reviewed by Wiley Allen (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 01 March, 2022)
Scott has done it again. Such a great magazine. Don’t miss out on this! Always like to read Gwyn Auger’s column and Sankey Says. The monthly challenge is also a fun twist not seen in other publications.
reviewed by Wiley Allen (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 01 March, 2022)
Wonderful magazine with articles by some of the giants in the magic profession. Highly recommended! Well worth the price.
reviewed by Kelvin Tytherleigh (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 01 March, 2022)
I was advised to buy this book, and I am glad I did. Charles Jordan wrote the book in 1919, but it consists of a good number of excellent knowledgable card tricks. Worth every penny spent. When I ordered I had a problem downloading, sent an email and received a prompt reply and the problem had been resolved. Excellent customer support. I live in England and I know my shows will be improved with this treasure.
reviewed by Jim Short (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 26 February, 2022)
In this manuscript Mr. Voodini gives you opportunities to be as spooky or as lighthearted as you wish. He also makes things easy to learn - in the first 'routine' he doesn't do any magic at all!
The routines are uniformly great, but the real value is his demonstration of the strength of a well-written script. Neither I nor he recommends you perform any of these verbatim, but use them as a jumping-off point for your own scripts.
This is a bargain at the listed price.