Read What Others Are Saying: page 30
120 ★★★★★ reviews
76 ★★★★★ reviews
56 ★★★★★ reviews
83 ★★★★★ reviews
The Magician's Guide to the Tarot
reviewed by David Burmeister (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 11 June, 2016)
Paul Voodini has done it again.
In my opinion this is one of the best ebooks I have seen that explains the meanings of Tarot cards.
I will definitely MEMORIZE ALL the meanings.
The ebook is definitely worth your money.
The effects to use with the Tarot cards aren't bad either.
You can also combine other effects with the Tarot cards out of Magick Manuscript, Syzygy, and Stephen Minchs' THE BOOK of THOTH if you can find it.
This ebook learned well and a routine with Tarot cards that fits your style will come across as the real thing to the spectator.
David Burmeister
Mark of the Devil: Six Slick Routines with a Marked Deck
reviewed by David Burmeister (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 11 June, 2016)
What can I say?
Paul Voodini has excellent material as far as I can tell.
In his ebook, Mark of the Devil, his effect, SECRETS of the MAYANS is worth it's weight in gold.
There is quite a bit of memorization to do but the effect is tremendous.
You can use a marked deck of cards, a simple card force, or stacked deck etc. with this routine.
My opinion is to but the ebook and go online to find a cheap Mayan coin to do this GREAT effect.
David W. Burmeister
SEIS: Bizarre Mentalism with Marked Cards
reviewed by David Burmeister (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 11 June, 2016)
This book I would recommend to anyone to do a very simple cold reading.
The effect is called THE FORTUNE TELLERS APPRENTICE.
Instead of using marked cards I combine it with a card stack but it will fool the spectator with any method you use.
The script is excellent and you can elaborate the cold reading if you wish to.
It's simple and to the point!
Beyond Svengali: applying the svengali principle to mentalism
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 June, 2016)
One of the best things about studying mentalism is how creative people make use of old-hat ideas. When I was a teenager, worshipping at the Marlo/Vernon/Erdanse altar, my magician friends and I used to scoff at stuff like the Svengali Deck. Kids' stuff, we said. Look at that goof on TV selling the stupidest magic deck around. That crap fools no one. Everyone knows the secret. It's only for Grandpa to try to entertain the kids at Thanksgiving. No talent needed here. Waste of money. Real magicians have skills--see, look at my blisters and carpal tunnel syndrome because I have spent five hours a day for the past two years working on the classic pass--and don't use gimmicked decks. Then a few years ago, when I started studying mentalism exclusively--leaving behind childish things like trying to perfect an invisible second deal--I went, hey, what's up with these mentalists? Did I just see Luke Jermay fool the living crap out of a roomful of experts using a Franklin Taylor peek deck from the 1940's? How could that be? I also hear that the Psychomatic Deck is used by some of the top mentalists in the business. What's up with that?
What I'm saying is that what was once passe (or perhaps is still passe) can be used to devastating effect. Witness the much-maligned Svengali principle. Read this book, and you'll be a convert to the religion of the old gods. This material is superb, simply superb. It's not TV-hucksterism-garbage-trick-deck stuff. Nor is it old fashioned. It's great mentalism, old techniques in modern, sophisticated routines. I think that it is scary good because of the unexpected uses of the principle. No one expects a world-class mentalist or someone with the crazy skills of Peter Nardi to be using the principle behind millions of decks sold to laypeople. Yet they do--and they kill with it. This ebook was such an enlightening read that I have developed my own variations on these themes. Another well-published, smart mentalist friend of mine agrees with me too. We both love, love, love the Svengali principle and are always trying to figure out new routines. This is a top purchase for your mentalism library (or lybrary).
365
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 June, 2016)
There's an old adage that if you buy a book of effects, and you find one useable one, you've gotten your money's worth. 365 by Scott Xavier clears that low bar because I really liked his PK effect using Laffy Taffy. I will incorporate it into a stage act one day. As for the rest, there are some ho-hum card things, a trick that is outdated because cellphones are not manufactured the same as when the book was written, instructions for using a PK ring (how original), and information on how to accomplish the carny thing of holding fire on the palm of your hand. (Go ahead, work on that if you are brave. You will burn the hell out of yourself at least once. I know that I did.) In other words, this ebook was disappointing, though at $22, it was cheaper than the now almost de rigeur price of $30 for a small book of mentalism effects. But hey, your mileage may vary. You might like some of these things more than I did. One more note: While I give Scott a thumbs up for trying something different, the writing style was really off putting to me. He wrote up each effect from the spectator's perspective, for example, "Scott asked a spectator to select a card..." and "After using his mystical powers, Scott recants a mystical phrase..." Oh brother. A whole book where he is referred to in the third-person makes him sound weird, just like former Vice President Bob Dole, who also spoke about himself in the third-person.
Chris Fisanick says, "Meh to 365."
Mark of the Devil: Six Slick Routines with a Marked Deck
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 June, 2016)
When I got this on a whim, I just chuckled. A marked deck's a marked deck. Once you figure out how to read the markings, what else do you need? This was going to be a nothing read. Then I started reading and immediately realized that that au contraire, any fool mentalist can figure out someone's card with faux-mind reading shenanigans like "I'm seeing a black..no, wait a red card. You are thinking of a red card..." This book has some cool ideas to clothe your naked marked deck routine in. Is it a world beater? No, and unlike Paul Voodini when he was younger, you aren't going to base your entire show on marked deck routines. But this is a solid book with six good routines for a little over a buck each.
The Fleetwood Notes
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 June, 2016)
Marc Paul is one of the world's finest mentalists. He is in that high pantheon with illustrious colleagues like Derren Brown, Max Maven, Richard Osterlind, and Bob Cassidy. But unfortunately, he doesn't write or put out much in the way of instructional material. (His sole DVD, not counting the brilliant live lecture that he did for Penguin, is long out-of-print. If you find it, don't let it go.) So when you see something by him, it's a no-brainer. You get it. Period. No hesitation. No worries about whether it is going to be good or how much it costs. There is always something in any of his writings that will make you stop, sit up in your chair, and say to yourself, "That's freaking great. I've never seen anything like it." Case in point: In The Fleetwood Notes, he explains his take on an old, but brilliant, Jack London effect called "An Almost Perfect Prediction." Now before looking at Marc's stuff, I had completely ignored mentalism effects that relied on mathematics, "mathemagic" effects, if you will. I thought that they were too tansparent, long-winded, and boring. Not any more. London's effect is brilliant but requires either gimmickry or an ability to not screw up mental math when the pressure is on. Marc eliminates both problems because if there's one thing I've seen from Marc is that he will always figure out the simplest, most foolproof way of doing something. (If I could summarize the Marc Paul philosophy, it would be something like, "Why worry about doing a tricky sleight to control a card, a sleight that will require long hours of practice and a lot of praying that you don't get burned in the moment? Just mark the card." And for a pro, there's nothing wrong with that mentality. It's not lazy. It's effective. In fact, that's one of the reasons why he's fantastic.) And the results are stunning in his updated routine called "Summing Up." I'm using it. It's terrific. But there's also a drawing duplication that's great. And more. For the advanced mentalist looking from new stuff, you can't beat The Fleetwood Notes.
Sleightly Mental
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 09 June, 2016)
Way too many mentalists--especially those not coming from a straight magic background--overlook the use of sleight of hand in mentalism effects. If you are a good performer, an arsenal of a few good sleights will transform you into a dangerously deceptive performer. Why? Because if you are a proficient mentalist, no one is even thinking that you are using anything close to sleight of hand. That's the stuff of magicians. Bob Cassidy, of course, understands just about everything about mentalism and in this unique work, combining an ebook with some short demonstrative videos, he gives you the tools. And he has selected the small lot of them well. No, you aren't going to be the next Ed Marlo, Ekaterina, or Shin Lim with cards, but you will be able to do some amazing things. For example, I smiled knowingly to myself when I saw that Bob also uses a false shuffle that I learned as a teenager in the 1970's from Henry Hay's obscure but spectacular book, The Amateur Magician's Handbook. (Bob is a huge fan of Hay, which is only fitting; that book boggles my mind every time that I look at it--so very, very good, a lost classic.) With some practice, this is great stuff, particularly for the current generation of mentalists who may not have the grounding in straight magic or learning stuff out of old, classic books. Get $25 together and spend it now. (And while you are at it, buy Hay from here as well for $25.) And, as usual, thank me later.
It's Knot Impossible
reviewed by tommaso percivale (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 08 June, 2016)
Well, the price is very low so it's not a big issue but... I already knew this trick and i was looking to transform it into an effect. I hoped to find a fresh routine, something funny, even brilliant but... this is not the case. It's flat and uncharming, something that don't resolve the slightly boring soul of this trick. Even worse: the routine don't have an ending because the author continued with another routine (not showed in the doc).
To me it's like a quick cut and paste of a very old and uninspiring material.
Is this an interesting trick? Yes Is this the best way to learn it? I don't think so.
Encyclopedia of Cigarette Tricks
reviewed by Etienne LorenceauRating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 04 June, 2016)
This is a phenomenal book with great forgotten sleights which can be used for cigarettes, naturally, but also for Penknives, Memory sticks ... and creating new routines that have never be seen before. Instead of working at performing the latest variant of a trick that killed you at a magic club, get this book, change the prop and be the one that fries others at the magic club or private party.
Karma Deck Psyclical
reviewed by Balasubramanian Chandran (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 27 May, 2016)
Stars for rating may get exhausted but the value of Karma Deck seems to be inexhaustible. Psyclical is one more gem in the Karma Deck series. A super cool and easy method combined with some powerful routines makes this an invaluable offering for a stack magician. I could get the method in just a few minutes - just a matter of running it over in my mind a couple of times and that's it. I am happy to be witnessing the fantastic blooming of this extraordinary Karma Deck series. No stack magic enthusiast or practitioner can afford to miss this.
Learn to Recite and Write the Alphabet Upside Down and in Reverse
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 27 May, 2016)
If you don't have these parlor tricks down cold yet, then download Devin's ebook now! There is another system to learning the alphabet backwards, but this one is better. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it took me 10 minutes on a rainy Saturday afternoon to learn the recitation part. Writing upside down and backwards took a little longer, but not much, with a little practice. Now both skills are like second nature. When I retire and get around to giving corporate motivational lectures on learning, memory, and intuition, you can rest assured that I'm using Devin's techniques, and they will delight and astonish audiences. This ebook might be the best use of mnemonics that you'll ever see. And it costs a fiver. Come back and thank me later.
Mind Control
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 27 May, 2016)
Although it is as old as dirt, there isn't a lot of literature on equivoque, an essential, but often poorly handled, mentalism technique. You have Max Maven's seminal work, Docc Hilford's "E'Voque," and this pamphlet, which is not bad, but incomplete. Mark Elsdon, who is more proficient in equivoque than just about anyone around, keeps promising an encyclopedic, definitive work, but so far, it hasn't turned up. If it were me, I'd get UK mentalist Stephen Long's download video "The Art of Equivoque." It's very short, but it's to the point, cheaper than "Mind Control," and Long is a good, humorous lecturer. My equivoque technique is tried-and-true, but he gave me some new subtleties. Check it out.
Positive Thinking
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 27 May, 2016)
Here's yet another variant on Max Maven's Positive/Negative, this time by Dave Forrest with an instructional video and bonus effects. What can I say other than if you like the Positive/Negative routine, you'll want to see--for $7, you really can't go wrong--Forrest's variation on the "second part" of the method, the reveal. (Those who are familiar with this effect will know that the first part is the same-old, same-old.) Anyway, it uses a really old-hat technique for the MO. But you get a clear video and a couple of bonus effects (which I don't use). It's good, but the same technique is better used in Chris Rawlins's "Kicker Chirp Top" close-up routine in his book Roulette. That's a three-prediction routine with a reveal using a UV penlight that is different and cool.
Heads, I Win. Tails, You Lose!
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
Okay, here's another variant on Max Maven's Positive/Negative. It follows the same presentation/techniques as the half-dozen other versions that I have (E + MO, for those in the know), but the reveal is different. And it's not bad. I like Scott Guinn's versions better, but this is an acceptable alternative. Interestingly, Rick Lax uses a similar method for one reveal in his "which hand" routine, Quarterly Report, and Penguin charges a lot more for it. At $5, this is a good purchase if you like Positive/Negative.
Air Writer
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This isn't for every mentalist, but in the right hands, with the right presentation and audience management, it can be amazing. Yes, this ebook is on the pricey side--and if you decide after you buy it that the technique isn't for you, you'll feel burned. I'll try to help you in your decision. First, this isn't for novice or beginning mentalists. This is one of these propless concepts that the top UK mentalists are so good at, something that takes practice and care in performance. You have to have some audience management skills; that is, your spectator has to follow your directions explicitly; otherwise, you have big problems. Also, I think some of the extended ideas in the book are basically unworkable--or at the very least, dicey--in practice. Lastly, it's not 100% foolproof, nor is it going to baffle 100% of the folks 100% of the time. A really astute spectator with a good memory could try it later and with some thought reverse engineer it.
Even with all these caveats, the underlying principles are, quite simply, unique and brilliant. I use air writing for exactly two things. I do a "which hand" routine. I end with being able to say whether the spectator has thought of 0, 1, 2, or 3 coins in his hand. I also can divine a chosen ESP symbol. OK, so I'm not using the principles in the book to their fullest extent, but I have developed a strategy is accurate and one that works well for me.
202 Methods of Forcing
reviewed by Christian FisanickRating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This oldie-but-goodie is absolutely a must have, whether you are a card or coin worker or mentalist. And this annotated edition is wonderful because even though the annotations are concise, they will add to your knowledge of the principles and steer you away from stuff in the original manuscript that was too cryptically described. For half the price of a latte at Four-Bucks, you can download in a flash an essential text. Go for it now!
Sure Stats
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
What is it? I don't know how to describe Sure Stats. It's not a stand-alone routine. It's more of icing on the cake--you thought the effect was done, but here's one last, unexpected climax. I've added it as a finisher to a baffling double prediction routine by Dave Forrest. Maybe three climaxes is too much, but I surely like it. What I also like is the information given on how to modify the fake news articles to suit your own utility purposes. You'll have to tinker a little bit, and no, they won't look perfect, but they'll work well enough. I wasn't sure what I was getting when I purchased this, but I'm glad that I spent the small price. It's an example of some really good, out-of-the-box thinking by a smart French mentalist.
Equirock
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This is a clever, nearly self-working way to force one of three objects (or more, using the material given to extend the principle) under the guise of playing rock-paper-scissors. There are no sleights, equivoque, marked cards, psychological subtleties, or complicated moves involved; you just have to understand the principles, which are a snap and will take about five minutes. It plays quite naturally, and you'll be able to figure out quite a few uses for this utility routine. For example, it is the perfect substitute for the initial equivoque if you are doing a positive/negative routine where you need to force a coin. The author is a real theoritician when it comes to describing mentalism processes so the ebook is well written. For $10, you can't go wrong adding this to an arsenal of equivoque, PATEO, and Quinta.
Life Force Triangle
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This is a completely foolproof impromptu effect that is terrific. It's really good because even if as a mentalist you try to reverse engineer it, it will take some time to figure it out. Lay people will just be baffled. The trouble is, the instructional video was done so long ago--back in the 90s--that the effect will not work if you follow Lee's instructions. You have to modify one part of the mathematical process, which if you closely follow how the trick is done, shouldn't be a problem. You'll figure it out. If not, here's a hint: 116.
Russian Roulette with Cans
reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This is a cheap, easy, and fun routine which, altough not as scary as using a firearm or nail gun, will entertain audiences. It relies on an old goof-off stunt and a misperception held by probably 99.4% of the population. And therein lies why I marked it down a notch. The misperception, which is the fundamental basis of the trick, is glossed over so fast in the instructional video that I had to replay it a couple of times and then try it out to convince myself that what I thought I had heard was right. It was. With that caveat, this will make for a great closing routine.
The Sticky Head Game
reviewed by Larry Brodahl (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
Not impressed. The description of what happens does not even come close to what you have to do. I'm not saying it's horrible, just not what was represented. Of course, if what "really" happens was described at all, pretty much everyone would know the method.
Cute plot.....lousy handling.
Karma Deck Psyclical
reviewed by Scott Druid (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 25 May, 2016)
I am amazed and speechless! With Psyclical, I think Karma Deck becomes the ONLY stack which can be used both as a memorized deck as well as a cyclical stack and still maintains random values and suits - that too with 7 different stacks. IMHO, this is absolutely unbeatable. No other stack can offer so much - I'm pretty sure. All this without any memory work. There is no problem even if I do not perform stack magic regularly. Truly ideal benefits. Planning to pick up Deckcelence & Amazers soon. The routines in Psyclical as well as Karma Deck Pro are fab and solid. This whole set along with some of my own routines should give me a lifetime of stack magic. Incredible!
Classic Card Magic IV
reviewed by Enrico VarellaRating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 24 May, 2016)
I love this series of card magic! I would definitely recommend new card-workers to focus on these classics. What Paul has done in this instalment, in his signature style, is re-boot them slightly to meet contemporary audiences: simplified handling, sensible patter, and relevant use of sleights. Of these six effects, Kannibal Kards went straight into my performing repertoire! It is almost a card act in itself, with a fascinating story and 'twist'. It is hard to single out 'classics' as each creator designed it with a specific 'plot' in mind, so the performer would benefit from learning them all, and integrating them all in your show. You will know each originator/creator intimately by the end of your practice: Searles, Marlo, Steinmeyer (9-Card Principle), Gardner, Trost, and of course, Lelekis. Paul breathes new life and enthusiasm into each of these 'classics', and I assure you that you will likely and rightly perform these strong, time-tested, routines - which Paul has already done for us. Each of the four 'classes' in the Classic Card Magic series is a 'class act' in itself. Buy them, study them, and apply them, and enjoy your applause.
Classic Card Magic IV
reviewed by Doug Lippert (confirmed purchase)Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 24 May, 2016)
I'm so glad Paul has decided to share more of his expert card technique with the magical fraternity. Paul is one of the top card magicians in the world and it shows when he tips his professional routining of such famous card effects such Lin Searles's "The Kannibal Kards," Nick Trost's "Brain Wave," Martin Gardner's "Spectator Cuts the Aces," and Steinmeyer's "9 Card Principle."
But Paul really shines when he tips his own card magic. Lelekis's "Psychotic Bluff Aces" is not to be missed. The big Ace reveal at the end will floor them!
Paul's handlings are superb. But, what really stands out is his attention to detail to deliver maximum impact. These routines are not the work of a fly by night 12 year old card mechanic. Paul is a pro and you'll know it by reading his card handling tips. Paul's advice on how to perform the Ascanio Spread and the Olram Subtlety are worth the price of admission by themselves.
The book is professionally produced and proof-read. An excellent addition to my magic library.