Reviews: Read What Others Are Saying: page 42
157 ★★★★★ reviews
111 ★★★★★ reviews
73 ★★★★★ reviews
110 ★★★★★ reviews
Flip and Tell
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
Flip and Tell uses a 50-year-old Martin Gardner principle dressed up in a new routine. If you watch the video, you'll see exactly how it plays out, and if impromptu effects are to your liking, you'll like this. It reminds me of something that you'd see in one of Mark Elsdon's Conversations as Mentalism books (He's up to four now. Get them all because they're great.) in that you can do it anywhere on the spur of the moment with just a bunch of coins, a wallet, and a flat surface. By itself, it's not an effect that will get you your own BBC mentalism series, but as a supplement to a "which hand" or positive/negative routine, it's nice and quite baffling. I followed the instructions, turned coins over, and BAM! It works great. There is one small move, and if you watch the video a few times, you probably can figure out the essence of what it is, but when you do it once for a spectator, it will fly by without much thought. And the price is around you'd pay for a single trick out of one of Elsdon's "CAM" books. In other words, here you have a slick, inexpensive impromptu effect. It's one of many different propless or nearly propless things that I can do. Recommended.
Rush: Close-Up Russian Roulette
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
For a while there, it seemed that every magician that you saw on TV did the death defying Russian Roulette feat with the nailguns or the spike under the paper bags. Dee Christopher, among others, has downsized the effect for close-up performance using Bic lighters. It's a pretty good trick, and perhaps slightly more dangerous looking than Cobra Kiss, which uses the mini-staplers, but I have to ask, to what end? The big-brother stage versions have been so overused that they have lost their novelty so the miniturized versions, which are much less dangerous, are even more muted in effect.
The instructions here are good, and you'll need a bunch of a specific type of disposable lighter that you will need to modify. The fabrication of the effect is fairly easy. Pulling it off effectively is somewhat harder because there is a move involved that you have to execute multiple times, which I personally think is fishy. (The best way to do it is probably misdirect your spectator to examine another lighter in a kind of "one-behind" way.) For what this effect is, it's clever, and it does work as promised. For me, I prefer a completely non-dangerous version by Titanas using shaken-up soda cans. The worst that the audience thinks could happen is that a can explodes, and I get soaked (just like in the old SCTV Doug & Bob McKenzie bit called "The Beer Hunter"). While that routine removes the danger element, it's much more devious and easier to do. I'm not really sold on Rush with the lighters, but you may prefer it.
The Impromptu Mystifier
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
Kennedy is one of the best up-and-coming UK mentalists. This book, his first, is loaded with sage wisdom about using off-the-cuff performances to build your reputation and get jobs. Ken speaks from experience, and his essays are spot-on. He then outlines his impromptu routine, which--if memory serves me--has five effects. They are all at least good, a couple are excellent, and one, his Window of Opportunity peek, I think is fantastic. I always keep a few of the specially folded business cards with me to do it and have, in fact, expanded his original presentation. While it's a tad more complicated than Acidus Novus, the Corinda peek, or that cool billet opening thing that Richard Osterlind has demonstrated on a couple of his DVDs, a few days of practice idly doing the move with my left hand was more than enough time to get pretty good at it. It's a worker.
I'm fairly sure that the title The Impromtu Mystifier is a tip of the hat to the great Bob Cassidy and his The Impromptu Psychic. While that work may have more routines, I think that this book is the better value for its outstanding advice on mentalism in general--and that great peek.
Messing with NCR Paper
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
Anyone who has seen a few episodes of the classic TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 is probably familiar with the tag "...at first." It's a brilliant way of commenting on something that initially appears to be good or encouraging but on reflection is not, as in "Charles Manson looked like a quiet, unassuming guy...at first." That's kind of how I feel about Messing with NCR Paper. I'd heard about the book, tracked it down, read it, and was excited...at first. It even begins with a thrilling fax between experts that sounded like Fermat's Last Equation had finally been solved. But alas, reading the book, I learned something that I and many others already knew, that NCR paper could substitute for carbon paper, and one more thing that I didn't know, the properties of using a fluorescent highlighter with NCR paper. That latter principle, while interesting, has limited utility. The author entreats folks to do further research in this area, but nothing came of it that I am aware of. It's interesting but a dead end. But messing with NCR Paper did have my attention...at first.
Forces, Peeks, Stacks and Gaffs
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
Here's another ebook from the amazingly prolific Mr. Creasey. It shows you some non-knuckle-busting sleights that you can apply to mentalism. I like books like this because they allow you to expand your horizons and, as I've mentioned about Scott before, "think outside the box." He has put together a useful collection of sleights and gaffs and routines using them. While this book doesn't fall into the category of "essential," I would rate it as "nice to have." For example, a peek explained here is similar to a one that I learned as a teenager back in 1974 when I first read it in The Amateur Magician's Handbook by Henry Hay. (Here's another review of mine with a familiar refrain: Buy that book, Bob Cassidy's favorite too. Nuff said!) I've lost track of how many times that I've used it, and I've always gotten away with it. Never been burned. Not once. And it's not that I'm an A-student sleight-of-hand worker. Trust me, I'm not. It's just one of those sleights that on paper looks like absolute garbage--fishy deck handling with lots of heat when the peek is taken--until you try it. And to be honest, as a kid, I didn't really pay much attention to nuances like doing things on the offbeat. But it didn't matter. It worked. It always worked so I just stuck with it. I realize that everybody's different and things are all subjective. What works for you might not work for me. What works for me might make you think that I'm an idiot. That's OK too. But more mentalists need to realize that something that sounds stupid--like using a weird card peek--or looks bad on paper might just be what you need. Or as the Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well, you might find you get what you need." You need to experiment and find your own path. Scott's good little book is a first step.
UNO-IT
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 16 June, 2016)
Scott Creasey, while perhaps not as well known as some of the other UK mentalists, is a real hero of mine. To put it simply, he rocks. He has so many good DIY projects, books, tricks, and routines that I have no hesitation in using overused words like "brilliant" and "genius" because he really is. Here's a prime example: a multi-part routine of nice duration using, of all things, Uno cards. I love it. Everyone has seen Uno cards. They have numbers and pretty colors. For folks who want to engage in the silly, pointless discussion about whether mentalists should use cards, how about using Uno cards? They are common the world over and don't shout, "Not mentalism, card trick!" This is great outside-the-box thinking by Scott.
Scott gives you a three-part routine and some bonuses. I am not a fan of doing multi-part routines copied chapter-and-verse from another mentalist--I want to be my own performer--but the parts here are easily divisible and independent, and you can mix and match. There isn't anything new in the methodology, but these are excellent effects. Some books are so sparsely written that it's hard to grasp what kind of presentation the effect needs, while others are so overwritten--with every supposedly hilarious one-liner and snide remark--that you have to separate the good from the bad. In all of Scott's routining, he strikes a nice balance: enough on presentation and nothing overdone. He's a fine writer.
One more thing for educational purposes--and I'm not giving away trade secrets because without the context of Uno-It, this will be cryptic, but I want to encourage you to check it out. As I said, there's nothing new in the methodology here. Perhaps, more correctly, I should say that in one aspect, the methodology relies on something so old and obscure that even some card guys may not be fully aware of it, the corner short. Richard Osterlind is a big proponent, and the Uno-It routine uses it effectively too. Until you play around with it and see that it can also save you in an emergency, you may not realize that it's something good to know about if you handle card decks. Get out your copy of Hugard and Braue in addition to purchasing Uno-It and check it out. You won't be disappointed. You might even be enlightened.
The Mati Envelope
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 15 June, 2016)
Throughout mentalism history, there have been a lot of different gimmicked envelopes--slit, window, Shaxon, impression, etc.--all designed to secretly learn what the spectator has written. Obviously, this comes in handy in not only direct mind reading routines, but also design duplications, Q&A's, and more elaborate routines such as Cassidy's 4th Dimensional Telepathy and Name and Place. Imagine if you will, an envelope that allows you to learn the information while the envelope, which is normal looking (in the interest of full disclosure, "looking" is the operative word here, friends), remains in the spectator's hand. With his writing inside. Sealed. And you can get your peek of the information in the next room. And unless the spectator knows exactly what to look for, he's going to be able to look at the envelope and see nothing. How is that possible, you ask. Well, I'm dying to tell you about the Mati Envelope, but Jiminy Cricket says let your conscience be your guide so I can't. And even if I did, this review would get edited. So this secret--and oh my, it's a good one--comes at a price, a really reasonable one, I think.
So what can I say about this thing? Well, it combines an underground technique from about 40 years ago that has recently resurfaced with a classic bit of envelope handling. That handling, unless you have cloven hooves for hands, is pretty easy. So if you can use a stack of Shaxon flapless envelopes, you can do this. [Note: Part of the working uses the same principle as the commercially manufactured effect, Steam 2.0. But while that method is brilliant, I think that the Steam effect has a flaw that spoils its effectiveness, at least in the standard handling. If you go on Penguin Magic's website and watch the trailer, that part of the trick is edited out--which should tell you something. With the Mati Envelope, this flaw is completely eliminated.]
How hard is it to make? It's not complicated at all, but you'll need to get some supplies at your office supply store and most likely order one essential item from Amazon. Don't fret. It's not something weird that's going to scream "gimmick." It's an ordinary object on the outside with a different composition than usual on the inside. It will pass completely undetected as ordinary. The comprehensive ebook gives good instructions, and it doesn't take long, but truth be told, I had to stop and reorient my thinking to get back on the right track. But once I did that, I quickly made up a stack of about a dozen envelopes.
When all is done, you will have a utility envelope that is far beyond anything that you've seen. Looking over comments on the various magic websites, I'm struck by how little commentary there is about the Mati Envelope. This thing is revolutionary actually, and I would have thought that more people would be raving about it. But they aren't (maybe it's the fear of the unknown or the DIY aspect)--which is good for those of us who get it and use it. I see a lot of things, many of which are excellent and useful, but this is at the highest echelon of the gimmicked envelope field. Now some are going to say that they use a slit/window/Shaxon/impression envelope, and it works just fine. My response is "great," whatever works for you. Maybe you don't need an envelope that--unless someone scrutinizes it super closely before it is finally torn open--allows you to end totally clean, something that you can't do with the others. But this innovation is so devious and seductive, it would be hard to turn away from it once you read about it. It's that good.
Excalibur Forcing Deck
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 15 June, 2016)
As a mentalist and not a card guy anymore, I'm always amused by the way some current world-class mentalist will take a hoary gimmicked deck out of mothballs and use it to great effect. The card guys just roll their eyes and think things like, "Tut. Tut. Look at the mentalist, such a simple soul, he's using a gimmicked deck from the 1940s to force a card. Awww, that's so cute. We cardicians know 50 different ways to force a card using Marlo/Vernon sleights that only took steady daily practice over a decade to master." Perhaps I exaggerate, but while sleights are great and pure, I love the way you can take something simple and easy and be just as effective. Luke Jermay uses a Franklin Taylor peek deck. Richard Osterland, much earlier in his career, came up with the Radar and Dynamo decks, variations on the Bagshawe/Koran deck, before abandoning them in favor of his Breakthrough Card System. And if I recall correctly, Derren Brown wowed a TV producer with a Mind Power deck. There's no shame in using a gimmicked deck if you are a professional and know what you are doing. If you are an amateur, there's nothing to see here. Go back to working on your classical force until it's perfect.
When I first looked at Knight's Exacalibur Forcing Deck, I wasn't impressed because it seemed so...so...unnecessary. But then I read more, smiled, and thought, "Hey, if it works (and it does) why the heck not?" Do I personally need an Exaclibur Forcing Deck? Naw, my Psychomatic Deck or Phil Deck does the same thing. But just like there are Chevys, Fords, Toyotas, and dozens of other kinds of cars, variety is a good thing. Check this deck out. You may not need it, but it relies on a good, interesting theoretical concept. If you are an aficionado of trick decks like I am, you'll get it. (Maybe some day when I'm bored, I'll trot it out and fool 'em with it.) And if you want to really tick your card-sleight buddies off, show them how well it works on civilians.
Grandpa's Spirit Bottle
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Anne Stelter
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 15 June, 2016)
Excellent teaching on how to make the Impossible Object! You can also hand out the bottle as a souvenir!
Complete Guide to Impossible Foldings
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Anne Stelter
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 15 June, 2016)
Thanks for sharing this! I had a lot of fun and first class souvenirs for my audience!
Four Told 2: Modern Symbol Edition
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 15 June, 2016)
I knew when I saw the peformance of this in the video that not only was I going to buy it, but I also knew that it was going right into my do-at-any-time set and that I could kill with it. There's not much for me to add here except to say that Devin has improved on the original version. The use of the cellphone icons is genius. In fact, to do it impromptu, all you need is to download the JPG with the icons to your phone and get something to write on to keep track of the choices. (I'm really lazy. I carry a piece of paper that not only fulfills that purpose but has the crib pre-written on it so that I don't have to rely on my memory.) The principle used here is one that I've seen in Leo Boudreau's writings, which I refer to as "observational mentalism." (Boudreau's three ebooks, all available on lybrary, while not for beginners or the faint of heart, are absolute musts for the advanced/professional mentalist. His jaw-dropping routines will stop even the most knowledgable, savvy spectator--or mentalist--dead in his tracks because they look like honest-to-goodness real mind reading. Boudreau's processes are unknown to laypeople and just overall bewildering. But Four Told 2, fortunately, uses one of his easier to apply principles.) You will need a good performance, audience management, and the more spectators the better. And I would never do this with less than four spectators because you risk exposing the transparency of the process. But that said, this is not just water-cooler or Friday-night-at-the-bar mentalism. This is real deal stuff to make a reputation.
Making Mondo Magic: a tale of three routines
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Jeremy Tan
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 14 June, 2016)
Enrico teaches you 3 different effects that you can perform together (as an act), or by its own. His attention to detail and patter are well woven into each effect. Which is hard to find nowadays. He makes the Magic look seamless and has a good flow from start to end - as he literally adds a "punch" at the end of this 3 piece worker. Definitely a must have whether you are just starting out in Magic or a seasoned pro! Highly recommended!
Signature
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Balasubramanian Chandran (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
Of all the similar methods so far on star sign reveals, I like this the best. It can be done impromptu face to face or over the phone. The 'work' is greatly reduced. There is an extra reveal, which is a nice extra benefit. Essentially a short-cut using a clever idea. Theme and scripting provided are excellent. Tried a few times. Works like a charm and elicits amazement. A useful addition to your star sign toolbox.
Sight Unseen Revelations
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Ronald M Levy
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
Sight Unseen Revelations is a well thought out, well written, and helpfully illustrated book of instructions for doing a stepwise series of four card revelations that build to a climactic fourth revelation. All four need not be done at the same performance. What is amazing is that they are all meant to be done while the performer's eyes are securely covered from behind by a spectator, so that the performer cannot see! It is if the performer does the card revelations while being blind!
These card revelations are interesting enough that they would be entertaining even if the performer could see. Devin has choreographed them into an astounding blindfold card routine, that has a young woman standing behind him covering his eyes at every step, (which is a more secure method of rendering the performer sightless than any blindfold.)
Signature
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
This is a very good approach to divination of a star sign. The bigger picture principle is the "Powergram," which is an easier and more intuitive way of thinking about and doing a BA. I can see many uses for this by the advanced performer. Steal this now at the introductory price.
Username
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
worth the modern closeup street magician learning and performing
Magical Gospel Lessons
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
For any one wanting to start in gospel magic a excellent reference book. Check other gospel books available on this site too.
Floating Ball Magic
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
A excellent resource of information and ideas on performing the floating ball most of which can be adapted to other items
Signature
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
Used/Performed with great result from spectator and onlookers worth more than the asking price
Complete Guide to Impossible Foldings
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
Excellent Tutorial
Grandpa's Spirit Bottle
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 13 June, 2016)
I have been making impossible bottles for years. Harry Eng was the godfather of impossible bottle making and died in 1996. This work and effect deserves a place in any magicians working library as a excellant basic tutorial and routined effect. I have a bottle with full deck inside with card sticking out of opened top deck inside bottle this is kept back of card facing spectator do a card effect ( Force ) turn bottle around to reveal mismatched chosen card pause cover with silk and remove and spectators chosen card (duplicate is seen protruding out of card case
Train Bricks
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by David Devlin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 11 June, 2016)
This is a wonderful collection of mental card magic, most of which is impromptu. "Cardnection" is a perfect trick to perform for couples, and is very easy to do. It has gone straight into my working repertoire. "Creation" (as Stephen Tucker said) alone is worth the price of the download. It is mind-blowing, self-working, and is in my opinion, the finest use of its principle ever created. Get this download now. Do not hesitate. It is worth every penny, especially for "Creation".
The Magician's Guide to the Tarot
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★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
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★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
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★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!