Reviews: Read What Others Are Saying: page 9
195 ★★★★★ reviews
135 ★★★★★ reviews
85 ★★★★★ reviews
131 ★★★★★ reviews
Just Five!
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Randy Hill (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 07 April, 2024)
Nice Variations of card effects, but probably nothing that would fit with what I normally do.
Hat-A-Rama
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Joe Libby (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 06 April, 2024)
This bit of business is a natural for kid show performers. Congratulations to Devin for seeing the potential in this. Currently, it appears the honeycomb hats are brightly colored on all sides, so the plunger bit probably won't work. But you can do the alternate setup of a vase with a flower in it. As I write this, you can buy one or two hats, reasonably priced, from some eBay dealers and from AliExpress. Just use the search term Devin mentions and you should be able to find them. Keep the kiddos laughing!
Hex
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Jeff Chandler (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 06 April, 2024)
I haven't had a chance to thoroughly explore this. But I know I won't be disappointed.
Slydini Fan Steal
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Jeff Chandler (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 06 April, 2024)
It's short and to the point. For $2 it was a bargain as this was a sleight I didn't know. And it's the great Allan Ackerman teaching it.
27 Illusions
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 05 April, 2024)
If you are looking for a good illusion book, this one is not for you. The project was surely original and cool for the architecture students, but these "illusions" have been totally thought by amateurs, in an amateur way, for amateurs. Most methods are so simplistic that anyone in the audience will figure them out immediately. But the worst is that all the pictures are about 1 inch by 1 inch and are blurry and taken from 75 feet away, so you can't see anything. And the plans are hard to understand without good explanations to come with them. If the price was set at $3, then, maybe it would deserve 2 stars, but at $20, it is a big waste of money!
Levitation Secrets
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 03 April, 2024)
Not too bad little compilation list to have in your repertoire, just to remind you all the possibilities you have in terms of levitations. However, I was disappointed to see how poor the texts and drawings are! Ok, the very low price partially compensates for the lack of any details and explanations. This booklet certainly won't help you to know how to build illusions yourself, but it is a good little notebook to serve as a decision maker, to choose what method you want before investigating yourself to find out how to build it yourself or where to buy it... Worth your 3$, but not a penny more!
Illusions Illusions
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 03 April, 2024)
A great compilation of Abbott's illusions plans that is a must for every professional illusionist. The instructions are easy to understand and the plans are clear and precise. The only downside is that many illusions in that book are marked as Abbott's property and creation, with absolutely no mention to the real creator: U. F. Grant. Many of them are even taken directly, without any changes, from Grant's books! Would it be possible for Abbott to correct that and to finally give credit to the creator?
Power of Persuasion
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Bill Irwin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 03 April, 2024)
Dated for material, but an interesting read and useful for background reference.
Glass of Water Production Routine
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Bill Irwin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 03 April, 2024)
Great for the streets and fun to do. This is a nice documentary of the effect.
Modern Levitations
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 03 April, 2024)
I give it only 3 stars, because I was expecting more effective levitation effects. In this book, I only found two. Super X levitation is a classic and here you will find a way to build it for a few bucks. Best Yet Levitation is a way of doing a levitation almost impromptu, without specialized equipment. There is also a floating table effect that is somewhat interesting, but other than those 3 effects, all the rest published in this book, which means the Parlor Ashra and the Miracle Suspension, is pure junk, or to stay polite, rather useless material!
Grant's Illusion Secrets
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 02 April, 2024)
A good little illusion book by a great Illusion creator, for a very cheap price! Highly recommended to produce a big scale show with a tight budget. However, if you are going to buy the Devon Knight's compilation called Grant's Lost Secrets, you don't have to buy this one, as most of the illusions of this book are in the other one.
U. F. Grant's Lost Illusion Secrets Revealed
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 02 April, 2024)
Very interesting compilation of illusions and documents written by U.F. Grant. Dozens of great illusions ideas and principles that can be adapted to fit your own show. This is a historical book, so you have to know in advance that some principles are outdated for today's reality. Also, a few illustrations are missing, mostly in the last section. However, you have to read it to get your own imagination stimulated to create your own stuff, and most of the illusions that don't have illustrations, you can figure out what it's supposed to look like. But still, many of the illusions in this book can be used as is, and they are near perfect as is! Even if you only use one of them in your show, it's gotta easily repay the price of the book. Talking about the price, it seems a little too pricy to me, compared to other books of that age, and of public domain. $20 or $25 would have been more appropriate. But that being said, I don't regret my purchase and I would buy it again knowing what I know now...
Four Told 2: Modern Symbol Edition
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 30 March, 2024)
The psychology behind this mental feat is ingenuous and explained in great detail like Devin Knight is always doing well. The downsides are :
1. The relative complexity of all the techniques you have to remember and adjust, depending on the different possible situations are not for the beginner. You have to think fast and be alert and concentrated to do that kind of effect. If you are easily distracted and you have difficulties following a logical deduction reasoning, this is not for you.
2. This kind of effect is extremely difficult to practice in advance until you perform it on a real audience.
3. Someone wise could probably catch the method used rather easily. You are not asking questions, but telling people to do this or that depending on their choice may be perceived by many as tips for knowing who's thinking about what.
4. Limited choices to only 5 items, making less impressive than a book test or other, more diversified choice's mentalism number.
But despite those downfalls, it is as close to pure mentalism as you could get for starting a show, if you are experienced. It could be presented as a test to check who's good to transmit thoughts before going deeper into mentalism.
Overall, I highly recommend it to anyone fast minded who wants a pure-looking mentalism effect to start his show or for any performer who wants to improve his concentration in mentalism.
China's Song
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Richard Southall (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 29 March, 2024)
I love Bunco effects and I am familiar with many different ones but I had never come across this effect. Like three card monte and shells and pea you have to find one of three objects and it is never where you think it is. Brick explains the moves well and the accompanying videos clearly explain how to do all the moves. Also because this effect has, inexplicably, received so little attention from magicians I believe it has a lot of potential for further development. If you are into Bunco effects you should absolutely get this.
Victory Carton Illusions
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 29 March, 2024)
This book is a must for any amateur or professional magician or illusionist. It shows us how illusions don't have to be expensive to be impressive! These simple but effective illusions can be built in minutes, they cost a few bucks to build and they play as big as any $5000 illusions! Cardboard boxes look like usual stuff that people know and use in their everyday life, so they are more susceptible of being impressed if you can do something extraordinary with them than if you use fancy, suspicious boxes and specially built props that mean nothing to them. Cardboard boxes seem less possible to be tricked and I am sure that the impact on the audience could be better than many professionally built illusion props. Of course, if you want to have highly durable boxes, you can replace the cardboard with cheap plastic sheets with gaffer tape. I highly recommend this book!
Walking Through a Woman Illusion
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frederic Clement (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 28 March, 2024)
Not too bad for the price. To me, the use of tables to hide the body looks a little fishy and too much hiding, but at the same time, this is what makes it feasible anywhere any time without any preparation, with chairs, foldable card tables and tablecloth or sheet that you can find almost anywhere.
The Ghost Manuscript
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by John Kauth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 27 March, 2024)
I enjoy reading these manuscripts from the early 20th century. This one has a lot of chalk and slate work that a mentalist could adapt to create some interesting effects today. The photos are clear, and the book has been retyped, so there is no problem reading the text. The editor, Marko, has done a great job identifying the photos; if the instructions are unclear, he inserts a note. Following the slate work, the book explains the techniques used by the mediums in the 1920s. The technique descriptions are a little vague, but they will be useful for those curious about the methods or for re-creating a seance today. There are good instructions for constructing a spirit cabinet to use some of the methods previously described in the book. For those curious about this stuff, the price is reasonable. There is an appendix written by Marko that offers additional explanations.
Food For Thought
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Joe Libby (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 24 March, 2024)
I have a vague memory that Devin's IMPOSSIBLE DEVINATION came in for some criticism because the method, while very clever, didn't seem logical.
In any case, Devin resolved any perceived shortcomings with FOOD FOR THOUGHT. The method makes perfect sense for the restaurant theme and routine. The necessary props cost just pennies; eventually, they will have to be replaced, but you can use them over and over again. The menu card included in the PDF is plain black text, but it's easy to read, which is more important than being "pretty."
It'll take a little practice just to get the hang of it, but I will be adding FOOD FOR THOUGHT to my repertoire. It should be a winner in almost any magic or mental act.
Mes(s)merize
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brian Reaves (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 21 March, 2024)
What I love about this is the apparent impossibility of the ending, along with the overwhelming fairness of the audience's involvement in the process. If you are doing a parlor show, this is a fantastic way of beginning things. People can truly write down whatever thoughts they want, and you are working a miracle in the process. The props are indeed "pack small play big" and the one-time setup won't take that long. You'll need at least 20 people involved in this for safety's sake, but other than that there aren't really that many limitations. You can have just about any word as the reveal at the end, so bookend it to something else in your act.
Behind the Back Divination
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by brian draven
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 20 March, 2024)
The owner was kind enough to share the workings of this with me over a recent video session. I own his effect Behind the Back Location which is similar in theme, and I quite like that effect. This one is better IMHO as divinations have a certain presentational hook to them that locations just don’t. My spectators have been enjoying this effect ever since I began to perform it.
It has my highest recommendation. Quick & easy reset and very hard-hitting magic. The demo video is accurate!
A Proven Junior Magician's Curriculum
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by James Capobianco (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 20 March, 2024)
This book is fabulous! IBM Ring 6 meets at the Community Arts Center (CAC) in Wallingford (a suburb of Philadelphia) PA. Each year, the CAC hosts a Summer Camp for children. Students from kindergarten through high school attend; the classes are divided according to age brackets. The curriculum includes dance, music, sculpting, painting, acting, etc. Basically, the various art forms are taught. Last year, the CAC hired our Ring to teach magic as part of the course offerings. It was a huge success, and we have been invited back again this Summer. This book will be invaluable in structuring a curriculum for our upcoming Summer Camp.
Thanks so much to Lybrary and the author for making this available for free. This book will prove most beneficial as we pass on our beloved art form to the future generations of magicians. If just one child out of the many whom we taught takes up the art and goes on to become a good magician, then our effort was worthwhile.
Magical Gospel Lessons
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Ronda Bishop
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 18 March, 2024)
Ignore the posting below. He didn’t know Reverend Burden like I did. He was a great preacher and a great magician. I also happened to know he loved his family and he has helped a lot of people in his time…Reverend Lawrence Burden knew the Bible inside and out. I would read anything from Reverend Lawrence Burden before I would another author…
Marlo's Chameleon Aces
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Howard Port (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 14 March, 2024)
Well-written review of the history and variations of Marlo's Chameleon Aces routine in which four red-back aces interchange with four blue-back aces one at a time. I would have given this a four but about 2/3 of the photos are missing from the pdf.
Take Five
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sanket Mahapatra
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 13 March, 2024)
I am a big fan of Michael's work; many of his earlier books and almost all of his Automagic Columns in The Linking Rings magazine. Take Five is a great read. Loved each and every effect. BR-ACAAN is great and really well constructed. Order in the cortex is a great variation of Mental Rescue by L. Vosburgh Lyons. In the end, Michael explains a variation of Jay Ose's cut which looks very chaotic, and deceptive. It is very useful for small packets of cards, Zener deck etc. All effects are Semi-automatic in nature, fun to perform. I highly recommend it.
Drink Magic
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Todd E Nice (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 12 March, 2024)
Looks to have been produced in ~80s. As a result, several of the presented tricks use outdated formats for cans, which renders many of the suggested solutions highly difficult to pull off. "small sized" cans do not come in the same format today (2024). Also, the teaching is very short and very lacking, not much better than you would get from a pamphlet format, but this is presented in video. Some decent ideas here overall, but for me this was below average, when compared to the generally great value and teaching I find here at Lybrary.