You are either thinking one of two things right now. Some of you younger folk are thinking, “What’s The Jinx? Is that a move by the Buck Twins?” All I gotta say to you is, “Pick up a damn book, and stop showing people card tricks until you are a real magician.”

The rest of you are thinking, “Wait! You are only 22 years old! You’ve read The Jinx?”

Well, I’ll admit I have not read all three volumes cover to cover. I’d go insane. However, I’ve paged through them enough over the years to know they were probably the best buy I’ve ever made. Every time I open them up I discover something new.

In between these sweet-smelling pages are where many classic effects, and brilliant creators made their reputations. Not just professional magicians either. Stewart James first published Miraskill in here, and the actor James Stewart even contributed tricks he’d show to friends. Again, it’s one of those collections that has something for everyone. Cards, coins, sleights, self workers, close up, stage, mentalism, history, theory, it’s all here. However, you have to unearth it, and that’s what I want to focus on in this review.

So many DVDs and Books give it all away too easily. I’m not saying the creator or performer should hold back vital information on the effect they are teaching. I’m saying we aren’t encouraging students to grow as performers and finding their own styles. The Jinx is able to give you all the information you need to execute the effect, and leaves it up to you to make it into a performance piece of your own.

If you want to unearth the rare gems in these books, you have to work. You have to read through plenty of effects that are not particularly good, or old methods that have been made obsolete by more efficient methods. After searching through all this rubble, you will eventually find that gem that makes you think, “Hey, I can do something with that!”

Everyone will find something of value in here. Some amateurs will find a procedure heavy card trick they can play with, even though some professionals know that it would not work in the real world. Many professionals will find a ballsy, yet workable routine that many of the armchair people will look at and say, “That won’t work!”

Now, I know the books are REALLY hard to find. I had to unearth my copies, and look for them for months! Again, I had to work. I know the CD-ROM is easily available, but I like the books. They look nice, feel nice, and even smell nice. You can’t get that from a computer. That aside, I know tastes differ, and some people really prefer the CD-ROM.

So to the older magicians reading this who already own The Jinx on your bookshelves or on your computer, I hope you take this as a challenge to learn something new, by returning to something old.

To the younger magicians who really want to grow as students in this art, get these books any way you can. If you can’t find them, track down the CD-ROM and buy it for a meager twenty dollars. You will learn about the history of our art, and you will have a source of information that you will return to for the rest of your life!