Bookworm
David Devlin
Bookworm by David Devlin
The Ultimate Impromptu Book Test Act
Here is the act exactly as the audience sees it:
The performer asks for the loan of three paperback novels, a piece of paper, and a pen or pencil. The performer says, "I have a feeling about one of you, and I think I have a pretty good idea about something that is going to be significant to you a little later on." The performer then writes something on the paper, folds it up, and hands it to one of the audience members.
Three audience members are now selected to participate in the tests. Participant #1 selects a book, opens it up to a random page and remembers a word. The other participants, in turn, do likewise. However, the third participant does not even touch his book. He simply thinks of a word read from the book. No force.
Turning to the 3rd participant the performer begins to slowly extract the word he is merely thinking of (oh, I should mention that the performer truly does not know what the word the 3rd participant is thinking of.). However, before all of that information is gotten, the performer turns to the 2nd participant and instantly tells him the exact word he is thinking about. This is a real freak out moment and will cause screams. The performer then turns back to the 3rd participant and after a bit more information is gotten from his mind the performer tells him the word he is thinking of.
Now, for the final participant. The performer says, "Now, you are thinking of a word as well. However, remember before you even picked a book, I said that I had a funny feeling about you and that I wrote something down and said that it would be of interest to you later on. Guess what? It's later on. I don't know what word you are thinking of, but let's see if my gut feeling was right." The audience member, who has been holding the paper since the beginning, opens it up and shows what is written on it to the rest of the group. Written on the paper is the exact word the 1st participant is thinking of.
This is the book test act that David has held back for ten years. It is a very powerful act. And best of all, the entire act is totally, 120% impromptu. All of the objects are borrowed right down to the pen that you write your prediction with. This can be done anywhere and at anytime, even naked on a beach. There are no stooges, switches, secret devises, peeks, center tears, or preparation (well, there is a teensy weensy bit of preparation, but it takes less than 5 seconds, and is done right under their noses). The audience can examine everything before, during, and after the act as absolutely everything is borrowed. No gaffs of any kind are used. They can even frisk the performer if they wish. They will find nothing as there is nothing to find. This act truly is the ultimate act to use in any impromptu situation. In fact, this used to be a feature in David's full evening show. It is that powerful. Now, however, it is reserved strictly for impromptu situations. Oh, and the methods are easy to learn and you will be performing this in no time.
Don't expect any completely new methods here, but the way they are put together makes this a very strong and powerful routine.
1st edition 2012, 10 pages.
word count: 3525 which is equivalent to 14 standard pages of text
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: The Thing That Should Not Be by Metallica
Bookworm by David Devlin Review:
Nine downloadable pages, one effect, $25 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
This is a three book impromptu book test. It contains a prediction of one of the words that is written before the spectator's choose their words from the book. Take a moment to read the full product description before reading further. That is an accurate description of the effect.
Method
Nothing new here. However, Devlin has combined a few (well known) principles in such a way that the cliche is true: The whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. The effect takes some in advance preparation, but it's a one time thing. You learn this "thing" once and you can do this effect any time any where. You don't have to learn it each time you do the effect. You just learn it once. If you can memorize a few things, then you can do this effect. Again, the memorization happens in advance, before you ever attempt to do the effect. It's a one time memorization, and then you're set to go.
Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is almost perfect. There are a couple of things I take issue with. They both relate to the same thing. The first claim is that it's 120% impromptu. If you're gonna make a claim like that, then there really should be no prep work at all. Even though the prep work for this effect is a one-time-in-your-lifetime prep, it's still prep.
The second claim that I take issue with is the claim that there is no ". . . preparation (well, there is a teensy weensy bit of preparation, but it takes less than 5 seconds, and is done right under their noses)." While I applaud them for mentioning the five second prep that happens during the effect, they completely left out the fact that you will have to do the aforementioned once in a lifetime preparation.
Further, that once in a lifetime prep is not a quick thing. It will take several hours to master it. Think of it like learning The Aronson Stack or the Tamariz Stack . . . you have to spend hours and hours and hours mastering the stack, but you only have to do it once. From then on, you can just grab your stack and perform.
While the Devlin book test is not a Mem-Deck that you're mastering, the concept holds true. You have to memorize and master a little something. Once you've done that, then you can do this effect any time, any where with no additional prep other than the aforementioned 5 seconds.
Product Quality
Devlin's books, typically, aren't the most impressive looking products. This one lives up (down?) to that expectation. It's 9 pages of text with plenty of typos, etc. It's $25 bucks and it's a virtual product. That's a bit on the pricey side for a 9 page download. I bought the entire four volume set of the Vernon Chronicles for a total of $39.80. However, price is always relative, and if you think, you'll use this, then it's worth it.
Final Thoughts
This is one of the more clever combinations of concepts I've come across in a while. It'll take a little bit of up front work, and then you're set to do this trick any where that has three books, paper and a pen laying around.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem