Despite my involvement with The Camirand Academy over the years, I only met Gary Ouellet on three occasions prior to his untimely death in 2002, and all were equally brief. It's a shame too, and entirely my loss, as Gary's work was among my first inspirations in magic. I read the Masters of Magic Series voraciously and absorbed every line (I was an impressionable young teenager at the time). I performed Finger On The Card (Masters of Magic #1) and The Silver Passage (Masters of Magic #3) every chance I got. I loved Tony Binarelli's Lips, Paul Belanger's Cigarette Through Quarter and Meir Yedid's Incredible Close-Up Magic, all of which were written by Gary in the detailed yet digestible style he had established (with the help of Guy Camirand) in the Masters of Magic series.

But Close-Up Illusions, released in 1990 and recently reprinted, was his opus, a deeply personal, highly original collection of magic that contains not only his best work, but also his most engaging writing. Moreover, integrated effectively (and entertainingly) with the 70-plus sleights and routines are Gary's thoughts and theories on the performance of magic.

Highlights (in addition to wonderful discourses on close-up as theatre, the French Drop, magic lectures, and more) include Three Second Wonder, a lightning-fast cutting-to-the-Aces that rivals its progenitor, Fr. Cyprian's Swindle Cut Aces; The Push-Pinch Sponge Ball Vanish, one of the most convincing false transfers with a sponge ball ever devised; The Infidel Change, a visual coin change that must be seen to be believed; The Touch Force, a practical and deceptive force that should be in every magician's arsenal; Gilles Couture's Swivel Cut Control, a pretty card control that's still practical enough for the meat-and-potatos guys; Hideo Kato's The Amazing Dream Glass, an impromptu, bare-handed glass suspension that is one of the highlights of the Close-Up Illusions Companion Video; and The Anxiety Factor, Gary's real-world work on Paul Belanger's beautiful Cigarette Through Quarter.

You'll note that most of the items singled out above are moves and/or "quickies," the type of content that dominates (and drives) this book, but there are some fully-realized routines in here as well. The Miracle Signed Card in Purse and The Silverdust Routine, both replete with interesting sleights, could just as easily have been released as installments in the Masters of Magic series. However, they also require lapping, making them less useful to the average magician. The Odd Man Out Sponge Ball Routine (a.k.a. Sponge Balls and Banana) is one of my favorite items on The Very Best of Gary Ouellet DVD trilogy, but it too demands that you be seated, though with a little bit of thought, one could adapt the routine for walk-around work.

Also scattered throughout the book are Close-Up Hints, little kernels of advice on managing dry hands, preparing decks for manipulation, performing for magicians and more.

I am not suggesting that every trick, every sleight, every word in this book is gold. I think the Slider Top Change, for example, is a step backward for Top Changes, in that the card that is received arrives between the first and second finger, rather than the first finger and thumb. Netherworld, while being a functional alternative to Paul Curry's Out Of This World, is not an improvement over the original. Similarly, Maneater is a workable approach to the Cannibal Cards plot, but offers nothing particularly new to the genre. And the entire Showcase card routine is fairly uninteresting. But these matters of opinion do nothing to diminish my overall sense of excitement about this book -- it's an excellent work by one of magic's most passionate hobbiests, a man who eventually went on to become a consultant for David Copperfield and a producer of over a dozen network television specials. Moreover, in addition to all the fine magic, it's just plain fun to read.

David Acer