This was a surprising little book.

I debated on giving away the “surprise” of this book, but I finally decided to, because this aspect of it affected my rating a bit.

The ‘book’ is spiral bound and attached inside a DVD case. I’m sure many guys will get this in a magic shop, expecting a DVD, and then open it and discover it’s a book. This MAY upset some people, but for me, it affected reading the book. It was hard to turn pages sometimes, and close the case without catching some of the pages in between.

That aside, this was an enjoyable read. The material is definitely intermediate to advanced. Lots of high end card and coin moves are used, and one of the effects relies on very heavy misdirection. There is also a lovely essay at the very beginning.

Most of the effects are for close up workers, and the final piece is suitable for stand up magic and mentalism performances. It was a little difficult to follow the explanation, but I think I grasped it after the second read. It’s not an effect I would be willing to try out, but it’s an interesting plot and premise that I know some people will make into a very entertaining routine.

Overall, I think close up & parlor workers with chops will get a lot of use out of these routines!

Four Stars