I've heard the name countless times over the years; I've used his moves countless times over the years; I've spent countless hours monk-whipping myself Silas style; that was my well deserved penance for not reading Hartman's material in the past.

To say he is brilliant would be like saying bacon is kind of good. . . NO! It's freakin' delicious! This nearly 300 page book is beautifully produced by Vanishing Inc. and is full of so much clever thinking and smart ideas that you'll wonder where Mr. Hartman has been all your life.

Basic Overview

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. The book is solid and well produced as mentioned above. The writing is excellent. It's so simple to follow and understand, and the accompanying 350 Tony Dunn illustrations add further clarity. The material in the book is very easy to learn from a transfer of information perspective (i.e., understanding what is being written). Mastering and performing the material, of course, is not necessarily easy. But a lot of the material is.

Putting all that aside, the most valuable part of the book for me was that it was written in such a way that it truly inspired me and really kicked my creativity into high gear. Right from the start I was sucked into his thoughts on the Balducci Cut Deeper Force. He some handling and thoughts and ideas that give logic to the move and add several levels of legitimacy and much much more.

This one passage alone inspired three new effects and a whole presentation I'm not working on. I couldn't stop the ideas from flowing once I read this section.

As with most books that I review, I don't necessarily read the whole book before offering up my review. This book is no exception. I'm still working through it. It'll just take me too long to finish because I'm truly studying it as I go rather than "merely reading" it. That alone should speak volumes regarding its value. The fact that I'm taking as much time to study it as I am is evidence of the fact that it's an excellent book.

I don't expect that everyone will like all of the effects or material. I don't even expect that I will. There's really no way to tell which of my readers will like which of my effects. However, if you're into card magic, you'd be hard press not to find something of value in this epic book - more likely, several somethings.

The only thing I was kind of disappointed in was the interview at the back of the book. J.K. Hartman is a mysterious and elusive man. He doesn't hang in the magic circles. From the ad copy, I inferred that the interview would somewhat explain his elusive behavior. It was also referred to as an "in-depth" interview. I'd say that it was no in-depth. It was interesting, but it was not as exciting as I was hoping.

Final Thoughts

Based solely on what I've read in depth so far along with the skimming of the other material that I'll be eventually reading, that alone is enough for a top rating. The bottom line is that there are 60 effects taught in this book. it's a something for everyone kind of deal that won't disappoint. Do yourself a favor and study this book.

Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM!