Ebook: One-in-a-hundred Book Test

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Ebook: One-in-a-hundred Book Test

Postby Tomo » Jun 30th, '06, 10:43



Title: One in a Hundred Book Test by Brian Lewis

Supplier: http://www.magictricks.co.uk/

Cost: £7.99

Difficulty: 2 (small sleight, but see below)

Review:

They say:

“An unbelievable feat of mind reading using any book and a pack of playing cards.”

- Very easy to perform
- The choice of cards is completely free (no forcing)
- Any book with 100 pages or more can be used
- Can be instantly repeated
- NO memory work, stooges or fishing/questioning required

I say:

The magician places a book and a deck of cards on the table and invites the spectator to examine the book and shuffle the deck. The spectator then takes two cards to generate a random page number. He then places a finger on the first word on the selected page and the magician is instantly able to tell him what the word is. The magi never needs see the faces of the cards.

The problem for me is that it isn’t an impromptu effect until you set it up, after which it is as repeatable as advertised – and there is a deal of preparation involved. Without giving too much away, you supply the book, there’s a little something on hand to help the magi divine the word and, shall we say, a method whereby you don’t need to see the faces of the selected cards. The published handling also contains a sleight to handle the crib, though I can see several ways around that. This all feels very complex, but if handled well and in the correct setting, it should produce a good effect. With anything using so much “stuff”, there are bound to be problems with angles, and there’s a warning at the end, along with other tips for finding the word quickly.

Outside of a setting involving a paying audience where the magi can control circumstances, there’s almost bound to be some clever swine that wants you to do it again, but using their book. This will blow the gaff, which is why I’ve had to mark it down slightly, because the blurb seems to indicate different. It says you can use “any book with 100 pages”. I’m sure a few people will think that means you can simply take one off the shelf and away you go. This is not the case, unfortunately.

The book test is a mentalism standard. From Hoy to total guesswork, there’s bound to be one that suits you. I prefer to work clean if I go mental, by internalising the setup. The more I can do this, the more freedom I can hand to the spectator. Don’t get me wrong, though. 1-in-a-hundred is a good, strong effect in the right paws.


Overall:
7/10

Is this really “An unbelievable feat of mind reading using any book and a pack of playing cards”? While capable of creating a good effect, this is one to do for a paying crowd where you’re in control, rather than down the pub for your mates. Given the right setting, I can see how this could feel like an unbelievable feat of mind reading, which makes it worth £7.99 in experienced hands.

Last edited by Tomo on Dec 9th, '06, 12:58, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Renato » Jun 30th, '06, 12:26

Thanks for the review. I got it a while back now as a freebie and in the right hands it could be powerful, but it was the set-up that put me off.

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Postby Tomo » Jun 30th, '06, 12:33

Yeah, it does seem a lot for a single effect, but in the right situation, I can see how it'd produce a great response.

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Postby Maddened » Jun 30th, '06, 13:26

Thanks a lot Tomo and Cardza for the review (and responding to my initial request). Great review! I was hoping to learn more about whether the long set-up that was mentioned on the site was worth the pay-off, and your review addressed that. Thanks! 8)

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Book text

Postby DrTodd » Jul 1st, '06, 06:47

I think using a better technique with cards and a book, the Da Vinci book test is better value for money. The updated version gives you methods that do not need a deck of cards and the setup is minimal.

http://www.trickshop.com/da_vinci_code_trick.html

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Postby Misanthropy » Jul 1st, '06, 10:13

I got this as a freebie too but I haven't tried it yet. Sounds good though :)

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Postby Misanthropy » Jul 1st, '06, 10:20

I got this as a freebie too but I haven't tried it yet. Sounds good though :)

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Postby Tomo » Jul 1st, '06, 11:14

If I can finally iron the bugs out of my Universal Book Test, you'll be able to simply walk up to a stranger and, regardless of whether it's War and Peace or a shampoo bottle they're reading, if it's got sentences you'll stand a real chance of sucess. No gaffs, setup, cribs, etc. nuffink.

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Postby Maddened » Jul 10th, '06, 06:06

Tomo wrote:If I can finally iron the bugs out of my Universal Book Test, you'll be able to simply walk up to a stranger and, regardless of whether it's War and Peace or a shampoo bottle they're reading, if it's got sentences you'll stand a real chance of sucess. No gaffs, setup, cribs, etc. nuffink.


Whoa sounds brilliant! Please let me know when it comes out, or you need some *cough* product testers *cough*. :lol:

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Postby Tomo » Jul 10th, '06, 10:16

Maddened wrote:
Tomo wrote:If I can finally iron the bugs out of my Universal Book Test, you'll be able to simply walk up to a stranger and, regardless of whether it's War and Peace or a shampoo bottle they're reading, if it's got sentences you'll stand a real chance of sucess. No gaffs, setup, cribs, etc. nuffink.


Whoa sounds brilliant! Please let me know when it comes out, or you need some *cough* product testers *cough*. :lol:

Well, I'm going to a party to celebrate our quiz team's elevation to the A league on Sunday, and we've been asked to do a turn each. Someone's bringing a guitar, another a quiz (argh!) so it'll be being road tested there as part of the act I'm putting together. I'm bricking it in case it's no good, but then again, that's what I like best about seat-of-the-pants mentalism! I must be crazy... :shock:

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Postby Maddened » Jul 10th, '06, 16:30

Tomo wrote:Well, I'm going to a party to celebrate our quiz team's elevation to the A league on Sunday, and we've been asked to do a turn each. Someone's bringing a guitar, another a quiz (argh!) so it'll be being road tested there as part of the act I'm putting together. I'm bricking it in case it's no good, but then again, that's what I like best about seat-of-the-pants mentalism! I must be crazy... :shock:


I don't know, sometimes I just try things that are hairy so I know how to deal with failures in future. Though everytime I end up going, "Ah... ah... ah..." :oops:

Nevertheless, I'm keen on this. Let us know how it went! All the best!! :wink:

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Postby Tomo » Jul 10th, '06, 16:57

Maddened wrote:I don't know, sometimes I just try things that are hairy so I know how to deal with failures in future. Though everytime I end up going, "Ah... ah... ah..." :oops:

I just start by saying that what follows is an experiment in thought reading and that it might go wrong and leave me looking silly. If there's a general pattern of success with one or two understandable near misses, it's usually enough to freak people into thinking about ESP etc.

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Postby mafiosoromano » Sep 16th, '06, 16:59

Do you receive effects or methods like this within the 13 steps to mentalism book? I remember reading a description of 13 steps and that it contains "book-tests...in chapter 4 maybe..?". Really considering purchasing the book.

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Postby Tomo » Sep 16th, '06, 17:29

mafiosoromano wrote:Do you receive effects or methods like this within the 13 steps to mentalism book? I remember reading a description of 13 steps and that it contains "book-tests...in chapter 4 maybe..?". Really considering purchasing the book.


Not like mine, though there are several different types, along with an interview with Fogel.

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Postby majortom » Sep 17th, '06, 05:45

There is a (pretty much) impromptu version of the One in a Hundred Book Test on Jay Sankey's 'Anytime, Anywhere' DVD...

Tis good.

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