talkmagic.co.uk

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT - The Greatest Svengali Routine in Existence

Author: Mark Lewis
Editor: Lisa Moore, Illustrations: Susan Kern, Foreword: Ariel Frailich

Available from:
Autographed copies from Mark's website - www.marklewisentertainment.com/html/magicians.html - $25.00 US (Postpaid Worldwide)
Also from
www.ellusionist.com $19.95 plus P&P and
www.nothingupmysleeve.co.uk @ £18.00 (less TM discount!).

What it says on the tin: This book details the best Svengali routine and handling that has ever been published.

Full of anecdotes about the world of the trick card pitchman and a description of a routine that has been under fire for over 30 years. It has amazed and is still amazing thousands and thousands of people at consumer and trade shows. Described therein are new moves and handlings which have never seen print. Here are just a few: The Svengali riffle shuffle, the Svengali Overhand Shuffle, The Fan, The Jackie Cook Spread, The Lambert Spread, The Hand Spread, The Spread and Turnover, the Stuthard Drop and many more. Ideas from famous pitchmen and magicians such as Ali Bongo, Joe Stuthard, Dave Walker, Eric Ward, Ron Macmillan, Lambert the Magician, Johnny Neptune, Jackie Cook and others.

My Review: As the various sites seling this work give full infomation of contents etc I won't repeat the details verbatim here but go check them out for yoursleves for the complete story. Mark is well known to TM members as someone who isn't exactly shy, retiring or slow to advance an opinion! His style is unique, tongue in check (or so we assume!) but above all it is honest and informative. You'll be pleased to know that this is written in exactly the same style and is therefore extremely enjoyable - it's a bit like Dr Who's Tardis where there's a hell of a lot more inside than the slim 38 page booklet would at first suggest. This book is full of information, stories and history of Svengali pitchmen, how each one contributed something to Mark's routine and how it has been structured from many different sources and methods and finally given the Mark Lewis touch. Along the way the various individual moves and methods are taught clearly and without any chance of misunderstanding. Various spreads and displays/flourishes as well as how to rifle shuffle, how to overhand shuffle, and finally how to switch out the 'unique' feature of the deck to leave you clean with a very innocent and ordinary deck of cards which can be used for the rest of your card routine. D/L's in particular are simple and straightforward and can be used to great effect.

Make no mistake, this is not an easy peasy instant method idea. As mentioned on the NUMS site, each phase needs to be tried out, rehearsed and then assembled into the full routine so it will require some work. Very pleasant and enjoyable work but work nevertheless. After that there are several other ideas and routines described so you actually get far, far more than one routine. Treat yourself to a new Svengali deck and work slowly through the various stages and see how soon you too can be performing The Best Svengali Routine in Existence.

Value for money: 9/10 - just choose your favourite supplier!
Difficulty: Between 2 and 3 - experienced card workers might rate it at the lower level.
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

What review! Now I need to get this. I've had a Svengali Deck for the longest time...and never really got around to doing much with it besides the basics...But after reading this, I think my Svengali Deck might have to get whipped out for some practice! Thanks for the review!

It is indeed a very good book. I know the author personally.

mark lewis wrote:It is indeed a very good book. I know the author personally.

It is official....Mark has multiple personality disorder and this confirms it!

On a serious note, are there any video clips of you performing any of your work Mr. Lewis...I would love to see you in action (svengali or otherwise) if you have any clips or links to clips that I could peruse, it would be much appreciated.

A second question for you while I am at it...how much "regular deck" work do you do, or are you virtually exclusively working the sven? I always assumed you were the "svengali specialist" but noticed that in the reveiw it talks about ending clean for the remainder of your card work...do you use that yourself, or is that simply some of the polish the book has to offer.

Moodini, old chap. Of course I work with regular cards. You are in the presence of the greatest card magician in the world. The only trouble is that nobody knows it yet except me.

However I can indeed assure you that nobody gets as much reaction from laymen with a regular deck of cards as me.

There is a video of me doing the svengali deck. It is on my website. Seek and ye shall find. And I have reason to believe that a friend of mine is putting up a YouTube thing in the next few days of me doing a children's show which I am equally brilliant at.

As for that stuff in the book I do use it. I usually just say "this is a trick deck that I purchased in a magic shop" . I work the svengali deck then switch it and leave it on the table. People will grab it and find it perfectly normal. It drives them crazy.

However it is a useful thing to do a svengali type routine with a normal deck before you lay them on the table. That is the convincer.

You now have me intrigued....I have a svengali but never use it as I am solid enough with a regular deck. However, the idea of a sven routine followed by a switch and then close with a clean deck makes me think a bit. I will search your site, and please do keep us all posted on the youtube link if that happens....I would love to see some of your work.

I am assuming you make your own decks - any advice on that? Or is that covered in the book? I don't mean specifics...as I am well aware of the way the deck works, more a case of how to make it...as well as any advice any what you use to make the cards uniform, etc.

I have made my own svengali decks in the past. Thousands upon thousands of the bloody things. It is a dreadful tedious procedure and it will bore the bejasus out of you. You don't want to know. Trust me........................

If you want to see a video clip of my svengali routine then here it is:
http://www.marklewisentertainment.com/h ... eshow.html

Go to near the bottom of the page and you will see a link to a Real Player video clip.

Here is how you do a short svengali type routine with a normal deck. Do a triple lift and lay the card face down on the table. Then do a DL and lay down this second card face down. Now just show the top card which will be the same (apparently) as the ones on the table. Of course you do a top change and put another one down. Then turn over all o fthe tabled cards to show they have all changed to indifferent cards. Sometimes I don't bother with the top change and just do a visible snap change and show that the key card has changed to a regular card and then turn the two tabled cards over.

Now shuffle the top card to the bottom and do the standard hindu shuffle move where you show that all the cards in the deck are the same. Then finish by showing that the cards are all different after all.

Now lay them on the table and watch the spectators grab for them!

And here is my Youtube debut. I don't understand these things so I had to get Jolly Roger to put it up there for me.
http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=2PB3wQz-Md4

I bought The Long And The Short Of It a few months back*. It's really good and I enjoyed Mark's writing style, which is not dissimilar to the natural humility that he shows on various web forums.

Even if you don't want to do the full routine, there are some great 'moves' that don't have to look like moves - For example, if you just want to force a card in a natural-looking way (and not by using a riffle) there's at least one option included.

Informative and witty (to my mind), I recommend it - and I'm usually interested only in mentalism.

* I mention it only now because every time I see Mark post I remember that I never told him how much I enjoyed the book. And today I remembered. That is all.

Oh, good grief!!

Don't let's start plugging that awful little man's products on our quality forum; he'll only flock onto the thread to bask in your undeserving praise, and gloat, like the unsufferable bore that he is.

You wouldn't catch me withon a million miles of this publication....
























Oh......Errm, yes - most remiss of me, really (in fairness, I only bought a copy in the hope that Mr. Lewis would sign it for me, and dose a personalised ditty with his trademark expletives!).

Odd this thread should resurface today, as I've only - in the last few days - been reviewing the main routine, with my Mirage Deck...

I know - that's cheating - I really don't care

I don't have any "trademark expletives". It is very rare that I use profanity.

Then allow us to say on your behalf that it's a bloody good book !