Art of Astonisment - Paul Harris

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Postby bronz » Feb 8th, '08, 20:03



Oh boy are you in for a treat with number two if you like linking card effects, the middle third of the book is devoted to them!

By the way Freddie thanks for the complimentary comment on my youtube clip, nice to see a sensible bit of feedback on there.

The artist who does not rise, descends.
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Postby Lord Freddie » Feb 9th, '08, 17:15

You're welcome, I enjoyed the videos so it's only fair that I say so.

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Art Of Astonishment Review

Postby Hardik » May 26th, '09, 13:27

Warning
Very long review. Read at your own discretion !

Introduction
This was my third purchase in magic, after the Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue , and 202 Forces by Theodore Anneman. And what a decision it was, I must say. Almost every effect is so commercial, that you can practically create hundreds of routines just by shuffling the effects around. My audiences are absolutely spellbound by the effects, and these books have served me very well. Most tricks are intermediate level, and any serious close up magician must, and absolutely must own these books.

The Cost
About USD 40-45 each. Varies from dealer to dealer.

The Books
The books themselves are beautiful enough to show off. The total number of effects is 222 ! Just imagine.. For this cost ! They are pretty heavy though, and shipping did cost me a lot, but I’m sure it was all worth it. I purchased all 3 at once, because I had heard so much about them. The quality of the books is fantastic. Each book has over 300 pages. As you may have read, some people keep complaining about the writing and the diagrams. But, just shut yourself in a windowless room, and concentrate into every word, couple it with looking at the diagrams for clarity, and you’ll be understanding the effect in no time. This is because, some effects are really easier to “show” than explain in print. But every effect is phenomenal. I’m yet to come across an effect that will not blow the spectator away.

The Extras
Yes, the book has plenty of extras, including photos of Paul Harris. It contains interviews, additional writings, experiences of Paul’s journeys around the world as a close-up performer, and conversations between Paul and fellow performers.


Now i’ll list some of my favorite effects from the 3 books.

Art of Astonishment Volume 1

Buck Naked – Performer brings out two 5 dollar bills and borrows a 1 dollar bill from a spectator. He places a bill in the spectator’s clenched hands. The spectator sees the two 5 dollar bills in the performer’s hands, yet finds that she is holding a 5 dollar bill. What a swindle !

Unshuffling Rebecca – An in-the-hands Triumph effect with the guarentee card.

Backlash – This is one of my all time favorites. Spectator signs both sides of a card and the performer keeps it inside his pocket very fairly. The deck is spelled out to the spectator’s name, and Wallah ! The card is back in the deck. Before the spectator can react, it’s vanished again ! The performer removes it from his pocket and places it between the spectator’s palms, only to find now the card is signed by the performer on one side. ! Absolutely no palming !

Improv Nightshades – Performer borrows a bill and fairly draws nightshades on George. He then visibly moves them up ! And now they rest on his forehead ! Bill can be given out.

Apple – Show of strenth as the performer splits an apple into two, and occasionally uses his hand as a chopper to cut them into pieces.

Lip Balm – Coin manupilation using a lip balm jar.

PH Vanishing Deck – Deck is taken from the the card box. Card is selected. There’s a moment of magic as the deck vanishes and only one card remains. The chosen one. The deck is back in the box.

Illusion – A selected card instantly vanishes while trapped between two jacks. The same card thn appears face down in a face up deck. The audience sees this card till the last moment, before it vanishes again !

Color Stunners – Another amazing triumph as the only card selected is of a different back.

Flip Flop Plop – An amazing card control to casually control the card to the top/bottom of the deck

Think of a Card – Performer looks at the cards spread out in his hands, and asks spectator to think of a card, while he commits himself to an outjogged card. Both are found to be the same !

Deep Thought – Another handling of the previous effect.

Rip Off Reverse – A double killer effect involving a torn-and-restored and an impossible card transposition.

Dehydrated Deck – A folded up cardboard box is found to be an old card case. It is unfolded and placed on the table. The spectator opens it to find 52 cards inside it !

Curly Cue Move – A fan flourish

Ultimate Rip-Off – PH’s torn and restored. Simply stunning. He even restores the last piece.

Double Monte – Two cards become one and one becomes two. Just awesome !

Earth Shoes – Performer removes his shoe and dumps out a rock about as big as his foot

Pain – Performer rams his hand into a pin on the table, and is shown going into the flesh like a post-it.

Re-Set – This is the most ultimate effect of all. I would’ve paid the cost of this book for this packet trick, because it is the most unbeleivable effect of all of them. Completely impromptu ! Can be done with a borrowed deck too !
Four jacks and four aces are removed. The jacks are cleanly tabled, and the aces are placed in the hands. The aces slowly transform into the jacks ! The reset button is pushed again as normalcy is restored. They are aces again, and the jacks are on the table as they were in the beginning !

Las Vegas Leaper – An awesome Cards Across routine where the spectator counts the cards everytime, as they travel from your packet to theirs. Just brilliant ! Completely imrpomptu !

New Twisted Collector’s – A ‘moveless’ twisting-the-aces.

Gamber vs Mentalist vs Magician – A breathtaking routine involving the performer playing all the 3 roles - he performs a gambling routine, some mentalism and finally a triumph !

Invisble Rising Card – A completely impromptu ID effect. I cannot reccommend enouogh as to how strong this plays.

Koem’s Card on Tie – Plays just as the name of the effect.

Interlaced Vanish – A mindblowing routine where the aces are interlaced amongst the kings, and suddenly they vanish. Only for 3 of them to reappear in the deck, and a final ace to appear inside the closed card case that has been in full view all the time.

License to Thrill – Performer’s and spectator’s driving licenses change places ! The presentation is amazing. This is a Greg Wilson presentation.

Vanish 5000 – A vanish of sugar from a sugar packet.

ReCap – An amazing 5 phase routine with a borrowed pen and it’s cap. Completely impromptu.

Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of other effects i haven’t even looked at. Trust me it’s massive. I’ll end with this here and continue with Art of Astonishment Volume 2 soon !

The Pros
1. The sheer amount of effects you get for 40 dollars. Each effect is almost worth that much.
2. All effects are explained in great detail.
3. High quality commercial effects that can entertain anyone.
4. You can make a living out of these effects.

The Cons
1. Despite being cost-effective, 120 dollars is a lot of money. (At least for me, spending on a hobby)
2. The explanation for a few effects can get confusing, when read for the first time. But put time and effort into it, and it’ll serve you well.
3. Forgetting everything else ! I didn’t make a purchase for almost a year after I bought these. They’ve kept me busy for so long, I missed out on some other stuff I wanted to buy !
4. You may get annoyed at your inability to perform an effect the way it is described, but remember it has many advanced effects as well ! So, analyze each effect before you pick it up,and see if it is for your skill level.

The Rating
Pfff. Who am I to be rating this material. I am too humbled by the originality, the creativity and honesty of PH to be rating this.
It's a must have. Period.

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Re: Art of Astonisment - Paul Harris

Postby AJ1 » Jan 10th, '22, 14:33

Very little people do not like these books. They are filled with excellent magic, ideas and great thinking. Paul Harris is a genius.

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