Garden of the Strange by Calab Strange

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Garden of the Strange by Calab Strange

Postby Figo » May 7th, '07, 00:47



The Effect

In 2003, Luke Jermay invited Caleb Strange to write a book: nearly four years in the making, The Garden of the Strange is the brilliant result.

This beautifully written, deeply affecting book takes Mr. Strange’s trademark blend of innovative thinking and stunning presentations to the next level. With twenty compelling and original routines, and an additional half-dozen ‘from your pocket’ variations, this eagerly awaited work will be of great use and interest to mentalists, bizarrists, and table-hoppers alike.

Yet beyond its fine, audience-centred effects, The Garden of the Strange contains something more, of equal value to the working performer. For tucked away within its full and thorough notes, the attentive reader will find explained a wide range of powerful yet often neglected techniques (linguistic, literary, theatrical), which can be used to maximise the impact and enhance the quality of one’s work.

The Garden of the Strange, then, is a thrilling and, above all, fresh exploration of the art of the impossible: a lyrical and accomplished volume, it has been called, more than once, ‘the most inspiring book of magic I have yet read’.

We are expecting to receive the book early May and expect the demand to be high, so to avoid disappointment pre-order your now!




Cost

Beautiful Hard backed edition with dust jacket £24.99 from here http://www.alakazam.co.uk/acatalog/Hot_List_1.html#a1836


Difficulty
(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)

i would say that it has to be a 5, some parts of the book are easier than others but on the whole you need an awful lot of performance experience and knowledge of lots of different areas to even attemp these tricks

Review

I was awaiting this book eagerly for about a month and wanted to get my hands on some of the fantastic sounding tricks that this book contained. what i got though was not an ordinary magic book, it is by far the most frustrating, thought provoking, mind boggling, inspiring, beautiful waste of £26 i've ever bought. if you want to get a book sit down and practice the tricks contained within don't get this one, right from the off you are transported to this magical land where the tricks are described in intricate impossible detail. let me give you an example

"you are outside with your audience. together you have spent the day exploring an ancient ceremonial landscape: one rich in stones and stories and strangeness. Everybody has been enchanted by your magicial tales, which you have performed next to moorland barrows and by sun dappled streams in piebald glades. Throughout the day, many of your guests have shared stories and the group is growing close. and now, as you near your journeys end and the day delves slowly into night, the dark keen shovel of the sky is becoming wet with a million stars."

and thats just the opening paragraph to the first trick, i thought well that kind of detail isn't necessary for the trick to work, unfortunatly the detail and description of the tricks make it clear that the level of intamacy with your audience is necessary for most of the tricks to be effective. this is not the stuff for table hoppers in resturants. in fact the level of knowledge you need of some fairly advanced mentalist techneques leads me to say that unless your a specialist in the area of mentalism then you may mind this book useless for your acts. things like the dual reality principle, trance, suggestion and embedded commands are just a few of the ideas you'll need to master (and thats just for the first trick)

there are around 25 "tricks and stories" in this book and used in the right setting with the right kind of atmosphere and the right level of intamacy with your audience these tricks appear and in a sense are nothing short of real magic,

there are several uses of everyday moves which the advanced magician will be familiar with but these are thin on the ground.

as far as performance techniques go this is a really interesting book. if you want to put the magic to one side and work on a range of powerful techniques (such as linguistic techniques and theatrical techniques) then this book will be of real interest to you for the shear scale of the showmanship described and the lessons you will be able to extract.


on a scale of 1 - 5

i honestly don't think this book can be rated like that. it will have something for some, something for others and nothing for most. it will be purely dependent on your ability, your willingness to be open to new ideas no matter how bizzare and your understanding of performance power.

Overall
I was going to try and re-sell this book, but after reading it a second time i can see the value of the information contained. and while the magic might be very specialised it certainly fills my head with ideas, not just about my performance but also about where i want to take my magic in the future.

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Postby Lord Freddie » May 7th, '07, 00:50

Thanks for your honest review. I was intrigued by this book when I read it was coming out, but there was a suspicion in my mind that it might be sub-Tolkein pretentious twaddle padding out the effects.
It sounds this may be the case. Thank for saving me £26! :D

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Postby Renato » May 7th, '07, 09:22

Thanks for the review! Not a fan of that kind of writing style myself but it does sound like the kind of material I'm interested in.

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Postby Lord Freddie » May 7th, '07, 11:55

What I've seen of it, the writing seems very much like Jim Morrison's terrible poetry. :?

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Postby IAIN » May 8th, '07, 08:45

lord freddie - i didnt realise you were jason king...

anyway, i dont doubt for a minute that the stories told in the book are performed by mr. strange in the way it was written...by all accounts he loves taking magic into another realm...something more mystic and emotive...

i can honestly say that the performance style isnt for me, BUT! i do think the book is very worthwhile, let alone brave, in this day and age of instant fix, downloadable twaddle for fifteen quid a pop for the one effect...

for your twenty six quid, you do, in my opinion, get access to a long forgotten world, a world where you're not quite sure where you are, or what you've seen...was that real? was that...i just dont know what i just saw...

i think he's to be congratulated on writing a true magic-book, and the ideas alone are worth the price of the book...to me anyway...

i would say though, that just cos you dont like the patter, or how eloquent you deem the writing...dont let it put you off...it is quite heavy, and i didnt really enjoy some the writing style either...but, in my opinion, i think its heads above the majority of magic books...cos well, its both thought provoking and shows that he's got a real passion for his version of the art...

for me, this book is all about being true to yourself, going for it, and creating a proper magical experience...

Do not buy it though, if you like performing street magic, Ambitious card or things like that...thats not knocking them or inferring anything superior nor inferior, just saving you a few quid cos you wont get anything out of this book... :)

IAIN
 

Postby Figo » May 8th, '07, 11:47

very well put abraxus. it took me several attemps to get into this book and I'm only now able to gleam the bits that are of benefit to me, an instant fix it is not i'd put it more in the work of art section the way it is written and described is very beutiful but not for everyone. i only disagree with one of your points where you say " don't buy it if you like performing the ACR or street magic....coz you won't get anything out of it" i understand where your coming from however i think that with some effort you could find techniques for making your ACR more believable more magical and different from the norm.

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Postby IAIN » May 8th, '07, 12:10

yeah sure..if you're telling a story and using cards to do that with...it sjust a shame more people dont these days...

i just meant if you're a pure cardician and stick to the more traditional methods/explanations... :)

IAIN
 

Postby Renato » May 8th, '07, 12:30

It's now on order! Look forward to getting this :D

I'm a fan of card magic, but also a serious student of the more mentalism-side of things... I keep the two quite separate but I do enjoy them both. Should be a good read!

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Postby lozey » May 9th, '07, 00:51

I got this book and i have to say i love it! Heres a brief description of some of the effects(there are 28 in total i think)

Hunting Mammoths in the Rain

A beutiful piece of theatre, drama and mentalism designed to be performed outdoors. A spectator concentrates on one of a selection of ancient artifacts. In a story-telling vision you reveal the selection.

The Collector
A story about a man on a train who collects photographs of death. he meets a fellow collector who is looking to increase his own personal collection....

I'll take your hand

An elderly woman dreams of her first love as you lead her on a wonderful journey.

Wishing Star
Another piece of outdoor theatre, where the magican conjurs up shooting stars to grant the wishes of each spectator.


Bubbles

The story of enduring friendship with a dying boy provides the backdrop for a real bubble appearing in a solid glass marble.


In safe hands
a bizzare performance about a serial killer turned fake psychic surgeon meeting his match at the hands of the people he has wronged. This is a VERY strong effect!


Junior

A tongue-in-cheek effect with a photograph album filled with bizzare pictures of a young boy, who is somehow....not quite right.

The Koestler protocol
A picture duplication based on a background of 1950s laboratory experiments with ESP

Sinne eater
A chaletan sinn eater meets his match when hes cursed by a true believer. You will need a strong stomach to perform this!!!!
The climax is live maggots crawling out of a cake!

We eat what we are
a 'real' sinne eater ritual that all spectators can participate in

A rose without thorns
A wonderful seance type effect with a beutiful ending involving rose petals. This is a stunning effect!

Hidden treasure
A personal one-to-one reading effect with a lovely keepsake for the sitter

The 10,000 things
A picture duplication that involves 2 spectators, one who thinks of a hidden image from a book, one who helps you actually draw the psychic image.

Play the film backwards
An old ladies life is represented in pictures which are mixed hap-hazardly together. Not only do they rearrange to show her life story perfectly, but a similar photo, put aside at the beginning, appears on the table with the others

The vanishing
A massive performance piece that is best used as an ending to a show. it has the background of a whole civilisation wiped out by a jelous moon god using a plague of flies.The performer dissapears amidst a cloud of insects, appearing to take the moon with him!!!

(C, AH)
If you have a quality,let it define you no matter what it is-Doug Bradley
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Postby Lord Freddie » May 9th, '07, 19:31

Hmm, you got me in all two minds now!

I like the sound of the effects, but the writing style sounds like lyrics from a mid-70's YES album...

Are the things in this book practical and useful or mundane effects dressed up in fancy prose?

It's going to be 50/50 with this one, I know I'll either love it or hate it!

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Postby IAIN » May 10th, '07, 10:53

well...the patter is all important...especially for this kinda thing..but, as with all effects, you dont have to use what's provided, just a bit of thought and some of your own character bringing out the story...

the storylines he provides seem very "him", but not "me"...but i can easily visualise what stories i can tell to work with the effects that are built in his versions..

you dont have to wear a cape...

not even the first Yes album was any good...rancid version of a richie havens classic utterly spoilt...

IAIN
 

Postby Charles Calthrop » May 10th, '07, 11:16

Nerdy nit-pick: that wasn't the first album ('Yes') it was the second ('Time and a Word'). You're right about that cover though.

I've only spent about five minutes with this book, having a quick flick through so I can't honestly comment on the strength of the material. Truth is I never will because I found it totally unreadable. Far from being 'lyrical' I found it laughable. Anyone who can write 'the dark, keen shovel of the sky' and (apparently) mean it should be beaten to death with the single-volume hardback edition of The Lord Of The Rings. Landscapes are not 'ceremonial'. I think he's just used some software for generating random adjectives and similies.

I handed it back to my friend with the words: 'No, you'll have to eBay it'.

What you call heroism is just an expression of this fact; there is never a scarcity of idiots
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Postby IAIN » May 10th, '07, 11:27

i immediately destroyed the first yes album when i read inside the cover "voted best new band - the new led zep!"

pffft...

i think my final summing up of the Garden is, in my opinion....pretentious, but some of it useful for me...it is a bit sixth form poetry in places...

IAIN
 

Postby Salt » Jan 9th, '08, 04:51

This is an absolutely amazing book. 'Nuff said.

Those of you who have discarded it, I suggest you re-think your actions.

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Postby bronz » Jan 9th, '08, 17:02

Even though I didn't think I'd get anything out of this I read it from curiosity and by the end I was very impressed. Fair dos, it takes a certain amount of mental realignment to get your head round what he's saying at times but if you tailored some of this stuff to suit you and what you do then it's miracles all round.

I found it an enjoyable read and indeed quite thought provoking, as he says most of the effects are designed to work without the whole suggestion angle, that's supposed to be a bonus extra to enhance the power of the effect. In some cases that doesn't work but there are certainly routines here that you can pick up and play with even if you don't know owt about hypnosis etc etc.

All in all a good addition to a rounded magic library I'd say.

The artist who does not rise, descends.
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