Encyclopaedia of Impromptu Card Forces by Lewis Jones

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Encyclopaedia of Impromptu Card Forces by Lewis Jones

Postby MartinUK » Wed May 30, 2007 9:55 pm

What:

Encyclopaedia of Impromptu Card Forces by Lewis Jones


Where from :

http://www.hutch.demon.co.uk/lewis/ency ... forces.htm

How Much:

£35 (delivery free to the UK)

The Review:

Just received my Encyclopaedia of Impromptu Card forces by Lewis Jones, and it’s, in one word, Frightfully good !! :D

Over 500 forces, impromptu card forces that is and with no gimmicks at all.

You need a force, then what would you like? A blind force, a combination force or a count force? Equivocation forces, multiple forces, a spelling force? Well they’re all in here and more.

There is, as Lewis writes, no need for “…pre-arranged decks. No defacing or marking of cards. No nail-nicks. No writing on cards. Not even a crimp or a bridge.”

The forces are categorised and described in alphabetical order, and the descriptions are concise, but very well written and clear. Only where the force would benefit from a photograph to support the text is one provided.

I know, I know, why would you need a reference work of over 500 forces that can be done with a borrowed deck? Well why not? Anneman’s book 202 forces is good, excellent in fact, but it has many, many card forces that need gimmicks. This book eradicates this need and documents many of the forces for the first time.

This is a reference book not a course. It’s definitely not a cover to cover read but it is a fantastic resource, full of little gems of genius. You want something new then look in here.

Would I buy it? I already have. Would I recommend it, you betcha!!

I leave you in the words of the author Lewis Jones:
“They need only a deck of cards and a spectator. I hope he enjoys them, even when he is unaware of them.”
Last edited by MartinUK on Wed May 30, 2007 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Michael Kras » Wed May 30, 2007 9:57 pm

Nice review!
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Postby MartinUK » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:12 pm

sorry Michael, never said thanks. Buy the book!! :)
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Postby Marvell » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:08 pm

Like 202, one is not going to use them all, but also like 202, it's an incredibly stimulating read.
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Postby FRK » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:26 pm

SO.. 202 or 500.. which is the better ?
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Postby MartinUK » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:01 pm

FRK

The thing about this book is there are NO gimmicks, all of these (that is +500) can be done with a normal deck and that means the spectators borrowed deck. Sure your not going to use all of them, but then again you're not going to use all of the effects that are in say, Art of Astonishment, but there might be some that would really suit you and your situation better than those forces you are already aware of.

In comparison with 202, I suggest some one else comments in detail on that. I haven't owned it so it would be unfair for me to compare in depth, but 202 it is an excellent resource for forces in general. It is not specific just to card forces, but include other forces too: billets, words etc, but the majority are card forces though. But price wise, less than £5, it is a small investment for a very big return.

What I can say about this book is extremely well written. Incredibly direct and straight to the point and more importantly, very easy to understand and follow. It's exactly what I would want from a reference piece and I'm glad I bought it, and I think that this too is excellent value for money.

Hope it helps

best

Martin
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Postby Marvell » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:43 am

FRK wrote:SO.. 202 or 500.. which is the better ?

If you've got neither, 202 because it costs about 2 quid. However, if you've got 35 quid kicking about, you might as well get the latter.
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