talkmagic.co.uk

455pages, hardback

I bought this for $40 (I think) from Tannens last week. I presume they will do mail order to the UK and I presume it is available from other places.

Pete McCabe is not a professional magician, and the authorship is actually credited as 'Pete McCabe and 26 other guys'. The book is subtitled '45 scripts, 13 essays, 7 interviews and 1 flowchart to make you a better magician'. Obviously the '26 other guys' are those who contributed scripts, essays and interviews (plus some effects or 'moves') and they include Eugene Burger, Kenton Knepper, Jamy Ian Swiss, Jonathan Levit and Eric Mead.

The book is a wonderful - and lengthy - read. McCabe links it all together with a delightful and dextrous, witty writing style which helps the book to seem less disjointed than a collection of contributions might otherwise. His own thoughts and scripts are also very good and in no way overshadowed by all the 'luminaries'.

The book doesn't really set out what you might call guidelines or rules or a 'process' of any kind for creating your script; contributors and interviewees vary in views on whether you should write every word, for instance. Rather, the text is chock-full of examples, ideas, things to consider, and I think it will get you thinking for yourself.

There are plenty of effects in here, some hopefully new to you, some certainly old, but always with a neat presentational idea. I like McCabe's take on 'Out of this World' for instance, both the script and what to me at least was a new method in some respects. Effects and 'business' (I hate that word, especially when preceded by the words 'bit of') include Knepper's 'South West Miracle', Sankey's 'paper-clipped' switch, the old old but great great 'Trick that Fooled Einstein' and Aronson's 'Undo Influence'. (As far as I can tell, McCabe has been scrupulous in not exposing any method or commercial effect without permission - some items are presented with scripting but without divulging the 'secret').

I found this book an absolute delight. It renewed my enthusiasm for creating my own presentations and for scripting with more diligence, gave me a bunch of ideas and taught me a few new effects.

I might have liked at least one short chapter along the lines of 'here is a process to go through in constructing a script' and as I can certainly see some readers feeling that way I will drop it from 9 to a very solid 8 out of 10. Maybe 8 and a half.

Available from http://www.magicshop.co.uk for £24.99

I have been reading this for a couple of days and I already script my routines, but this has helped me to script more clearly. Almost everyone has enough tricks to put a routine together, but this book will help in putting your routines together, what you are going to say, when to say it , even suggestions on where your volunteer should stand depending on what you will be doing. So far, its a great book.
Al

when you mentioned Sankey's paperclipped did you mean that it offers a script for the trick itslef?

I bought this book because i felt that although i have become technically skilled, my presentations needed work, and i was interested in creating new personalised scripts for my effects.
This book was perfect for me! It contains wonderfully original presentations for many classic tricks, and also offers full working methods for many tricks that you may not have heard of before. Some of my favourites where the script for presenting gemini twins to a couple, the various scripts for Gypsy Thread, and also the routine called 'Its in the Future' for use with an ID. Oh, and the Echoes marked deck routine with killer finish, a wonderfully mysterious trick.

I dont know why but for some reason it have never clicked with me that the way you present an effect is the way an audience will percieve it, i mean obviously i had a basic understanding of this, but i never fully realised the power of a script to change the effect which the spectator sees.

This book is money well spent, and will improve your performance. Some of the interviews alone are enough to alter your perspective for the better.

Lets all join Pete McCabes revolution to abolish the word 'patter' from magic altogether. Patter is just meaningless noise, non-sense talk that is boring to listen to and gives magic a bad name. From now on i will be putting much much more effort into the simplicity and elegance of my scripts. I emplore you all to buy this book and follow suit.

Sincerely

Atomo

apparently the new eugene burger dvd on presentation is very good too..

erfacemcer wrote:when you mentioned Sankey's paperclipped did you mean that it offers a script for the trick itslef?

The book explains the actual move, as well as offering a fairly straightforward effect using it with a nice script.