talkmagic.co.uk

Review of the full book from a relatively new persons point of view.

The Effect

A book (also dubbed the mentalists bible).
Has thirteen different lessons, covering gimmicks and areas of mentalism.
Has sample effects and contexts in which each could be used. Clear diagrams of how to make certain gimmicks.


Cost

£18 (may vary)


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)

The principles of some are 1-2, so simple once explained.
Putting into practice 3-4 and some even a 5.

Review

I found the book heavy, (not literally ), as contains a lot of information and myself being one of the first books i read, difficult to understand some concepts.
However on my second reading, much easier and flows nicely.
I like the fact each chapter is in esscence it's own booklet, so you can avoid massive overload of brain power.
I can see why it is called the bible of mentalism, and how these lessons, form the basis of much that is around today, abeit adapted and personalized.


Overall

9/10

I give it a nine, purely for the fact i had to read it twice to fully understand some concepts (not saying its a bad thing)
A good book for starting out and seeing where you might want to go.

Oh yea one more thing.





[/b]

Too funny.

.robb. wrote:Too funny.

And this is exactly why MAGIC HOBBYIST need to stay away from Mentalism

.robb. do us all a favor and don't try to learn any of the "tricks" we do... it's beyond your comprehension level it would seem.

Yes, that's harshly put but your own words have proven the fact that you will not do Mentalism in a proper manner. For starters, that book was originally sold as 13 separate lessons that were to be studied in order and for a reason. Secondly, if you are jumping straight into book tests then you have no foundation for yourself when it comes to presentation and building into such a demonstration.

This book is one of the most heralded books on the subject when it comes to learning the essentials about what Mentalism is, the more traditional methods for doing things, etc. It is NOT a book full of tricks but a course in how to transform one's self away from being a Magician and into the role of being a Mentalist. Something you obviously didn't realize nor registered on as you started "reading" said tome... truthfully, you did as most magic buffs, you skimmed through the book and not finding enough pictures for peeking your interest, lost the gist of things. In other words, you DIDN'T "Read" the book and you certainly came nowhere close to "studying" it e.g. you need to give it to a friend that will respect it and the art it represents and run back to the comfort of the latest E offering in that this seems to be the height of your present mentality. Alternatively, keep it around for when you grow up enough to appreciate what you have in hand and how it alone, can give you a very profitable career (as it has done for hundreds if not thousands of others).

In the meantime, you may want to take that foot out of your mouth.

I can see where you're coming from lxzer... the problem with mentalism is it requires too much of a bloody commitment from the performer, and as for Corinda... 424 pages! who could be bothered?

I think the best effects are the one's where you can buy the DVD, spend 5 minutes practicing in front of a mirror, then you can hit the streets and immediately get reactions like... wait for it... here it comes...

"Oh MY GOD!"

Seriously, I did find some excellent information in the Corinda book. So much so I find I often refer back to it as a resource, something of a refresher course. For example, I bought a peak wallet from Outlaw Effects, and decided to review the relevant sections in 13 Steps. If you do decide to get seriously into this kind of thing, give the Corinda book a chance, many more learned than I speak very highly of it.

There are definitely weaknesses in Corinda, he's uneven in places, and people are still finding errors. Paul Brook has found a mistake in the algorithm for the day for any date routine that means it fails for some dates, for instance.

As it happens, I'm researching book tests at the moment for NMII. Corinda is definitely better than Annemann for them, giving them an entire (but short) step, but nothing in it satisfies what I want to do or where I want to take it.

Wow, what a brave (or silly) review!!

Giving one of the holy trinity (RRTCM, Bobo and 13 steps) an 8, I'm sure there's gonna be a whole torrent of abuse heading your way from the mentalists here.

I only bought my copy of 13 steps a few weeks ago and am currently on the 4th step. I am very keen to learn more about the art of mentalism as card and coin tricks always have some heat on the 'props' in the spectator's mind however with mentalism there really is almost nowhere for them to hide.

So far there seem to be some excellent concepts and ideas in this book and I can't wait to finish it and then go back through to start practising some of the effects. Ok so some of the 'patter' around the effects seem a bit dated but then I very rarely stick to the given patter with any effect I perform so I doubt that this will be an issue.

This book definitely isn't a selection of quick tricks that you can flick through and pick out a few effects you like, spend 5 minutes practising and then be ready to perform, to be honest I don't think many mentalist effects can be mastered in 5 minutes (Other than gimmicked stuff like BW deck or ID etc) unless you've put the groundwork in by studying works like this.

I understand that Tony Corinda is doing an interview next month in Magic Magazine.

Craig Browning wrote:

.robb. wrote:Too funny.

And this is exactly why MAGIC HOBBYIST need to stay away from Mentalism

.robb. do us all a favor and don't try to learn any of the "tricks" we do... it's beyond your comprehension level it would seem.

Yes, that's harshly put but your own words have proven the fact that you will not do Mentalism in a proper manner. For starters, that book was originally sold as 13 separate lessons that were to be studied in order and for a reason. Secondly, if you are jumping straight into book tests then you have no foundation for yourself when it comes to presentation and building into such a demonstration.

This book is one of the most heralded books on the subject when it comes to learning the essentials about what Mentalism is, the more traditional methods for doing things, etc. It is NOT a book full of tricks but a course in how to transform one's self away from being a Magician and into the role of being a Mentalist. Something you obviously didn't realize nor registered on as you started "reading" said tome... truthfully, you did as most magic buffs, you skimmed through the book and not finding enough pictures for peeking your interest, lost the gist of things. In other words, you DIDN'T "Read" the book and you certainly came nowhere close to "studying" it e.g. you need to give it to a friend that will respect it and the art it represents and run back to the comfort of the latest E offering in that this seems to be the height of your present mentality. Alternatively, keep it around for when you grow up enough to appreciate what you have in hand and how it alone, can give you a very profitable career (as it has done for hundreds if not thousands of others).

In the meantime, you may want to take that foot out of your mouth.

You misread Craig. I thought it was "too funny" that a 13 year old read all of 20 pages of "one of the most heralded books on the subject" of mentalism before giving up on it and posting a review of it.

Strangely, 13 Steps is the most complained about item I sell at NothingUpMySleeve.

The main complaint is usually "There's no tricks in there" or "This isn't magic".

I think that because it's been spoken of in outer-magic circles as "The first stage of becoming the next Derren Brown" people want to see how to read minds and how to do miracles from the get-go.

What we see above is an honest review from someone who obviously had different expectations of the book.

13 Steps is more of a Haynes manual for mentalism than it is a trove of mindreading knowledge... it breaks down the tools and mechanisms required to understand what it's all about.

And no, I've never given an exchange or refund for 13 Steps. It's my opinion that people are able to make their own decisions as to whether or not to buy something...!

Craig Browning wrote:And this is exactly why MAGIC HOBBYIST need to stay away from Mentalism

I don't think generalities like this are helpful.

I am a magic hobbyist that has been interested in mentalism for some time. My first purchase was 13 steps and the book is simply incredible. I could read the book another dozen times and still be finding gems. I don't think that one has to be a working professional to appreciate the material.

So if you really must jump to the defense of mentalism and let loose on some naive kid - please keep the rest of us hobbyists (magic or mentalist) out of it.

Dum dee doo. Gather round one and all. Yeap even you I am going to tell every one a big big secret I dont like 13 steps. As we all know actually. Did you know on one forum I was told well I didnt get the English humour in 13 steps because I wasnt English. That made me chuckle while sitting in my England shirt under my picture of the queen and I speak like Bobby George.

All though I did like the chapter on the swami and billets so not a total waste of money.

Every one knows 12 steps are better.

Markdini wrote:Dum dee doo. Gather round one and all. Yeap even you I am going to tell every one a big big secret I dont like 13 steps. As we all know actually. Did you know on one forum I was told well I didnt get the English humour in 13 steps because I wasnt English. That made me chuckle while sitting in my England shirt under my picture of the queen and I speak like Bobby George.

But are you as gorgeous as him, or are you a bit of a barker?

I must admit, my opinion of 13 Steps is changing, especially as Abraxus and I also have a "leeeelte project" on the back burner that's required re-reading the entire bummin' thing from cover to cover.

If you check the review index, you'll see that 13 Steps has already been reviewed here...

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic2054.php

Tomo wrote:I must admit, my opinion of 13 Steps is changing, especially as Abraxus and I also have a "leeeelte project" on the back burner that's required re-reading the entire bummin' thing from cover to cover.

we just wont sell to markdini that's all...he can get his margaret thatcher poster re-laminated instead...dirty boy...

yeah - well, there's bit i've never used in 13 steps, but it certains stops you reinventing the wheel, a quick browse through 13 and annemann's work certainly stops you treading old ground...

the irony is, me and tomo are revamping the presentational side of 13 steps, our favourite sections and so on, and some new bits n bobs thrown in too...

i think that's a bugbear for some people, the language, and the overall feel of the book might put some people off - which, in all honesty i really dont understand...just add imagination surely?

a car is a car is a car...just some look and feel different...get over the speedbump of the language and learn from it...ooof that was a bad analogy...

Oh Color Be Surprised...

Well, surprise this... I've rarely used much out of the book either... just Nail Writers, Billets, Slates, Imp Systems and a huge portion of what I do now days with the Seance stuff.

No I'm not being silly here, not deliberately... what I'm saying is what I've always said about the book -- IT TEACHES THE BASICS BEHIND MENTALISM I've never said it was a great resource for effects or routines (though there are a big over a half-dozen in there that I do regularly.

When I stated "Hobbyist" in the above, I knew it was going to get pounced I...I didn't clarify and use the exact proper phrasing that pin-pointed what this little twit was.

As to magic shops selling the book... in my day shop owners/workers knew their patrons well enough to steer them away from material they weren't ready for vs. chasing the sale for the sake of getting another $5.00 in the register. They watched out for their patrons rather than taking too gross an advantage of them, in hopes of bringing them back in a bit more content mode... hell, even Vernon would crack your knuckles if you were trying to do material you weren't ready for.

Alternatively they'd have specials on classes dealing with a given title so that students would have the advantage of some guidance and q&A on the subject. Not only was it a more lucrative move, it made parents happy which meant more "allowance" money for the child to make the next big purchase.

Of course, such airs of service is why most of us became willing to drive more than a half-hours time down an American Freeway... sometimes more than two hours away, jut to get the "lecture" in.