talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

There are 12 effects in this e-book, these are;

TRIP

signed:torn:transpo:restored

A card is selected and folded in half. One half signed by the performer, one by the spec. The card is torn in half, the spec's half placed in their hand. The other half is waved above the spec's hand, face up, and the half visually becomes the spec's half. The spec's hand is opened to reveal it now holds the performer's half. The two halves are then taken and restored.

TRANSTORN

single card torn and transposed

A card is selected and lost in the deck, another card is taken and torn in half face up, half by half the card changes into the selection.

VANTAGE

visual colour change inside the box

A deck is introduced which has a hole torn out the back of the box through which the bottom card can be identified.
A card is selected, signed and returned to the deck. The cards are then shuffled and placed back in the box. The card seen through the hole in the box is not the spectators. The performer waves his hand over the hole, causing the card inside the box to visually change into the signed selected card.

REBOUND

a selected card penetrates the tape of a bound card to become bound with it

A card is introduced that is bound by tape. A card is freely selected, then slammed against the bound card.
The selected card is then shown to have penetrated the tape and become bound with the original bound card.
They can then be handed out for inspection.

DELUSION

colour change

A card is placed face down in the performer's hand. When it is turned up the card has changed. Both hands are shown empty except for the new card.

OVERKILL

spectator deals the predicted card

A prediction is written and the deck is handed to the spectator. The spec is handed the deck and asked to deal any card from anywhere in the deck. The prediction is turned over and so is the card, they match.

INFLICTION

the 1st ever self contained blister effect

A card is freely selected and returned to the deck. The performer asks the spec to light their lighter, the performer holds two fingers over the flame. The flame is extinguished leaving the performer with blisters on
both fingers in the shape of the selected card. Value on one finger, suit on the other.

BOXER

an impromptu signed card to box

A freely selected and signed card penetrates an empty closed box three times under impossible circumstances

FAN CHANGE

a colour change that happens on top of a fanned deck

A card us turned face up on top of the deck, the performer fans the deck at which point the face up card instantly changes

ENEMY

colour change/vanish/switch

A selected card is placed on top of the deck overlapping the deck. The card is turned over and shown to have changed/vanished/switched

THIRTEEN

All of the spades are taken from the deck and ribbon spread. A card is selected from the deck. The performer claims he will not only vanish the selected card but every card from that suit. The deck is spread to show clubs and diamonds. The ribbon spread spades is closed and spread again to reveal a consecutive spread of spades and hearts with one card in the middle face down......the selected card

HALF TRIUMPH

an inversion triumph

With a signed selected card protruding the deck, the performer makes the deck turn face up without causing the selection to move. He then repeats this causing the deck to turn face down, again the selection doesnt move.
The deck is then split and mixed up, half face up, half face down with the selection somehwere in the middle. The cards are then spread to show only one card face down.....the selection


Cost

£14.99 from www.magicshop.co.uk - toe curler i know



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'd say 4 - 5. Most of these effects are seriously sleighty.



Review

According to the introduction, this is Daniel Madison's last book on close up deceptions. He's a talented lad is Daniel, and seems to take his magic very seriously indeed. I've seen a few of his effects before but this is
the first time i've read anything by him. The effects sounded very impressive so i thought i'd give it a go.
I'll touch briefly on each one, any questions feel free to PM me. I should mention that after the explanation for every effect, Mr Madison provides some Afterthoughts. How the effect can be altered or changed in the way of handling or other ideas that may or may not improve things according to . Good stuff. There's plenty of pics to help you out along the way too.

TRIP

This sounds very exciting doesnt it? I think i should make it clear now, most of these effects rely on gimmicks.
If you'll endulge me, I'm not really one for gimmicks. I like the idea of being handed a deck and asked to ' Do a trick ', and being able to oblige. Set ups and gimmicks never really appeal. But i can see how they can be
effective and am more willing these days to go with them. It's all about the effect isnt it? THE EFFECT IS KING!
To that end, the result with TRIP is a killer. Once the handling is mastered, and it will take a while believe me, i can see how this will floor people. Anything that happens in the spec's hand makes for good magic
in my opinion, and this is quite in their face. Definitely something to finish on.

TRANSTORN

Im sure a lot of you seasoned conjourers could come up with a method for this. Mr Madison's is as good as any im sure. I think i'd like to work on a restoration, rather than just ending with destroyed cards. The effect
doesnt seem to go anywhere for me, but could be worked on as part of a routine. Maybe it's all down to presentation but personally, its not something i can get that excited about.

VANTAGE

This was one i was very excited about. Again it's gimmick reliant, and being able to do an ego change would help too. I played with this for a while but havent yet managed to get it down as good as i'd like. You need to be super accurate here but if you're prepared to put in the hours you'll be rewarded. Just like anything in magic really.

REBOUND

This can be a real noodle scratcher for the spectator. A great idea, forgive me if it's been done before but i'd not heard of it. I wasnt too fussed about this trick but i tried it and it looks great.

DELUSION

VERY cheeky this one. It'll take a while to get it going smoothly but it's a good effect that as Daniel says in his notes it can be applied to other effects and you could no doubt work it into an ACR routine if that's your
bag. I'll be practising this one, if only to feel smug in myself.

OVERKILL

I really dig this kind of effect. It spins the mind of some people so much you can see the confusion hit them square in the face. This is a bit ' knacky ' for want of a better word, but once down - and it wont take long - it's a great impromptu trick.

INFLICTION

I know people like Ellusionist ( did i swear?! ) get off on this kind of thing. This brings to mind Wayne Houchin's Stigmata effect. I've done Stigmata for several people and always got incredible reactions. There's something about the body being affected by the magic that makes it very real for some people. Those that usually pass it all off as sleight of hand can't explain how something like this occurs. I have to say, and Daniel even admits it in his notes, the gimmick is a PAIN to make. It really is. It's also however, ditch-able....in a good way. I can say no more really, except that its good that it is, and that i'll be taking this effect on board. It's a closer if presented well and will help make people believe you to be a freak of nature. Which is nice.

BOXER

Does what it says on the tin, though personally i got nothing out of it. It's not bad by any means, it's just not something that appeals to me.

FAN CHANGE

Now this is good when done properly. The handling is a tad tricky and you'll need to apply some time to it but it suprised me when i first did it. Again, can be used in an ACR like most colour changes, but it's just something neat to pull out of the bag.

ENEMY

Something that can be used how you see fit really. As the man himself lists, it can be a change, vanish or a switch. Flexible moves like that are good to have in the arsenal. The good thing about this is he gives you ways to do it both with and without a gimmick.

THIRTEEN

There's something terribly good in this trick. I'd never seen it before though i must confess im hardly a professional. I cant say what it is here as it may be seen by some as exposure, but its very effective and i
did it thinking he must have got it wrong and it'd never work but it does and i was very impressed. It's a really strong effect is THIRTEEN but there is one point where you must riffle the cards exactly, one after
the other. This is very hard to do for some, i think maybe a weave would be more effective, but it's down to the individual i guess. Once mastered this is gold. Possibly my favourite.

HALF TRIUMPH

Im a fan of tricks like these. I must say though i see no real need for the card to be signed here. Just an observation from someone who doesnt like to see a deck ruined everytime you do a certain effect. I've also
changed the way the trick is started, just to suit me really. It's good that you can mess with the workings of some of these tricks if you need to, and still end up at the same place. This is a nice little trick, a bit of
a baffler. I used to do a trick like this, i dont know the name i picked it up from somewhere, but i prefer this method and while you need a more difficult sleight or two, it's worth the effort.


Overall

Well done if you've stayed with me to this point. There is a lot here, and aside from just the effects i picked up other things that I'm eager to work into my own tricks and routines. Most of these can be used in a Street setting or table hopping manner, so would suit any of you cardy people. As i've said a lot of these effects require gimmicks. After i worked through the book i was surrounded by glue, craft knives, tape and pieces of card.
It felt like a Blue Peter project. Of course the idea is to try each trick and see if you can use it as part of your routine, if it suits you and you feel comfortable doing it. I found some gold here, and also inspiration, so I'm happy to have ploughed through it.
As for the price, i think it's a bit steep for an e-book, but you pays yer money you takes yer choice.
This has been my first review so please be gentle.

To score i'd say 7/10. While this may seem like a bit of a fence straddle, the price brings the score down a tad.

damn fine review
I love daniel madisons work
I have his e-book identity
I like how he always seems o try an give you a way of doing things(where possible) ungimmicked aswell.
like with breach and irreversible tu

damn fine review i think i will invest

Im really starting to like his stuff some of it is pure gold,

Nice review,

some of it as you say is pure gold other stuff is so awful that it doesnt bear thinkin about.

cut is a new level of terrible in my opinion, please someone correct me if they've ever managed to effectivley use this gimmick.