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Silent Running by Ben Harris

So, what could possibly be next from Ben Harris. Crossroads was an absolute show stopper and would be very hard to follow up. So with silent running were promised that the spectator thinks of a number which they never say out loud. True. They then think of a suit which they never say out loud. True. They then marry the number and suit up to make a card which they still don’t say out loud. True. Nothing is written down. True. Despite all this, you can instantly reveal their card to them seconds after they have thought of their card. True. 100% true. Practical. True. Commercial. True. Something you will use often. Most defiantly True..... Can you see what happening here? What sounds like false advertising is 100% true.

You can tell this is going to be one of the most talked about methods in mentalism this year purely by the list of names commenting on it. Banachek, Marc Paul, Nathan Kranzo, Peter Duffie, Marc Spelman, Devin Knight, Dee Christopher and the list continues! So, the review.

It’s easy to see how this effect has progressed from the legend of an effect that is crossroads. Again, the usual Ben Harris quality. Instantly thrusted into the Foreword by Looch. He takes us through his stories of using Silent Running and gets you motivated to keep on reading. Onto Ben’s introduction. Introduce “Duffies Dodge”. What on earth? Ben really gets you thinking. Apparently silent running, born from crossroads and utilizing a hidden tool from Peter Duffie. Lets move on quickly and get to whatever this Dodgy Duffie Dodge could be!

Much like the support act at a heavy metal gig hypes up the audience, Ben still holds back the secret as he explains why where and when the trick came around. Explaining the extent to which this trick will fry an audience. Then finally, after i’ve been thrown about in the mosh pit of Ben Harris’ mind, we delve into the method. Might I say, Wow, What a method it is. I’ve used countless methods for a deck-less method for learning a spectators card. One that was practical and looked like real mind reading. I must admit, some methods came close but non came close to Silent Running. Ben goes into stunning in depth explanations of the processes you need to go through to get to the stage in which your ready to reveal the card. The best part about Ben’s method is, it looks and feels like real mind reading. Mad, I know but unbelievably true. To know that what I had to ask the spectator to do was think of a number from 1-10 then think of a suit and lastly keep that card in their mind.. and STILL have a 100% hit rate was an indescribable feeling. For those who think there is something missing for what i’m saying or am trying to cover an extra little part of the process, i’m not. The selection process might throw up one slight issue for some magicians but, when thought about logically, here are VERY simple ways to abolish the subtlety that Ben has placed in. After performing the effect, I LOVE Ben’s subtlety and think it means that everything will go perfectly every time but realize, in all honesty, some may wish to walter it slightly.

Ben get’s us to the stage in which we are ready to reveal the selected card. Enter: The Routines. Ben begins with a version of his much loved Crossroads effect. So now, those of you with Crossroads will already have the deck ready to go. Those without, Ben still explains what you need. Imagine, having a card THOUGHT of. The deck is opened and without them saying a word, it is the ONLY card in the deck missing. Then it’s produced form wherever you so wish. Sounds to crazy to be true right? Well yeas it does sound to crazy to be true, but it is. I loved Crossroads so much and it’s become a stable part of my card act, now, ill use it even more often. Every deck I won will be a crossroads deck so that i’m always ready set go for Silent Running if I need it!

Second we have Ben’s direct mind reading approach. His brilliant system for revealing the card without any props. This is a fanatically thought out piece of script. Seriously cool. Everything seems fair and you have a 100% hit rate every time. Alternatively, Ben shows you a fantastic way to adapt it to a pad. Giving you another way to reveal everything in a fair and clean way.

Ben’s last routine is a brilliant take on the cards on table stab. This allows you to spread a genuinely normal deck on the table. Place some news paper on the spread cards and then plunge a knife into the paper, thus impaling a card on the knife on the other side of the paper. The paper is removed, the card is shown to be the thought of card. Again, Clean. Ben’s method is sublime and incredibly practical. I’ve never performed this kind of effect before, but with Silent Running, I have no reason not to perform it. Everything is brilliantly explained in depth and with clear photos.

End Routines. Enter Appendix. This section of the book teaches you how to make a Crossroads deck that works with Silent Running. As well as this, all templates and diagrams that are mentioned in the book are added here. Again, brilliant detail and the original Duffie Dodge is explained here in depth!

Last section of the book are the contributions from other magicians. Good times indeed.

The highlights of this section are Bob Cassidy’ suggestion of performing it for two spectators. This makes it even simpler and even more direct. Not to mention, more magical. It’s a small thing that makes a huge impact.

Paolo Cavalli’ Court Card illusion is another simple but brilliant idea that will make everything seem just that bit more amazing.

Devin Knight offers some brilliant work on a popular method in mentalism. It is genuinely priceless information that will put those people who are uncomfortable with it completely at ease. Another invaluable piece of advice that can be used for so much more then the original Silent Running effect.

Steve Shufftons work with Silent Running and a deck is also gold. A brilliant way to end the book.

The reason i’ve not gone into depth with the Bonus section is I believe that this method is so versatile that so many magicians will be coming up with their own interpretations with it. I myself have already come up with countless ideas with it and I know Ben has hundreds more. This method will soon transcend that of just cards and move onto other forms of mentalism. This really is one of the best methods for a thought of card that will have nearly any mentalists buzzing with joy. It’s a practical, workable and truly remarkable method. The products quality is amazing and those who complain that the book or PDF is of a high value for just one effect, it’s not necessarily about the singular effect but the sheers amount of idea’s and effects you can add it to. If you use this trick more then 5 times, the book has paid for itself. The book is quality and I’m more then proud to have it in my collection. Ben has excelled himself with Silent Running and i’m certain we’ll be hearing lots more about it.

“Ben Harris’ Silent Running is by far some of his best work and a new method that the mentalism world will cherish for many years to come. Ben has excelled himself with this project and the evidence is there in printed and digital format. I love it and i’m certain you will too!”

********** 10 Star Rating

Released 30th March 2010

Ebook Price: $39.95 (£26.67)
Printed Price: $39.95 (£26.67)

www.wowbound.com and most retailers.

Reviewed by Jamie Daws.

Is it impromptu and does it involve fishing. How hard is it as well? th.anks for the review.

JamieDaws wrote:Silent Running by Ben Harris

Steve Shufftons (sic) work with Silent Running and a deck is also gold. A brilliant way to end the book.

Thanks Jamie!

This is available at my site too...

Yo,

It is completely impromptu and doesn't involve a deck or anything. It's literally as reads. There's many ways and idea' on how to reveal it to. Either by pre written prediction or many other ways.

No problem Steve, Class idea's.

Jamie Daws

SamGurney wrote:Is it impromptu and does it involve fishing. How hard is it as well? th.anks for the review.

This is what I want to know as well.

Obviously you have to do a certain something to get the knowledge of their card but it seems to good to be true.

What do they have to tell you in order to get the card? It's not a maths type thing is it where they tell you a number etc?

If you own Crossroads, then you should at least have some idea of what is involved with Silent Running. The deckless effect does require a bit of fishing, but it is really very minimal. What is more, as you progress with the method, your need to fish, although not eliminated completely, will diminish.

Plainly the effect isn't perfection itself - one cannot ask someone to think of a card and know immediately what it is. The procedure laid out in Silent Running will allow you to come very close, and if care is taken in presentation, the procedure will seem much fairer than it actually is. It's also primarily a principal. Having read through the manuscript I saw straight away that there was something I wanted to change, which is not to say that Harris' method is wrong, but that its strength is in its adaptability.

Ironically the most exciting thing for me in the manuscript was the presentation of the missing card effect that was the key trick in the Crossroads Manuscript. That effect required, in the original, for the card to be named out loud, and for a little equivoque. Here you can run the effect without the spectator naming the card out loud. I'm hoping to sort a deck out that will allow a similar performance of Dunninger's Delight. Oh yes!

Thank Mr Grue!

So is there an effect in Crossroads that can be performed with Silent Running but with a better impact due to the nature of Silent Running?

If so, to perform this 'Crossroads' style effect would I also need to purchase Crossroads or does Silent Running explain how to do this deck effect and make deck etc?

Cheers

As Dawes states, Harris explains the effect in full in the Silent Running manuscript.

"What is more, as you progress with the method, your need to fish, although not eliminated completely, will diminish."


Hi There,

Actually - that is not true: I provided a routine in SR that requires no fishing whatsoever - as a matter of fact, the spectator NEVER says a word! It's called "Speechless", and it is the last idea in the book. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, you do not need to own CrossRoads to get full use out of SR. SR provides the means for an entirely different effect than CR. CR was designed as a vanish/transportation. It includes a very effective ACAAN effect. Both of these effects involve the spectator TELLING YOU the name of a card. SR provides the means to get at that information surreptitiously.

Although great for magicians, there are some heavy hitting mentalists getting some good use out of SR, and have already included it in their act. There are contributions from Cassidy, Looch, et al (and me too!).

Hi Steve. I was talking about the deckless effect, which does require fishing. With effects that make use of a deck, as you say, there are methods that can get round the fishing. Sorry if I hadn't been clear.

Mr. Grue -

No problem - I appreciate all you have said!

There are so many directions you can go with silent running, it's hard to be clear about alot of it! I have a hunch that with some thought and creativity, there will be all sorts of effects springing from this well. Ben is already planning a follow-up book featuring some of the best ideas using this strategy from around the world. I look forward to hearing what you all come up with. I've got a couple ideas myself... but you'll have to wait!

Regards to you, Mr. Grue (I'm a poet and didn't have any idea!)

I purchased my copy of Silent Running from Lybrary.com and found that the discussion of it on that site added significantly to my ability to use it. I understand that Ben has obtained permission to include some of these ideas in a subsequent version.

Taita

I love the comments system at Lybrary. There's room for improvement in terms of how it works, but it's a great idea. Essentially you can view most of the ebooks page by page through the browser, and comment on it in a sidebar. People have been quite generous in discussing their approaches to the SR procedure, and how they have recognised and dealt with the usual kind of wrinkles they need to iron out for their own peformances.

I think it's hilarious that even though JamieDaws clearly told us all that he wasn't leaving anything out of the description of the effect - there are no performance videos on youtube, or any websites anywhere as far as I can tell.

This is a sure-fire sign that it's not as simple as it seems.

Of course. The reason why there are no demo videos of this is because, to a magician at least, it will tip the method entirely. To a lay audience, with thought given to the presentation, it won't.