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Effect:
Miraculous Minds is a collection of mentalism effects in an e-book format. There are 34 effects in total plus two essays, all from Scottish performers. Peter Duffie has put out similar collections in the past with Scotland Up Close, England Up Close, and Mind Blasters 1 & 2. The format here is similar to his other efforts. Navigating to each effect is quick and easy from the table of contents which is a nice feature.

Available for $19.95 from http://www.lybrary.com/miraculous-minds-p-611.html

Difficulty:
1-5: The difficulty depends on the effect. There are some effects that are self-working and some that require advanced sleights (bottom deal, etc)

Review:
I have mixed feelings on Miraculous Minds overall. While there were a few stand out items, most of the effects seem more like filler material. Let’s begin with the highlights.

Invisible Opener (David Forrest)-
David admits that this is not as clean as the classic ID routine. However, this routine may be performed using a standard deck. To be fair, while the presentation is similar to what is usually used for the ID, the named card does not always appear reversed in the pack. That being said, the magician is able to cleanly show that he predicted the named card from the outset. While the method is clever and the effect could be powerful, I’m not sure how many card guys will add this to their repertoire considering the setup and mental work involved.

Wedding Present (Alan Innes)-
“Six cards are shown each with a month and number on each side giving a choice of all twelve months, Jan 1/ Feb 2, Mar 3 / Apr 4, etc. A list of 50 different wedding presents is shown along with a small box. The spectator is asked what month they would like to get married in and that month is placed aside. The spectator then mixes up the remaining cards turning some of them over to get a random total, say 48. The number is checked against the list of presents to give a gold coin. Inside the box that has been in full view is a gold coin!”

Alan has combined a couple of classic principles to create a prediction effect that seems much more fair than it really is. The decisions seem completely random to the spectators, but every contingency is taken care of by the routine’s clever workings.

The Gobbolino Principle (Paul Lesso)-
This principle may prove useful for those who like stacked deck work (Si Stebbins, Eight Kings, etc), but who are afraid that the audience might notice the alternating colors of the cards when the deck is spread face up. Paul provides a variation for the cycling of the suits that still allows the performer to easily calculate the next card in the stack. However, the cards can be shown more freely as there is no noticeable pattern to the colors discernable from a casual look through. Paul is not the first to tackle this problem, but if you are already familiar with a certain stack, it will be a no brainer to implement this principle.

Dicychometry (Jackie McClements)- Four spectator each roll a different colored die and write down their number on a piece of paper. The papers are rolled up and dropped into a cup. The dice are covered by the participants. The magician’s back is turned during the proceedings. When he turns around, he takes one of the papers from the cup and reads it. He is then able to divine which spectator rolled the indicated number and with which dice. The effect is pretty basic. However, Jackie teaches the an old marking system by Jules Lenier that is very effective. The system can easily be applied towards other effects.

Killer Finish (Jackie McClements)- This is a weak addition to the “Dicychometry” effect mentioned above that wouldn’t fly by many spectators. Plus, to use the method involved to reveal such trivial information is a bit of a waste. For the same amount of work, you could get rid of the dice altogether and divine information that actually means something to the spectator.

SOAP BOX SIDE NOTE- Jackie opens this description with the following line: “This fits well with the above routine. It adds a kicker finish and lengthens the whole procedure, eating up some valuable minutes if need be.” Are you kidding me? I hate to pick on Jackie as I have heard this line from other magicians as well, but why on earth would you ever want to “eat up valuable minutes” when performing for an audience. Trust me, there is an abundance of wonderful magic in this world for you to share with them. I cannot ever imagine being in a situation where “filling time” would be the best use of my talents.

Draw Your Own Conclusions (Alan Innes)- This is a drawing duplication routine similar to Max Maven’s “Mind’s Eye Deck” or Richard Osterlind’s “Design Duplication System.” The spectator doesn’t simply draw any picture. Instead, he chooses one from a stack of cards. Alan briefly outlines his presentation about supposedly figuring out the drawing by watching the way the spectator moves the pencil. This “pencil reading” angle is an interesting idea. Usually the power of drawing duplication effects seems to be the fact that there is no way (other than mind reading) that the mentalists could have received the information. Alan’s premise seems like something that could actually be possible with enough training. It lives on the border between impressive and impossible.

OverallI’m left feeling unfulfilled. While there are some clever ideas inside, I’m not sure who would feel completely satisfied with this collection. For a book on mentalism, the methods feel pretty magicky (i.e. using a bottom deal for ACAAN). I’m not against this completely, but be aware that most of the routines play as mental magic and not believable power of the mind demonstrations. If this suits your style, you may find the routines of use. Most people, however, would be better served by purchasing one of Peter Duffie’s other outstanding eBooks.

Not recommended.

For more reviews and information on my magic, please visit http://www.CalebWilesMagic.com