talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect
(what they say)
Several pages are torn out of a current TIME magazine. A random page is chosen and handed to a volunteer. From then on you never handle the page. You ask the volunteer to TEAR the page in half and discard a piece dropping it to the floor. They continue to tear and discard pieces of the page until only a small piece remains. They can even CHANGE THEIR MIND AND exchange their final piece for ANY piece on the ground. The volunteer can now look at either side of the piece and and just THINK of a word. You can be blindfolded or across the room and tell them the word with 100% accuracy


Cost
around the £65 - £70 range (shop around) I got mine through Magic Box £69.99
At first the price tag seems quite high but then when you see the quality of the gimmicks you receive it's all justified.

Difficulty
(I hate this part)

3

THIS IS NOT A DIFFICULT TRICK TO PERFORM
BUT it is not a self working trick either so a small amount of effort is required, BE WARNED! It is painfully easy to perform this trick badly so you will need to practice this effect regardless of which version you choose to perform (a couple of variations are given)
often when a trick has no technical difficulty involved magicians tend to think they can lift it out of the envelope and put it directly into that nights act without practicing it several times.

(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)



Review

This trick is credited to Nathan Kranzo but all "influences"/previous/similar methods/etc are credited.


It's a magazine/book test and it does exactly what it should do but with a method so clean and "easy" you are left to concentrate on performance.
No matter which variation you use (I'll call them destructive and non-destructive methods) the outcome is always spot on every time.
The quality of the gimmicks supplied are faultless and that subsequently turns them "invisible" allowing the performer to never worry about giving a spectator anything that may raise suspicions or seem strangely out of place.
"When you purchase the TRU TEST Magazine Test KIT you will receive the instruction manual detailing routines, bonus ideas and all the nuances about the test." that's what the blurb says - and you do indeed receive instructions - HOWEVER... If you have never performed or owned an effect like this before then I think the instructions as supplied really don't go far/deep enough. You are just given the bare bones of how it works and left to "flesh out" the rest for yourself. Some may see this as a positive thing but as previously mentioned it's easy to perform this effect badly so some additional guidance would have been nice.

I could be wrong but I think this is an American product (I'm almost sure of it but if I'm wrong then MODS, feel free to edit) and so if you are looking to use this in the UK you may have to revise the magazines used -now I understand that this may seem like a small point - but it isn't - because of the size of the gimmicks you are VERY limited in which UK magazines the gimmick will look "natural" coming from.
A trip to your local newsagents with a spare gimmick is all that's required to solve that problem though.

No memory work is required ,as a method to perform otherwise is given - I personally wouldn't use the "no memory" method as the amount to remember is small and if you invest in that little bit extra it pays huge dividends as a result!

You receive 100 of the gimmicks (so you have plenty to practice with) and in the instructions they explain how you can do a "non-destructive method" so in theory the trick will last a lifetime. Again, the non-destructive method for me was very weak in comparison to the destructive method but at least you have options!

There is a bit of "fishing" involved which is not hard to do but once again the method given in the instructions is one that I would never use as it's a bit weak. But that's my personal opinion. It's so hard to justify my statements here without risking any disclosure! Feel free to PM me if you would like the method I use plus any of the other little bits of business I've worked out for this particular magazine test.

Overall
I adore performing this trick.
Put in the extra work that this trick doesn't ask you to do, and the small amount of memory work that it does, and you will have an incredible effect that you WILL use.

I could be wrong but I think this is an American product (I'm almost sure of it

Nathan's American so your guess is probably right. Sounds like a great routine, once those 100o gimmicks are used up can more be bough without buying the whole thing over again?

I've not seen any "refill" packs but they may exist. However I very highly doubt it. You would have to buy a new product every time. I've also PM'd you more details to prevent disclosure.

Thanks for that, as is quite usual in magic, the cost of buying replacements for used/destroyed or 'given away' stock is just part and parcel of the process. Probably cheaper than replacing decks of Bikes used up in T&R routines or flung at the ceiling!

I think you can buy Time here in London in some of the larger magazine stockists. I'm quite sure you can. I've seen the US version of WIRED, I remember that for certain, they'd put a sticker on the front making it clear that it's the US version. Maybe it was in Borders before that closed down, but I'm sure there'd be other stockists too. I'm sure I've seen Time too.

Of course, there's the issue of having a US magazine in the UK or elsewhere. I guess you could turn up for the gig wearing a cowboy hat and carrying a suitcase full of fluffy towels and pretend you've just got off the plane from "the States". Though, that might be overkill.

There's a fantastic magazine test on vol 1 of Osterlind's Mind Mysteries DVDs, however, which will surely seem 100% clean to the average punter. No refills (well, you'd have to buy the magazine) and it wouldn't cost you seventy quid.

Not criticising this effect, I've often paid a fortune for an effect that could be done cheaply. Just sayin'. *shrugs*

There are at present two MOABT inspired book tests using magazines instead of books. TruTest by Nathan Kranzo and GLANCE by Steve Thompson. I was intrigued by being able to use magazines instead of books. Nobody over here has ever heard of the books used in most book tests perhaps with the exception of Harvey Berg's brilliant "Age of Innocence," "Madame Bovary" and "Pride and Prejudice" 3 book set (highly recommended) and of course Word in a Million that you can do with most any book.
So they all kind of whisper "prop" which cannot be said about TIME or Newseek or the Economist. (If you want to use Newsweek be warned no new printed issues will ever be printed anymore, so stock up on old issues)
I bought both TrueTest and Glance. They are both vey good. That said, GLANCE is usable right out of the pack, TrueTest needs a little prepration, but that is done quickly. As has been pointed out by many reviewers TrueTest would be excellent were it not for the apparent neglect of detail in the production process. The way it is sold now it is probably perfect for street magic and big audiences but a bit risky for small extremely critical audiences that will not promptly respond to spectator management, e.g. spectators that refuse to be pressured and do not immediately do what you tell them to do but take their time it. My specs are of this type. Oviously what may not be a problem for a performer of Kranzo's calibre may be a problem for less accomplished performers like me. GLANCE is excellent the only drawback being that if you want to do the "tear page" performance that is the "bravado" in TrueTest, you will run up a much higher cost than with TrueTest where tearing up the chosen page sets you back just 1 $.
I have been trying to get hold of the manufacturer of GLANCE to find out whether one could buy a big bunch of the magazines at a reduced price after having paid the very reasonable 50 $ for two magazines, but unfortunately the http://www.vanishingincmagic.com website given in the instructions never leads anywhere. If you can get hold of that www please e- mail me at v.freymann@welho.com

Kaarlo von Freymann Helsinki Finland

I might sell my MOABT and go the magazine route.