Deep Astonishment II "The Gypsy" - REVIEW

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Deep Astonishment II "The Gypsy" - REVIEW

Postby Tom Lauten » Jul 21st, '05, 11:13



Deep Astonishment II "The Gypsy" by Paul Harris & Rodney Whitlock

http://www.alakazam.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000 ... 1548#a1548

Price: £34.99

Difficulty: 2-3 out of 5

They say:
Everything About Deep Astonishment Has Been Improved, Simplified and Beautified.

You display a leather gypsy envelope and a beautiful old gypsy fortune telling deck. Each card has a fortune printed right on its face. You ask your "client" to utter the name of a special someone to create a relaxed fortune telling atmosphere. Let's say her special name is "Rose."

You then do a short three card reading for your client. The first card predicts good luck. The second card indicates an impending mystery. The third card hints that this impending lucky mystery might have something to do with an envelope. Could it be referring to the leather envelope lying on the table?

You open the leather envelope and remove a small packet of fortune telling cards. Their backs are a different color than the cards you've been using!

You slowly and cleanly deal the cards from the envelope on the table. The first card has a large hand drawn "R" on its back. The next card an "O". The nest an "S". The final card an "E"...spelling "Rose"!

No one says anything for a very long time. Then a single word escapes your client's lips. "HOW?"

NO Cue Cards!
NO Memorization
NO Mnemonics
NO Lead-in Effect!
NO Cards to Hold!
Totally Angle Proof!

Completely Streamlined!

Includes a custom-made leather envelope and a full-color gypsy fortune telling deck!

I say:
Personally...I feel this is an effect of frightening beauty.

The instructions present it as light-hearted but trust me...done well this could have a profound effect on spectators.

The word revelation is a truely magical moment and quite eerie. Of course one could handle it in a ham-fisted way with no style and it would appear to be an amusing puzzle at best but that's down to the skill of the performer.

The props are of top quality for an off the shelf item...quite convincing. The "envelope" in genuine leather and quite substantial. The cards are a tiny bit hokey but the faces are really nice.

The method is diabolical and well hidden. What is most impressive is the way that the workings and method is so well integrated into the credible routine. This is the real improvement. Everything works in unison with everything else, so much so that the trick becomes an issue of performance only. Perfect.


Overall:
One of my favourites.

"DA II" suits my personal style much better, one of story telling from a personal perspective, e.g. "My Great Uncle used to work as a shill in a sideshow..." etc. (he did actually).

The props are convincing and lend themselves to a "storyline" more easily than "DA I's'" props. The story also allows for a more..."credible" series of "moves"...everything seems to be in context with the premise.

Having said all of this, "DA 1" is still a fine effect and may well suit people who prefer a "slick cardician" approach, for them a set of old fortune teller cards would be very much out of place.

If you like tricks with the feel of "Free Will" and other semi-bizarre/mentalism effects, this is a perfect addition to your collection.

Rating: A solid 9.5 out of 10

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Postby bananafish » Jul 21st, '05, 11:23

Personally...I feel this is an effect of frightening beauty.


Steady on old chap - you are starting to sound like Max Maven!

Well I don't know what to say about that reveiw, apart from I know I will buy DAII. It sounds right up my street and just the kind of thing that I enjoy performing...

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Postby Tom Lauten » Jul 21st, '05, 11:40

I knew I heard that quote somewhere! LOL

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Postby Johnny Wizz » Jul 21st, '05, 11:49

Thanks for a great review, this sound like an awesome effect.

Can you give me any idea of the degree of difficulty? I know that the 1 - 5 rating should suffice but before my wife discovers I have committed another thirty odd pounds to magic could you give me a clue like comparing it to another trick or sleight please?

If this is too revealing I will totally understand

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Postby Tom Lauten » Jul 21st, '05, 12:01

Hard to compare it.

There are no "sleights" or moves per say.

It takes a bit of practice to get the routine flowing correctly and to remember to do everyting at the right time but the "everything" isn't a matter of dexterity or difficulty, just familiarity, style and blocking.

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Postby Johnny Wizz » Jul 21st, '05, 12:03

Thanks for that.

Hand me my credit card!

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Postby Daza XIII » Jul 21st, '05, 15:16

Nice review and I must admit I'm tempted. Is there any limit on the length of name though, i.e. could it spell out twenty odd letters?

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Postby Tom Lauten » Jul 21st, '05, 15:47

There is no real limit...except reasonability! :wink:

A simple name usually works best for emotional and psychological impact.

3-6 letters is the norm for most English names and fits the routine perfectly.

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Postby Mandrake » Jul 21st, '05, 17:39

The original DA could handle longer words but the suggestion was for 'an easily remembered magic word, perhaps 3, 4 or 5 letters or so' otherwise the routine took a while to work through. I guess DA II is the same?

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Postby Tom Lauten » Jul 21st, '05, 18:45

Very much the same...but much easier.

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Postby Replicant » Jul 22nd, '05, 12:38

This looks very interesting. What is the quality of the cards like? Are they made by USPCC? Looks like I have yet another trick to add to my wish list (which only has five items on it, admittedly). Thanks for the review.

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Postby Mandrake » Jul 22nd, '05, 12:49

I've only just opened my set, but I can see that the cards aren't Bike standard but are coated for fairly easy movement. They're a Gypsy Fortune Telling Deck so the normal card faces are reduced in size and printed in one corner of the card with other images and a random fortune taking up the rest of the space. Definitly nothing like Bikes at all!

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Postby bananafish » Jul 22nd, '05, 12:56

Definitly nothing like Bikes at all!


Which for this sort of effect I think is a good thing. It certainly takes it away from being just another card trick...

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Postby Martin Le Guerre » Jul 23rd, '05, 17:34

I agree that the fact that they are not bikes is probably a good thing given that they are supposed to be fortune telling cards rather than playing cards. Certainly had fun showing my daughter 'Rose' and she was impressed when she saw her name spelt out, which is a good start. Can't wait to try it with some other specs and other names.

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Postby FlipBack » Jul 25th, '05, 17:44

Thats sounds like a great trick. I find that the best mentalism is revealing words or details that you could have never known before hand.

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