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pdjamez · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:12 am Post subject: Tricks by David Ben

Title: “Tricks” By David Ben.

Supplier: Penguin Magic

Cost: £16.17

Difficulty: Ranges from 1 to 5 (see below).
(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)

Marketing Blurb:
Cards. Wonder. Roses. Cell Phones. Sleight of Hand. Hot Coffee. Matchbooks. Miracles. Finger Rings. Wands. Credit Cards. Bottlecaps. Astonishment. Coins. Cigarette Papers. Bafflement. Laptop Computers. Postage Stamps. Sugar Packets. Secrets.

These are the things David Ben's Tricks is made of.

Tricks contains material for all skill-levels, from technically demanding renditions of the "Cards to Pocket" and "Open Travelers" to self-working "Faux Automata" using cellular phones and laptop computers. In between, close up miracles, parlor tricks and stage effects abound. Standout effects include "Postage Prediction," a no-nonsense mental effect with postage stamps; "Bad Habits," an improved, logical version of the "Cigarette Through Quarter" plot; and "Matchless Psychometry," an up-to-date version of Annemann's classic "Pseudo-Psychometry."

Ben has also revealed the inner-workings behind selections from his acclaimed theatrical productions The Conjuror and The Conjuror's Suite. Tricks also includes the performance scripts for these effects - giving the reader a complete view of how a seasoned professional develops material for the real world.

Within these pages you will gain insight into a host of miracles that David Ben has made his living with for the last 20 years. Detailed are not only the rudiments of each effect, but also the select secrets only available to a working professional who has performed a trick hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Inside, you'll find the tricks behind Tricks.

Review:
David Ben is Ross Bertrams only protege, and has won critical acclaim in his home town of Toronto with his presentations of parlour magic. This book contains a collection of material from Bens working repertoire covering card, coin, mentalism, credit cards, bottle tops and much much more. If you discount the over exuberant "compared to Paul Harris' legendary set Art of Astonishment" this may be one of those instances where the blurb matches the reality.

The material is strong and the production value of the book is great with well written explanations, historical perspectives and solid illustrations. There really is a lot of good material in this book. My personal favourites being:

Worse Habits: A very nice impromptu bar top cup and ball. Without the cup or the ball. (I'm keeping this in reserve for any future cup and ball competition.)
Scarne-Bertram Prediction: An explanation of an impossible prediction performed by Scarne on television in the 50s.
Card on Ceiling: The classic effect using a Bertram handling.

However, there is one problem with this book. With the wide variety of effects and the wide variety of skill levels required it is difficult to see who the target market is. If your a beginner you will find a good range of effects but you may not have the skills to perform them. In addition, David makes heavy use of references so if your magic library isn't up to scratch then you will have problems following some of the explanation. If your more advanced then the wide range of effects implies a lack of depth and therefore may disappoint.

On reflection, this is a book for the advanced performer who has a creative streak. I found the material very interesting and it kicked off a number of ideas for exploration. Although there are effects that you may add to your day to day routine, I think its real value is as creative source material.

Overall:
This is a great source of ideas and provides insight into another creative performers process. If you actively create your own effects, you'll get a great deal out of this book. If your a beginner then be warned, there are lots of good effects here, but some will be too advanced or you won't have the appropriate reference material. Its still a darn good collection, though.

Effects: 8/10
Quality: 8/10
Value For Money: 8/10