talkmagic.co.uk

First review so please be nice!


The Effect
128 page hard back book which claims that every magic trick invented is based on one or a combination of only nine basic effects. By giving examples of each you should be able to use these effects to 'create a wealth of magical effects'.



Cost
Priced at £14.99 on the cover (but bough for me by my mother for £1 from a closing bookshop).


Difficulty
(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)

1/2 - some prep work required for some effects but nothing too advanced.

Review
To be honest i think that this is aimed at a younger audience (judged by the assistants in the photographs) and i think it can be described as a watered down version of Mark Wilson's Complete Course.

Effects include basic card forces, coin p***ing, dissapearing glass with a hankie, torn and restored newspaper and some others totalling 27 in all.

Although it is more modern than Wilson's (using a mobile phone and PC in some effects), most of the content (and more) is covered in Complete Guide.

The only real advantage i can think of is that there are plenty of photographs and tips and so it may be more suitable for people who could find Wilson's difficult to digest.


Overall
Could serve as a nice pressie to get someone who has showed an interest in magic but £14.99 for 27 effects does seem steep. Nothing really jumped out as an effect or idea when reading this book. If this wasn't so directly comparable to Wilson's it would probably have scored more highly but i think i'll have to give it a 4/10.


ps the nine secrets are Production, Vanish, Transposition, Transformation, Penetration, Restoration, Telekinesis, Mind Magic and Amazing Abilities.

Great review.

Good review, I was looking at that book online, but I don't think I'll get it now.

Good stuff.

It's nice when people think to write a review of books that they don't think will be worth our time and money, as well as those that are.

In fact, if there were any book not reviewed here that I had read, then I'd post a review for it - only at the moment I'm only reading books as recommended by TM, so there's little chance of that happening for me.