talkmagic.co.uk

I would like to make a point about the mandatory 'out of ten' score you have to give at the bottom of these reviews. I never like these scores as they strike me as meaningless and arbitrary. So to help with that I've devised a point giving system for five categories that go into making an effect worth purchasing.


Audience reaction
0. Bad knew how it was done or was bored by it
1. Good intrigued by it, don't know how it is done 'you are clever'.
2. Amazed, Impossible, must be magic/ psychic (whatever you say it is).

Practicality
0. Impractical there are better methods
1. Practical but so are other methods
2. Best method, simple, direct and invisible

Adaptability
0. None. This is a trick not a method can't use it as is? Tough
1. It can be. A bit of redressing and this is plausible in other styles, still need to justify moves/ props.
2. Completely. No props or items needed, invisible method/ gimmick,

Faffing about
0. 21 card trick. Too much faffing about for the payoff
1. O.O.T.W. Some faffing about, but easily disguised/ forgotten
2. Ultra mental deck. What faffing about? The tricks done.

Originality
0. King rising levitation. It may be a a bold and new method but effect-wise we've seen it all before
1. Torn 2 pieces. Another bloody torn and restored trick but with a nice new twist
2. Coinvexed. New method, new effect. No coins switched here.


Of course this means that technically something can get 5/10 (2 for audience reaction, 1 for practicality, 0 for adaptability, 1 for faffing about and 0 for originality) and still be better than something that gets an 8 of ten (2 for everything but 0 for audience reaction) which is why I'll include the score it got in each category. Also I know that audiance reaction is the most important thing so it may not be fair to give it equal scoring power as say 'practicality', but since it also depends on the performer not the effect I think it balances out. As a comparison my five favorite effects are scored thusly and listed form most favorite to least.

Talisman 8/10
Zodiac 6/10
Chicago opener 5/10
Arcana 7/10
Smoke reading 5/10
(they all got a 2 in audience reaction btw)




Ultimate mind reading

I'm going to tell you all how I got this effect and why I'm reviewing it now (I think this may be my first review) along with a disclaimer about my own objectivity with this and future reviews.

In this post Simon offered to give this effect and one other to those who brought skullcrusher and didn't notice the deal available. I liked Skullcrusher so much and was so pleased with the price that I didn't feel comfortable taking advantage of such a generous offer. However I did feel a bit peeved (at myself) for missing out on this deal.
So I emailed him and asked instead if I could buy the 'Ultimate mind reading' pack and he substitutes 'Skull crusher' with 'Mind slasher' (Valued at 2.99). Which I felt was fair for everyone.
What Simon did instead was send me the Ultimate mind reading and Touch of genius and Mind slasher all for free, asking me to do a review of them and offering me future free review items later. I emailed him back saying I would be happy to do this, but while I was well read I only had a couple of years performance experience and there were probably more worthy people on this forum to ask. I also pointed out that even though I was grateful and thought he was incredibly generous, I may still be critical of some of his work. He didn't mind and was happy to let me do it.

Fan-Tucking-Fastic.

As I pointed out in the above post I believe U.Y.D is secretly evil and so I conclude that this is a clever ploy on his part to corrupt me and turn me into a voice piece for his company. Sickeningly complementing his every effect and blindly defending his every action, in the hope that I would get more free stuff later, and it's worked.

Well sort of.

I am going to do my level best to remain objective and fair in my reviews of his products. I will include the good bits and the bad taking each one as they come.
However I am now very kindly disposed towards Simon and I do have an invested interest that my reviews will increase his sales so I can continue to enjoy this devil's pact, which may well colour my conclusions.
I tell you all of this so that you know where I stand in my reviews. I feel obligated to Simon to review these products and I feel obligated to you to be honest, but I am, for now, on Simons side.

Finally I will not review something until I have practiced the method and performed it on a real audience (Non family and friends).


The Effect
Ultimate mind reading from Unleash your dreams


Cost
Free with Skullcrusher


Difficulty 1
(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

What they say

FAQ’s
Any gimmicked cards? No!
Any sticky stuff? No
Any funny moves? No
Any stooges? No
Any double talk? No
Any other questions?
Please email us at from our contact page.
Simple,direct magic that is hard hitting and easy to learn.

Ultimate mind reading along with the free cold reading guide will be sent in Ebook format to you within minutes of ordering

We begin with Ultimate mind reading where the spectator cuts the cards and selects one (no force) they remove it from the deck and pockets it, the cards are then placed in the box and they are put away, they can even be put in the spectators pocket if you wish. You then correctly divine the card taken under these seemingly impossible condition. You can be out of the room when the card is taken.

What I say.

Firstly what the audience (three people at a pub) saw/rememberd. I divined a card they had hidden in their pocket. I never saw any cards myself.

Ultimate mind reading is neither Ultimate in the sense that it is the last piece of mindreading you will do or in the sense that it's the best mind reading you can do. It is, in fact, standard. Not bad but not earth shattering either. In fact if your well read and have enough experience with the subject matter you may find you've learnt nothing new. The Audience reaction to it was actually stronger than I expected it to be, and the method was surprisingly well disguised, but I don't think I'm going to be using it too much as I already have plenty of mind reading card effects that don't require I add anything new to my selection of props.

This effect does use a very old well established technique. Chances are when you read it you'll already understand the principles behind it, for those who don't, Simon goes into a simple, strait forward description of the method. While it does include a bit of memory work, it's so simple if you were able to navigate the payment system you will be able to do this. For the terminally dense who got their nurse to download this eBook, Simon includes a useful table that can fit on the back of your card pack that you can use as a guide.

He then goes on to describe the gaff you will need to make to allow you to add a level of misdirection to the effect, without looking at any of the cards, you place them back into the packet (or a spectator can) and you put it away in your pocket. You've now seen everything you need to reveal the thought of card in whatever fashion you desire.

Rip off?
Lets talk about this issue brought up here The effect Mr Grue is talking about is 'Trionic' on page 69 in M,M&M. Before seeing this I thought the gaff made in Ultimate mind reading was a unique twist on an old method but I was wrong. The method/ gaff is explained and used here. If you have M,M&M you really won't get anything new form U.M.R.

However there is a significant difference that I feel warrants mentioning.

For the M,M&M version you need to buy
6 decks of cards (Total cost ranging from £6 if your lucky to £18 if your not)
a stylus or ball point pen without ink
an index card
a marking pen
an X acto knife or razor blade
Rubber cement

If you don't already have these items it will cost you close to, if not over, £20. I was once offered oral sex for less than that, and I would have had enough left over to buy some fancy soap to wash the shame off with.

Now with 'U.M.R.' you need

A pack of cards
An X actro knife or razor blade

Chances are you won't have to spend an extra penny to do this effect. So you can spend your money on all the skanky crackhead sex you want.

Furthermore the M,M&M card effect requires two decks while the U.M.R. only needs one. If your like me and your already bogged down with two many bloody decks of cards this can make all the difference in whether you want to use this effect or not.

Nonetheless the M,M&M version is stronger and more varied, it's a three phase effect including mind reading, remote viewing and clairvoyance/influence (depending on what type of bullsh*t you like to peddle) while U.M.R. is a single, simple one card mindreading effect.

However while individually this trick is not the best I happily admit that when you do U.M.R and Touch of genius together you get a very strong routine with a much stronger reaction, combined you have a four part card prediction with virtually no skill other than showmanship needed, using only a single prepared deck you have a full routine that you can add the Skullcrusher to as a kicker (but I didn't and I'll explain why). So combined you have an easier, simpler although still possibly not as strong version of the M,M&M effect that doesn't require multiple decks.

Now as I mentioned above I personally wouldn't do the skullcrusher effect along with U.M.R. or T.O.G.
While Skullcrusher can be used as a final part in combination with U.M.R and T.O.G I feel that it would make all three effects cheaper. In my mind the problem is that A) It might take awhile for your audience to find someone on the phone with a pack of cards and the time to do this effect, and B) Skull crusher requires you throw away the old formula of cutting the deck to select a card, and replacing it with a few other moves that may well kill the idea that your mindreading and present the idea that your doing a trick.

I could be wrong here but I just felt I would have a tough time explaining why the person over the phone can't just cut to a card when I quite clearly proved I can divine them this way while out of the room. So instead I went with a different over the phone card prediction that requires a stacked deck which I already had on me, and a participant who I already knew wanted to see it.

A final note
Included in U.M.R. is a small subtlety using a well known cheap magic item to allow the spectator to 'feel something happening' as you read their minds. This is a nice little addition and almost makes up for the fact that there is nothing new in the initial effect.

Conclusion
I suppose if you think this is a rip off depends on whether you think a magician selling their version of a cup and balls routine or an A.C.R. is a rip off.

While it's not very unique in either method or effect it is essentially a routiene more than a method not to mention it's a free bonus that you get along with 'Skull crusher' and 'Touch of genius' and knowing how this is done will not damage the value or worth of purchasing M,M&M later. Have you seen the size of this bloody book? I have on occasion successfully used it as a blunt murder weapon, drop it on someones head from a second story window and their entire spine telescopes, it's full of lethal mentalism.

For most of you, the real trick worth getting here is Skullcrusher. So look at it and ask yourself 'Can I do this already?' if not you might as well go for the U.M.R. pack. I for one forgot about the M,M&M version until it was mentioned, so I can't deny that through getting this I rediscovered a nice, if already published technique. Not to mention that you are also getting a well polished performance, and lets face it, some people need that.

I would say that this is an effect worth getting for those that really like card mentalism as it will show you a usefull gaff, as well as that nice subtlety I mentioned. Although for those of you who have Mind, Myth and Magick that gaff is available on page 75.
.

Overall

Audience reaction.....1
Practicality...............1
Adaptability..............1
Faffing about............2
originality.................0
total................... 5/10

The Effect
Touch of Genius from unleash your dreams


Cost
Free with skullcrusher


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


Review
As this trick comes with 'Ultimate mind reading' So I'm including it here. Once again I'm using the same 'out of ten' scoring principle I used before.

I also realize that both these reviews are probably pointless as they both come free with skull crusher and I imagine everyone here has already brought it, (and if you haven't why not? It's only £3.99 ffs, some packs of cards are more expensive than that,) but I promised Simon I would do these reviews and I thought I'd do this one to complete the set while I wait on getting the tools I need to make 'mind slasher'.

I recently went to a lecture in Newcastle and stayed the night at a hostel, this gave me an opportunity to try out this effect a few times, twice on its own and once as part of a longer routine. So I'll not only be able to tell you whether it works I'll also be able to tell you what I think gets the best response.

What the audience sees
A pack of cards (borrowed if you like) is shuffled and cut into three or more piles by the spectator, you then hover your hand over each pile and correctly name each of the top cards in the pile checking each time that you are correct and then confirming it at the end.

What they say

The touch of Genius the cards are then taken from the box and shuffled by the spectator they are shown to be truly mixed up, then cut into three piles, as your hand hovers over the piles you name each card on the top of the piles, they are then shown to be correct, once again your powers are now shown to be strong.

What I say

Once again like Ultimate mind reading, the effect when done properly is very strong and this will fool lay audiences, however chances are if your experienced this doesn't contain any methods that you don't already know about.

I just want to talk about part of the description of the effect 'as your hand hovers over the piles you name each card on the top of the piles, they are then shown to be correct, once again your powers are now shown to be strong.'

'This is a perfect example of what magicians hate when they read adverts, I call it description magic, or psychological pick pocketing. Technically what's said here is true, and with the right presentation it may even be what the spectators remember (which is all that's important) but the fact is this description paints a picture in your mind about how the events play out that is not true, and It's this description that gets our interest. Because technically we all already know how to predict three cards that the spectators chooses at random, it's an old magic method, you might know it. It's called 'finding the spectators card'.

Single effect V.S Full routine
I think when done on its own it's just not that strong. A layman won't see through it, but this effect works best if you start with something else, something to establish your skills or powers as a mind reader, otherwise it does feel like a fairly basic card trick. If however you've done a few other effects to show that you are a genuine wizard (and if you want the effect to seem impromptu) you can then ask if you can borrow a pack of cards and really wow people with this. I think Simon knows this which is why he included it in a package with two other effects. In fact he describes the group of effects as a three part act.

A magician fooler?
I should mention that one member of a group I tired it on was a magician according to his friends, I didn't get a chance to talk to him properly so I have no idea whether he was a fan, hobbyist or working magician, (I got the impression he was a hobbyist) but he was either fooled by the effect or was being very polite.
So this may be a magician fooler but I wouldn't know and wont find out because I hate performing to you lot.

This effect is not bulletproof.
One time I did it on its own and it completely bombed, not only that but I think it diminished my image as a mind reader in the audiences eyes. However this was a group of Scottish lads, aged around 20, that were all off their heads on vodka and cocaine at the time. Plus it was two in the morning, and one of the members of the group had tried to spike my drink while another had got his c**k out as his idea of a witty retort, (Don't do coke kids, it turns you into a knob).
So it really wasn't the right environment, and I was quite rattled. It became more about them trying to catch me out that enjoying the performance. However some other effects I did before this still impressed them, so while it was mainly the audience it was also partly the trick. It works, but only in the right environment.

However I tried it again later with a lovely French couple and got that response magicians crave far more than applause, stunned silence.
This wonderful moment of awe that tells you you've taken them out of their normal reality and introduced the possibility that what they've seen might be real. They knew the cards were normal they knew they had shuffled them and they knew they had cut it into three random piles, I still predicted all three.

Overall
If your new to magic you should buy this effect, and don't be put off by the apparent simplicity, this is the kind of stuff you should be using, since it's practically self working and quite bold in its aplication you'll have to focus on the presentation rather than on fancy moves or flourishes to pull it off. Also it can't be performed on youtube so hopefully it will encourage you to get out of your room and try it on real people. When done right this effect is a winner, remember advanced or complicated isn't the same as good.

Audience reaction.....2
Practicality................2
Adaptability...............1
Faffing about............1
Originality.................0
Total....................6/10

Thanks for the reviews. I like your scoring system, it's well thought out and useful. I also hate (maybe too strong a word) out of 10 verdicts as one person's 7/10 is not necessarily what another person thinks of as 7/10. And while we're on the subject what exactly does 7/10 tell me? 6 means slightly better than average, don't expect too much, 8 means it's good but it didn't merit a 9 and if anyone gives a 10 we don't really know how good it is because there is no 11, one 10/10 can be hundreds of degrees better than another 10/10 by the same reviewer.

I will check out both products and will probably make a purchase.