Bulletproof by Andy Nyman

Review area devoted to Magic books, leaflets and other printed material

Moderators: nickj, Lady of Mystery, Mandrake, bananafish, support

Web Design for Magicians Manufacturer of modern & unique magic apparatus! Visit Magicbox for all the latest and best effects! Playing Cards for Magicians Sorcery Shop - Home of the ITR UK's Online Magic Tricks and Jokes Shop offers kids and beginner magic tricks and jokes.

Bulletproof by Andy Nyman

Postby sleightlycrazy » Jan 1st, '11, 02:42



The Effect

Strictly limited edition of only 750 copies
Each copy signed by Andy Nyman and hand-numbered
300 pages
Over two dozen actual props included inside the book
Over 40 high-impact, commercial Andy Nyman effects, some never before revealed
Insightful essays on mentalism and magic theory
More than 300 illustrations!
Bonus DVD behind the scenes of the series "Dead Set": "A Dream Come True," directed by and starring Andy Nyman
Original audio interview CD, Andy Nyman on Acting and Magic
Lavishly illustrated with clear explanatory photos
Full-color section
Deluxe leather binding


Andy Nyman is renowned worldwide for his ingeniously constructed mysteries and mind-blowing performances, along with his brilliant work with sensational mentalist Derren Brown.

Now he finally reveals some of his most preciously guarded secrets in Bulletproof, one of the most incredible mind-reading books ever published.

Bulletproof will teach you over three dozen of his reputation-makers, all practical, commercial, and diabolical, routined with Nyman's renowned psychological precision.

The book features ten essays on Andy's theories of magic and mentalism; his three lecture notes with revised effects and new photo illustrations; and updates and improvements on some of his best previously published effects, plus in-depth interviews, a preface by David Berglas, and foreword by Derren Brown.

Bulletproof includes a soon-to-be-legendary array of bonus items bound right into the book: over TWO DOZEN props ready to use in various Bulletproof routines: gaffed cards, postcards, signs, sheet music, a cue card, a magazine cover, and other unique items.

Also attached inside the book: a bonus CD of an interview with Nyman on mentalism and Andy's behind-the-scenes DVD of Dead Set, his BAFTA-nominated dramatic series.

Bulletproof is a strictly limited edition of only 750 copies, each signed by Andy Nyman and numbered. Printed on top-quality satin-finish paper, each copy is hardbound in luxurious leather with a full-color dustjacket and color section, with all bonuses bound into the book.




Cost
$250 from http://miraclefactory.net/zenstore/inde ... b00ba7d277


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)

2-4

Review

As I've expressed in my review of MAGIC by Taschen company, I like a good book. Being signed, limited edition, and leather bound only accentuated the good-ness of this book. I've only skimmed it so far, but every page I've read so far oozes quality.

The introduction by Derren Brown sheds light on their creative relationship and hints at their process. It's fascinating in its own right.

The material is very solid. I've been playing with a billet reading routine for over 3 years and recently found myself content with the design of the routine, which I found to be very deceptive. With influences like David Abbott, Tarbell, and Teller, I couldn't see any angles from which to improve what I made. Then I read the M.O.B. billet routine in this book. I will gladly throw away 3 years of work to start using the billet routine described in Bulletproof-- it's just that strong.

Although Nyman is primarily know among magicians for his mentalism, the book has a reasonably eclectic collection of material. He presents a couple card tricks that are very easy and practical and a coin trick that is a bit silly IMO, but can definitely play well with kids.

The props in the book are all high quality, but I do not think I will be using them; they are too nice to use. That said, I'm sure pros who can get good mileage out of the material will find the props to be durable enough for plenty of use.


Overall

10/10

Being a limited edition, signed, leather bound miracle factory book written by the partner of biggest name in mentalism of the 21st century with custom props included in the pages, this is a perfect buy for collectors, professionals, and bibliophiles alike.

Currently Reading "House of Mystery" (Abbott, Teller), Tarbell, Everything I can on busking
User avatar
sleightlycrazy
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1168
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 23:44
Location: California (21:WP)

Postby Ian The Magic-Ian » Jan 1st, '11, 08:57

Oh God! Hahah where am I going to get $250?

Great Review by the way. I love all of Andrew Nyman's effects and this sounds wonderful!

Barton: Have you read the Bible, Pete?
Pete: Holy Bible?
Barton: Yeah.
Pete: Yeah, I think so. Anyway, I've heard about it.
User avatar
Ian The Magic-Ian
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1758
Joined: Dec 27th, '07, 18:43
Location: Orlando, FL AH (In magic) EN ( In mentalism)

Postby naychandler1 » Jan 1st, '11, 17:10

i ordered two copies by accident last week!! oops..
but think i will hang on to them although the bank card didnt like it.

User avatar
naychandler1
Preferred Member
 
Posts: 130
Joined: Dec 4th, '08, 23:07
Location: westmidlands

Postby Lenoir » Jan 1st, '11, 17:25

Isn't half the material published elsewhere?

Lenoir
Elite Member
 
Posts: 4246
Joined: Dec 31st, '07, 23:06

Postby Part-Timer » Jan 11th, '11, 20:29

Lenoir wrote:Isn't half the material published elsewhere?


The book reprints Andy's three sets of lecture notes, but these have been revised. Well, some of them have. I only got the book yesterday, so it's early days, but the effect with the coins and film canisters was crying out for an update. Of course, anyone with any sense will be able to figure it out, but you could say the same of 'Deep Red Prediction'.

You also get some expanded explanations, with photographic illustrations of handlings, which were not in the original booklets.

I think all of the tricks in 'Get Nyman' (or almost all) were in those sets of notes, so you could say the material has been released three times now.

However, the book is really lovely, with glossy paper and great printing quality. You also get props for some of the tricks, such as 'The Dead Zone' (sadly, not the 'pro' version props!). There are many brand new effects, plus DVD material.

I have a feeling that Andy's lecture notes might now be out of print (although doubtless copies are still knocking around), but even though I own all three sets, I do not feel remotely cheated by the content of 'Bulletproof'. I am very happy with it. Apart from the fact that it was published over a year late, that is!

Part-Timer
Elite Member
 
Posts: 3085
Joined: May 1st, '03, 13:51
Location: London (44:SH)

Postby screwystewie » Jan 22nd, '11, 15:30

Part-Timer wrote: so you could say the material has been released three times now.


Sankey taught him everything he knows.

screwystewie
 

Postby Part-Timer » Feb 3rd, '11, 13:48

I thought I'd add my views.

The Effect
Deep Red Prediction/Think-a-Film, Homicide, The Screw-Up Factor, Take the Money and Run, Magicians' Graphology, No Way Out, Witness for the Prosecution, The Fargo Principle, The M.O.B. Billet Routine, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Charade, Mr. Saturday Night, Bonus Tips on Killer Elite, Con Air, Dead of Night, The Dead Zone, Chair Swindle, Kick in the Head, Gladiator, The Wet Headline Scenario, The Danny Rose Cigar Trick,
The Hidden, Atonement, Back to the Future, Big Reaction, The Burning, Centre Tear, The Gift, The Gourmet Coin Trick, The Greatest Showbiz Secret, The Heist, Identity, Mazel Tov Aura Test, Minted, Miracle Monte with Anthony Owen, Andy's Monte, Peeping Tom, Pop Out, The Sven Demo, Time After Time, Windows and The Stalking of Marie Ambrose: An After-Dinner Séance with Richard Wiseman.

Some of those are not tricks, but observations, mini-essays or the like. The Séance contains more than one effect. There is a host of other content too, such as reprinted interviews with Andy Nyman from the magic press.

Cost

$250 from: http://miraclefactory.net
Sorry, but a direct link to the product doesn't seem to work.

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)

2-4

Review

This is effectively, Andy Nyman's life's work in magic. His acting career is really taking off, and I suspect that there might not be a lot more magic to come from "The Diamond" (but I hope I am wrong).

Bulletproof is a truly lovely book. It looks fabulous. The quality of both the glossy paper it is printed on and the binding is top-notch. You also get a DVD, a CD and some props that are supplied in plastic wallets stuck into the book at appropriate spots.

Adopting the title of one of Andy's effects:

The Good

A huge number of signature Nyman routines. Anyone who is a fan of Andy's work will understand what I mean by this. I can, however, easily imagine that some people will not get on with Andy's style. He tends to favour relatively simple methods. Sometimes the effect is only a 50/50 chance or a 1 in 3 shot.

Where I think Andy excels is his presentation. This too can have a downside, in that some of the tricks are so much in his style that they might not work so well for other performers. Of course you should always strive to make a routine your own, but some of this material would have Andy's fingerprints all over it no matter what you did!

If, however, you are a performer who can take a simple effect and really sell it, then the tricks here might be for you. I think that almost all of them are very good indeed, and many are excellent.

I should point out that quite a few of the tricks are far from simple to perform and/or create. Some are downright devious. Good.

The bonus material is superb. The props are lovely (but see below) and quite a surprising addition. I'd have liked more weapon cards for Witness for the Prosecution, because they could be used for other tricks (including The Dead Zone, I think), but that is just me. You get what you need to perform the trick and that is all I can really expect.

The essays are mercifully brief, and lacking in pretension. The reprinted magazine articles are interesting.

However, the biggest praise I feel I can give is that I loved reading this book. Andy has a great writing style, which is very accessible, amusing and clear. I found myself re-reading sections not because I wanted to refresh my memory of the method, or to pick up some nuance in the technique, but simply because I enjoyed reading them.

By the way, some of the photographs are very funny.

The Bad

A lot of the tricks have been published before, as lecture notes. These effects have been revised, and in many cases the descriptions are now accompanied by photographic illustrations. Having said that, there could have been a bit more updating done in one or two places.

Also, quite a lot of the material from the lecture notes was featured in the Get Nyman DVD, so Bulletproof represents the third time out for some of the content.

I don't mind. The revisions that have been made, and the photographic illustration, make this a far superior product to the lecture notes. However, if your budget is tight, and you can find copies, then the lecture notes may be a good alternative source for quite a lot of the tricks in Bulletproof.

The Ugly.

The colour scheme for the Chair Swindle props. Ick.

Inevitably, some errors slipped in, including a photograph that accidentally bears a caption from The Gourmet Coin Trick. Overall, though, the proof-reading of this book was excellent. It made a welcome relief from the glut of badly spelled items released to the magic fraternity.

Overall

10/10

It is not perfect, but nothing ever is. Bulletproof is so close that I had to give it full marks.

Jheff Poncher said that Bulletproof was the best mentalism product of 2010, and I cannot disagree. Thank you to Andy for writing it and to Todd Karr for publishing it.

Part-Timer
Elite Member
 
Posts: 3085
Joined: May 1st, '03, 13:51
Location: London (44:SH)

Postby Beardy » Mar 12th, '11, 20:19

And now officially sold out! I'm glad I have one. Brilliant book! :) The matchstick effect is brilliant, in my opinion!

Love

Chris
xxx

"An amazing mind manipulator" - Uri Geller
"I hope to shake your hand before I die" - Derren Brown
"That was mightily impressive - I have absolutely no clue how you did that" - Tim Minchin
Beardy
Elite Member
 
Posts: 4221
Joined: Oct 27th, '05, 18:12
Location: London, England (25:SP)

Postby Wikipete » Jun 27th, '11, 02:32

It is a great book. Had mine about 3 months now and have read it twice. You learn something new every time.

User avatar
Wikipete
Junior Member
 
Posts: 42
Joined: Jun 18th, '08, 14:56
Location: Guildford, UK (20, SH)

Re: Bulletproof by Andy Nyman

Postby Martyn35 » Oct 26th, '11, 22:08

A quality printed book, some excelent material contained within.

However, what lets it down (bearing in mind that the book cost $250 from the publisher, who knows how much second hand....) is the proof reading.

Page 32, paragraphs 10 & 11 makes no sense in the working of the effect at all. Paragraph 1 on page 34 tells you what your next move is!!

Page 169, the photograph captions bear no relevance to the photographs on that page. They belong to the photographs on page 195, which are correctly captioned.

Page 72, I just don't understand the Bounty chocolate bar reference at all.........

These are just the ones that I have found browsing the book. For such an expensive book, the proof reading was atrocious.

Martyn35
New User
 
Posts: 7
Joined: May 29th, '11, 12:02
Location: So far south in London I might as well be in France.


Return to Reviews - Books and other printed formats

Aeternum Servare Secreta MagicWorld Magic Shop for Magic Tricks Best prices around! World-Of-Magic, Suppliers of quality Magic Worldwide Dude That's Cool Magic Best prices around! A web site set up to sell my book, THE STRIPPER DECK, and future magical/mentalism titles.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest