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The Effect
A collection of original material from the working repetoire of Rev Tristan, someone whose shows take you into very dark places whilst entertaining you to the full!


Cost
£9.97 until the 5th March 2012 and available from www.unholybooks.weebly.com


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)

Varies, but there is something for all skill levels. A lot depends on your performances skills and persona.


Review

I am delighted that the good Rev has finally unleashed his book upon us. I have known of his original, dark and wonderful ideas as we have had many chats, being kindred spirits in the darker side of magic, and some of these ideas have been previously published in the Mystic Menagerie, to a great response. I received a lot of enthusiastic feedback regarding the routines and ideas that were in those early issues and await more from the the Rev and now he has given is a whole books worth!
Tarology is a great routine using, you guessed, tarot cards and plays really well as a stage piece as well as for smaller audiences, Revelations is a real killer of an idea and something that I was blown away by when Tristan told me about it... There are so many good routines in this book which are from Tristan's actual show, no pipe dreams here but real, solid workers that have been audience tested.
The book is well written with very clear instructions and great illustration detailing every routine in depth. In true bizarrist fashion, Tristan has built some great stories around these pieces making them something very special and elevating them way above the status of mere 'tricks'.

This is a great book and one that I recommend strongly. I hope we see more releases from the good Rev as he's got so many ideas in that brain of his and they are well worth sharing!



Overall
9/10 A superb book full of high quality, audience-tested pieces and for the current price, a real bargain!

I'd certainly echo Freddy's comments - this is a very worthwhile tome (not tomb!!) of dark entertainment.

A little on each of the contained effects:

Tsarology (is this a typo?) – A four spec combined Tarot reading, where the reader correctly identifies which querent chose which card. As a finale – the fourth querent is read blind, before card is revealed, and reader correctly identifies which card was selected.


Revelations – A very nice Tarot Deck vs. Biblical warning of the final days, where three major signs of Judgement Day are accurately echoed in three random spectator-selected Tarot cards.


The Mark of the Beast – A clever spin on product barcodes, that ties in with the number of the Beast; your spectators will become avid barcode readers!

This effect, I must say, is more of a curiosity than a full-blown routine. That said, it's worth its place here, as it can be well-used to enhance other routines, or as a convincer in conjunction with everyday items you are using; there's plenty of scope to introduce this in a variety of ways


And You shall be Forgiven – The Jewel in the crown of this collection, without a doubt; this is a very nice method for revealing and cleansing (or perhaps punishing, if you’re in a truly evil mood!) a spectator’s inner sin.

This involves a chalice/incense burner, flash paper, and a very sneaky peek method, which can be easily be used with any number of other effects .

If your presentational skills are good, and you can find some nice props to use, this will play BEAUTIFULLY.



All in all, this is a really nice collection (in a Kindle-friendly format, too!) of pieces of dark beauty, which will sit nicely in any bizarre performers set. If shadows and spooks are your thing, this is a must-read for the price.

An easy 8.5/10 (losing a point or so for the whole Angels/Angles and a few other nit-picky proofing errors - I'm so awkward )

I echo the words uttered here! This book is well worth investing in. Well done Tristan.

I took a good read of Fragmented Thoughts this morning and found it offered some great effects, a couple of which could fit straight into a project I'm currently working on.

Tsarology (Tarology)?

A nice mentalism routine given a bizarre feel by use of the tarot, and with a lovely little kicker twist at the end.

Revelations - (Bitter Sweet?)

A suitable follow on from the first effect using the tarot and a bible - god vs the devil?

The Mark of the Beast

Method-less mentalism, the success of this all depends on the presentation and surroundings. Not a routine on it's own but an interesting observation that can be tied in with a bible effect.

And you shall be forgiven

At the end of the book this is the one effect I wanted to go out and try immediately. Requires a few props that I'd be surprised if most mentalists didn't already own.

For the 'Tarology' and 'And you shall be forgiven' effects alone, this is worth the £9.97.

Guys thanks for the kind words, glad you all enjoy what dark things spill from my brain

Is this only for the dark side or can it be used in a more fun way?

The dark side IS fun!

You could replace the tarot with normal cards in the Tarology effect and Tristan does include a routine for playing cards in the pdf. And the final effect 'you shall be forgiven' teaches a new technique with a billet if you use them in a mentalism act which is great when combined with a bit of flash paper, and these techniques are transferable. The Mark of the Beast is what it is and is a quirky bit of knowledge for the pub if nothing else. The revelations is fairly tarot specific.

So the two strongest effects could be useful for someone less-than-bizarre?

Hope that helps.

Just to Echo ACE T's words, the two routines mentioned can be done in a less bizarre way.

In fact Tsarology was first created with just playing cards years before I stepped over into the darkside and You shall be forgiven can be used for anything where you can use a billet that you later burn.

Hope that helps

All of the above accolades are very true, and then some, but I spotted part of a sentence which sums up the whole book for me, ‘some simple but strong pieces of bizarre theatre’ – that’s it in a nutshell. All the routines and effects are very do-able, most if not all can be ‘lightened’ for general use but, to be frank, they’re far better performed in exactly the way Rev.T intends them to be performed. They are theatre, the specs will have an amazing and enjoyable experience and, as we say time and time again, the performance is what makes everything worth experiencing – for both the audience and the performer.

Several times throughout the book I found myself thinking that a particular routine would be excellent when performed before/after one or other of the items in the books by Freddie V, Paul V and Stephen W. Think of them as ingredients which can be mixed, matched, blended and served in almost infinite different ways.

Highly recommended and I sincerely hope this will just be the start of many works from the good (or possibly bad !) Rev.

Tristan is a great thinker and puts a hell of a lot of thought into his performances and effects.
I saw a preview of another book that he was writing which was brilliant stuff, particularly for the seance worker and I hope he releases this one next.

Lord Freddie wrote:Tristan is a great thinker and puts a hell of a lot of thought into his performances and effects.
I saw a preview of another book that he was writing which was brilliant stuff, particularly for the seance worker and I hope he releases this one next.

My second book should have been my first but I think it should be played the way it is.

Mandrake thank you for sugesting that I should fit between anyones work.

I just say what comes to my mind and if people feel ok after my rants then I am happy that they want to share my stuff

Just wanted to echo the above, I've said it before, we are very blessed at the moment with the quality of performers and the material they are sharing in the Bizarre field. Even though I'm just a hobbiest, I'm still only interested in material that is devised and road tested by the people who do the material to earn a living and the routines in Fragmented Thoughts are both practical and very strong.

The stand out effect for me was definitely 'And you shall be forgiven' though the other effects are no less strong, just this is the one that had me making little excited girlish 'eep eep' noises as I read it. Applicable method to a number of different effects it's the one that really got me thinking.

All in all, well done Tristran, I look forward to reading your next one.

One minor quibble, the book does need a spell and word usage check, it aroused the ire of my inner teacher.

A very solid 8.5 out of ten.

Heckler wrote:One minor quibble, the book does need a spell and word usage check, it aroused the ire of my inner teacher.

All sorted now Heckler, will send you a re-edited version out.

Thanks for the kind words all of you, really pleased that you all enjoyed it.

The next one will be out soon and from the feedback I've had, I think the bizarrists out there will like it

Just want to echo the sentiment in this thread. Fragmented Thoughts contains some great material that you can start 'playing with' straight away. It's on my 'stuff to explore' pile at the moment, and, for me, that's a sign of a good, practical book. This one isn't going to be tucked away on my hard drive...

Will the contents of this book required half the contents of a craft store or just the usual mentalist supplies?