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The Effect

This is a book containing a number of different ones:

‘Touching on Hoy’ – Three spectators are seated on stage. One by one, they are touched and asked to think of a simple shape, a date and a name. The performer reveals the selections.

‘Dangerous Opener’ – Luke’s take on the ‘Dangerous Monte’ plotline.

‘Blowing Bubbles’ – Some more work on Luke’s ‘Burst Bubble’ suggestion detailed in ‘Building Blocks’.

‘PK Lipstick’ – A version of the ‘PK Touches’ plotline (using a different method), but this one leaves some visible proof that the invisible touching took place.

‘Phone Prediction’ – The performer collects numbers from different members of the audience, two or three digits at a time. Three audience members are each asked to look at a card from a deck that is passed round. There is a double prediction ending, which I’m not going to reveal, but there’s a clue in the effect’s title.

‘Blindfold Sequence’ – This involves a spectator reading another audience member’s mind.

There are also two sections that do not detail effects, being a discussion on the psychic model of mentalism vs. the psychological one and also Luke’s ideas for dealing with pre-show work.

The effects are largely suitable for stage work, or maybe cabaret.

Cost

After a very quick look round, the cheapest UK price seems to be £29.99 at Alakazam, but it’s currently out of stock there.

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)

It’s rather difficult to put this into categories like this, but I’d say they vary between 2 and 3. There’s a lot of presentational stuff you need to add in.

Review

This material isn’t as revolutionary as the stuff in ‘Seven Deceptions’. It is more along the lines of ‘classic mentalism’, but has some nice touches added by Luke. Most of it is all-but-guaranteed to work (barring a mistake being made).

I liked all of the effects, but as usual, not all of them were for me. The only one I wasn’t happy with was the 'PK Lipstick' effect, which has a potential problem, as far as any woman I have ever known is concerned! It's possibly one of those things you can breeze through in an actualt performance.

There is a bit of leeway for ‘Touching on Hoy’ to go wrong. It’s partly covered by the notes, but you’d be well advised to be prepared for the extra possibility too, at least if you aren’t good at thinking on your feet. The notes could do with going into a little more detail about what to do if there’s a problem.

Overall

It’s a nice collection. There’s not a lot that is absolutely amazing, but there are some nice amalgamations of, or twists on, some moderately well known ideas. Overall, I liked this, but it’s not got quite the same appeal to me as some of Luke’s other works.

I’d give it 8.5/10. Without the discussions, I’d mark it down a half point, but ‘The Coral Fang’ is another very commendable work from Mr. Jermay.

Thanks for the review - I was quite intersted in this when it came out but was a bit wary when I couldn't find any reviews - with 7 Deceptions and Building Blocks it received rave reviews instantly but I just couldn't find ANY for this.

'Touching on Hoy' seems like a brilliant effect. Is it really as good as he makes out, as in, "the best I have created" or something like that?

It's a good effect, but I personally wouldn't say that it's the best thing Luke's ever come up with.