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Smoke and Mirrors by John Bannon - Review

Bought mine from : http://www.magicbox.uk.com/exec.php/product/ProductDetail/12282//

Thought I would add my review comments to those already made …

Price : About £27.

Difficulty : If you are a Cards beginner, then it’s one to read with care, as there are often references to card manipulation techniques. However, anyone with a brain will benefit from this excellent book.

They Say :
Author of the best selling book Impossibilia, John Bannon presents 31 amazing and entertaining tricks using cards and coins in Smoke and Mirrors. The tricks are presented in a very practical and easy-to-follow fashion, giving the reader everything necessary to perform the tricks with perfection. A 164-page hardcover book, Smoke and Mirrors is wonderfully illustrated by Richard Kaufman and rightfully belongs among any magician’s collection of magic and trick references.

Here are some of the tricks contained in this book:

Heart of the City
Clock O’Doom
Single Bullet Theory
Reversal of Fourtune
Detour De Force
Return of the Magnificent Seven
Underhanded
Vacuum Packed
Timely Departure
…

There are 31 in all!!!

Originally printed in 1991, Smoke and Mirrors has been re-printed and is exclusively distributed by Murphy’s Magic Supplies.

I Say :

What you get is a no-dust-jacket, hard back, A4 sized book. There are about 160 pages and 30 or so routines, 95% of which are card based.

Each effect is broken down into What, How, More. The What and How, being self explanatory, and the More, giving additional notes and insights into the effect.
Where required, excellent line drawing illustrations are included, and this approach helps break up the text too. Sometimes suggestions for patter are included, and this certainly helped me visualise how an effect might be played.

This is one of those books that is a joy to read. The text is the right size and each effect is well explained. Again, some items do require card dexterity and knowledge is assumed of various card terms. However, for the those interested in the more advanced card ‘tricks’, this is a great book.

Overall : Certainly not one of the cheapest books, but buy this and you will keep it for ever. 30+ great and often involved effects, superbly explained.
Note that some effects will require gaffed cards. You may or may not already have them…
Having read the book, my ‘emotions’ certainly felt inspired !

Rating : 9/10, because nothing is perfect, but this is as good as it gets.


Note. I’m just your average ‘Joe’. I’m no philosopher or professional. So this is just my personal opinion of something I like very much.

Nice one Piers. Impossibilia is one of my favorite books, looks like i'll have to invest in this one aswell