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The Effect
Magician removes the 4 kings and the 4 aces from a deck. He then asks the spectator to chose the kings or the aces. The magician then places the kings face down on a makeshift table (a handkerchief held by the 4 corners by two spectators is suggested). The 4 aces then proceed to visually change one by one into the 4 kings. Finally, the 4 kings startlingly turn back to the 4 aces in what is described as a 'double whammy climax'.


Cost
US$15 plus $3 shipping from www.leeasher.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)
2 or 4, depending on which version you do.


Review
OK, about two months ago, i suffered yet another bout of CUPS of truly regrettable proportions - I brought Ghost Kings by Magicmakers - considering how much discussion there has been on here about MM, I should have known better. The only defence I can post is that I was drunk, and thought it looked good. Ghost Kings is a prime example of MM ripping off another magicians idea (Asher Twist by Lee Asher) and selling it as their own - to compound this, the dvd has a standard of teaching second to none in terms of overall 'cr*ppiness'.
This is where Lee Asher has stepped in with an offer to trade in your Ghost Kings rubbish for the Asher Twist dvd, which is of great quality, and taught by the owner of the sleight himself - Lee Asher - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic10866.php
Whilst sorting out the 'trade in', I had a quick look on his website and spotted Richochet, which looked like a neat application of the Asher Twist - alas CUPS strikes again. However, since Lee was offering such a good deal, the least I could do is acquire this trick.

OK, on to the review.
Richocet is actually R. Paul Wilson's idea, itself based on Paul Harris' Reset. You receive a nicely printed and illustrated booklet and a set of gimmicked cards. The basic effect relies on using a makeshift table to conceal the 'move'. In itself, the effect is pretty breathtaking, as the aces turn into kings one by one. At the end of the booklet, there is an explanation on how to do the Asher Twist (I have the dvd, which covers more subtleties and nuances to the sleight than the description in the booklet which just teaches the basic move). If you are able to learn the Asher Twist, then you don't need the use of a table to conceal the secret move - you can do it visually and completely above board, in what must be one of the surest ways to magically kick your spectators in the teeth.
The booklet also describes the cleanup - which is straight forward and deceptive.

I must confess that personally, I don't like the double whammy at the end - you can watch a clip of Lee performing here: http://www.leeasher.com/product_ricochet.htm
I think that the final climax shouts 'Gimmicked Cards' - probably because I am a magician - albeit not a very good one. I am still not ready to perform this, as I am still working on my Asher Twist, but I am trying to think of a way to show that the kings and aces have changed places by turning over the face down packet and showing it to be the aces (rather than kings as happens in the effect, with the packet in my hand turning back to the aces) - sorry - this paragraph does not read clearly - look at the video clip on lee's website and make your own mind up.

Finally, I should state that Lee Asher gets 11 out of 10 for helpfulness - he responded promptly to my emails, and was very patient when i messed up the payment through paypal. He also must have posted my copy of the Asher Twist immediately once he received the Ghost Kings dvd - only about a week elapsed between my sending Ghost Kings off and receiving my Asher Twist DVD - with postage to and from the US, that is excellent service.

Overall
I am going to give this 9 out of 10

I don't tend to give packet tricks with gimmicked cards 10 out of 10, as a certain amount of cleanup is necessary - also can't do it completely impromptu.

However, this is still one of the best packet tricks out there, and if you have learnt the Asher Twist, this is a must - even if you can't do it - it is not the easiest of sleights to master, and is angly, the original version with a makeshift table is still an awesome effect.

With the £/$ exchange rate, US$18 inc postage to the UK is only about £10 - at the top end of what I would be prepared to pay for a single trick.
Lee - how about a dvd teaching the effect - or even a teaching video clip people can download from your website. The booklet is clear and concise, but more and more, magicians are finding video to be a more effective teaching tool - this would make this trick even better value.

Lee Asher is a really nice bloke, and I for one will be interested in seeing what else he can come up with.