talkmagic.co.uk

If you were a cardie which wanted to get into rope, silks, cups & balls, sponge balls and other (as I term them) Old School routines, then yes, this is the one. But for balls out impromptu work with everyday objects, I'm sure there are better sources.

I think you've touched on a point there..

The book isnt that expensive considering one trick pony's cost £20 upwards. having this book sit there can be a reference for when you spark an interest in another area, like sponges and cups and balls.

I dont think theres anything revolutionary in this book, but it is a book which covers a wide range of areas to which a beginner can look into, if they are unsure which direction they want to go. There are quite a few effects which have worked their way into my collection.. and the sponges section is something I looked at first when I sparked interest in these. Im not a fan of the coin section as I much prefer David Roths dvd series, Sankeys revolutionary coin magic and Bobo Im working through but slowly still.

Mark Wilsons book is an all round book that if you sit down and go through, there are some effects in there that you will add, maybe just a few, but you have to search to find what appeals, while a newcomer would be advised to learn some solid effects to wet his appetite and shape his path in terms of where he/she will go

Lady of Mystery wrote:I'd recommend people read through the card section of this book before touching Royal Road. Why? Because the explainations in Roayl Road can be very hard to follow until you get used to it where as Mark Wilson expalains things so much clearer. Having the base that his book will give you will make picking up what Royal Road has to teach so much easier.

Just to clarify, you'd recommend that someone buy a book that is twice as expensive as Royal Road with a third of the material, just in case they can't understand the descriptions which cardicians have been following for decades? Is so, this commits them, assuming they are going to buy Royal Road anyway, to paying three times the cost of Royal Road for about 10% gain in material, just in case.

Maybe better to recommend they get it IFF (sic) they have problems with Royal Road.

I'm not saying the RRTCM descriptions are perfect, but you don't need to buy another book twice the price to understand them.

No.. but you could buy the RRTCM DVD which is £50+ for an easier explanation!!

Im not taking anything away from Mark Wilsons book, I dont think it is REQUIRED but its certainly something every magician can gain from in some way or another.

I know plenty of people that bought the DVD set to RRTCM because the explanations are a little dated.

I bought Card College at well over £100 as I felt I MAY have missed some points from royal road and also because I knew that there was plenty (PLENTY) that RRTCM does not cover such as numerous counts and false displays.

Mark Wilson does a good job teaching card sleights, Im just not keen on the presentation in a lot the book, a kind of watered down feel I guess. But then there are some nice little gems in there, which with my personality and presentation added to, make them real workers for me.

If I pay £20 for one trick, such as Dream of Aces, which I love and enjoy performing ( which was in fact £29.99 ) then a book that costs £20 which may get 10-15 good effects out of ( even if hundreds are covered ) is well worth it in my opinion.

REQUIRED READING? Not by a long shot..

Recommended Anyway? Of course..

Marvell wrote:If you were a cardie which wanted to get into rope, silks, cups & balls, sponge balls and other (as I term them) Old School routines, then yes, this is the one. But for balls out impromptu work with everyday objects, I'm sure there are better sources.

Yes like Jay Sankeys Anytime Anywhere for £20 with ahandful of effects, albeit they are workers ( I dont own this but .. Im guessing being Sankeys.. )

Karl Fulves book on impromptu magic £5.. Im sure that it has some real classics in here

But if you section Mark Wilsons book off, each section costs a couple of quid... so its like buying a couple of books that touch on some fundamental work within each area. Thats a decent way to look at it, then if you want to progress within your chosen area.. you can..

Though buying the book isnt neccessary in the first place.. its a decent place to start

I'm on Lady of Mystery's side with this, the main reason for buying any book is for the ideas that are in that book. The presentation on those ideas is largely irrelevant, it's what you do with them and how you present them that decideds if they apply to your style or not.

Many of the ideas that are in complete course are brilliant, his presentation might be dated but the methods can be usedf for so much. I feel that to discount a book just because it appears irrelavent is wrong.

Lady of Mystery reccomended this book to me when I first started and it's been one og my best buys.

Dirty Davey wrote:I'm on Lady of Mystery's side with this,

Sorry, I didn't realise we were taking sides.

Dirty Davey wrote:Lady of Mystery reccomended this book to me when I first started and it's been one og my best buys.

Do you like cups & balls, silks, rope, money, elastic bands, napkins and sponge balls?

Wills wrote:How much magic is in this book for small effects with everyday objects like rubber bands and the like?

Skipping the chapters on cards, the contents are as follows:

Money Magic

The coin fold
coin through handkerchief
coin through handkerchief
-second version
magicallly maultiply your money
four coin assembly
the french drop (using a coin)
the figner palm vanish
the pinch or drop vanish
the classic palm (using a coin)
the coin vainshing handkerchief
-second variation
grant's super coin vainshing handkerchief
super dooper versatile vanisher
coin through leg
challenge coin vanish
coin-a-go-go
cointinuous coins
copper silver penetration
the shrinking coin
coins across
lapping - pull off method
the coin in the ball of wool
the expanded shell half dollar
two havles and two quarters
tow halves and a half dollar
coins through table
-alternate method
the coin roll
the roll down

Money magic - bills

roll the bill
bills from nowhere
-version two
torn and restored dollar bill
inflation
the six bill repeat
the bill in lemon

Rope magic

rope prepartion (coring)
cut and restored rope
-second method
comedy cut and restored rope
triple rope trick
triple rope - multiple do as I do
triple rope time two
double restoration
cut and restored string
threading the needle
one hand knot
the melting knot
shoelace rope tie
the rigid rope
equal unequal ropes
the great coat escape
rope and coat release
ring off rope
impossible rope escape

Silk & handkerchief magic

hypnotized handkerchief
fatima, the dnacer
the dissolving knot
the knot through the arm
handkerchief through handkerchief
magical production of a handerchief

There is a lot more in the silk and hankerchief part (9 to be exact), but typing this out is getting very tiring...

Also included (tricks not mentioned, though, because it would mean another 15 to 20 minutes of typing) are the following chapters:

Impromptu magic
mental magic
betchas
make at home magic
sponge ball magic
billiard ball magic
cups and balls
Magic illusions
reputation makers


I hope that helps..

Mike.

...a little off on a tangent about reading Complete Course in Magic before Royal Road because the explanations are a little hard to follow...

I might agree with this as well. I bought the Mark Wilson book along with Royal Road but have left it aside for now, reading through RRTCM first. I must admit, that while I think the book is great, I would have A LOT of trouble understanding certain things if I didn't already learn most of them already from other sources. Case in point: Overhand SHuffle 2 chapter. I read the "injog and break" section over and over and then realized that I already apply this principle all the time. (Learned from Brad Christian DVD's in his explanation of the "throw jog").

So I'm reading through the book and I'm liking it but I'm not actually learning any sleights (I already know how to injog, control, palm, glide, etc)... I'm just learning to improve them and getting the little nuances that I didn't know or realize were important. If I knew nothing and was learning the actual sleights for the first time I might be having a very hard time.

...and no I'm not currently into cups and balls / silks / rope magic / etc but I bought the book because if one day I am, I'll surely have an adequate reference for my basic interest in those subjects.