The Secrets of Alkazar

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The Secrets of Alkazar

Postby Adam Boyes » Jun 26th, '07, 10:59



The Secrets of Alkazar -

This apears to be a highly recommended book to get hold of!? Along with all the rest :)

I've done a search :wink: but no one appears to have done a review..if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be grand!

Cheers peeps!

Adam

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Postby Michael Jay » Jun 27th, '07, 12:31

If you followed the book and did exactly what it told you to do and learned each trick right out of the pages, you would have 12 tricks that were 100% more entertaining and more deceptive than almost any of these guys who've put 5 years into learning nothing but difficult sleight of hand.

The book teaches proper misdirection, proper story telling, proper blocking...Well, it teaches magic and how to make your tricks truly magical. If you owned no other book and did no other tricks, but you owned this one book and did all 12 of these tricks, as taught, you would be lauded as a great magician by anyone that you performed for.

The downside is that it is aimed at kids ages 8 - 12, so the writing is often considered puerile by adults and therefore often overlooked.

Get the book and if you don't like it, I'll buy it off of you for double what you paid for it.

Mike.

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Postby Wills » Jun 27th, '07, 12:35

I just bought a gold plated limited edition version from Ellusionist and I don't like it Michael :D

But seriously I've heard you recommend this book before and checked it out. Then found it was a children books so thought I had the wrong one and didn't buy it.

Turns out I had the right one so I'm gonna order it today

Can anybody please help me? I'm having terrible problems controlling my streetmagic- I can't walk down a street without turning into a pub.
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Postby Mandrake » Jun 27th, '07, 12:43

The beauty of books written 'for kids' is that they don't assume extensive prior knowledge or skills, there's none of this 'Use your favourite control' nonsense, the whole routine is usually explained in clear wording yet the tricks themselves are probably the same as contained in more 'adult' tomes costing far more. Never overlook the kids' stuff :wink: !

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Postby Wills » Jun 27th, '07, 13:44

Yeah fair point mandrake.

Lately I've been concentrating more on performance and presentation, as opposed to technical sleights. I'm still putting the proper practise in but I've also found myself practising patter, timing, acting etc.

I guess I'm trying to take my tricks to the next level rather than some guy who does a few tricks. So hopefully this book will give me a nudge in the right direction.

And for £6 I really can't complain.

Can anybody please help me? I'm having terrible problems controlling my streetmagic- I can't walk down a street without turning into a pub.
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Postby Adam Boyes » Jun 27th, '07, 14:40

Thanks for the replies!! :)

It doesn't bother me if it's aimed at kids I'm sure it'll be the beanz!

I've added this to the others I'm ordering as of tomorrow!!

PAY DAY!! YAY!!! 8)

EDIT: I can't help myself but add smilies to everything! Is it an addiction :?

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Postby Mandrake » Jun 27th, '07, 15:15

There was one effect in a book by a well known magish which I really couldn't understand. The instructions were detailed and contained everything needed but for some reason I just couldn't follow them. The same effect in a kiddiewinks books phrased it all so much simpler and I got the hang of the idea right away. This just proves I'm still a kid at heart!

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Postby Adam Boyes » Jun 27th, '07, 15:21

I've just order it from a 3rd party on Amazon it was something like £3.89 with Postage!

Bargain! :D

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Postby Adam Boyes » Jun 27th, '07, 15:28

Oh and got Self-working Mental Magic: Sixty-seven Foolproof Mind Reading Tricks!

Thought I give it a nosey! He he

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Postby Wills » Jul 3rd, '07, 16:06

My copy of this arrived the other day.

All I can say is thanks Michael for bringing this book to my attention. I just wish I had read it 6 months ago, it would have saved me a lot of time. Some of the material seems obvious but it is nice to have all this in one book.

I had to laugh though when I got to the first trick and realised that this trick is also on a "revolutionary" street magic DVD from a cErtain website for about £40.

Can anybody please help me? I'm having terrible problems controlling my streetmagic- I can't walk down a street without turning into a pub.
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Postby Adam Boyes » Jul 3rd, '07, 16:45

Willis is it that good then??!

Oooh mine still hasn't arrived :x and I'm really looking forward to reading this one!

I really want to review a book but don't consider myself in a position to do so yet...maybe after reading this one I might be able to!

£40 trick and it's in this book? How cool...

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Postby Wills » Jul 3rd, '07, 17:11

The trick itself isn't £40 but its included on an Ellusionist DVD.

The real value of this book is on various things like misdirection, presentation, handling, patter etc. It is similar to RRTCM by explaining magician tools followed by a trick to emphasis the chapter.

A few of the tricks aren't to my taste as I am a very impromptu kind of guy. But they still give good working examples of the info taught in the chapter. Like I said a lot of the information could be seen as very obvious but its also full of useful tips and hints.

For £6 you can't complain.

Oh and I'll hold to let you make a review, don't be scared about your skill level. Its good to get reviews from different view points.

Can anybody please help me? I'm having terrible problems controlling my streetmagic- I can't walk down a street without turning into a pub.
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Postby Adam Boyes » Jul 5th, '07, 13:43

Cheers pal! You could always write one as well though!

My book still hasn't arrived!!

:evil:

Getting annoyed now

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Postby HenryHoudini » Jul 5th, '07, 18:07

dammit I hate this website now

apparently CUPS is contagious (sp?)

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Postby Adam Boyes » Jul 8th, '07, 18:23

My book arrived on Friday and I've read about half of it! :D

My god it's absolutely superb!! Really really good! For a beginner like me it's without doubt the most helpful book I've ever read...

Ok some of the tricks don't interest me but the information cointained within is invaluable to someone like me!!

I will post a detailed review (my first) when I have finished and absorbed all the great information!

Thanks Mike and Mandrake for the recommendation :P

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