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Book Name: Art of Astonishmnet (I refer to all 3 volumes)

Author: Paul Harris

Price: Seriously varies. Averages at about $120

Available From: All over the place. Currently at $110 on ellusionist.com, £80 from magictricks.co.uk (what I got when I googled)

Difficulty (out of 5): 2 - 5: The books range from reasonably easy effects to really quite difficult routines. The effects not only require considerably skill to perform well, but also a good performing persona - as with all tricks. But Paul's effects really do require an entertainer, not just a magician to pull off well, IMHO.

Comments: The books are CRAMMED with spectacular effects, ranging from cards, coins, business cards, watches, even leaves and rocks.

It's actually a collection of much of his previous work, and includes famous effects such as:

- The Bizarre Twist
- Reset
- The Inivisible Palm
- Whack-Your-Pack
- Las Vegas Leaper
- Interlaced Vanish

And sooooo many more.

Overall: Excellent. Just excellent. The effects are described well with fantastic illustrations, and littered with wonderful humour and patter ideas.

However, be warned - Paul offers little if any advice on how to perform the basic techniques - p**lming, DLs, El****y C***ts, etc - he assumes prior knowledge. It is crucial that you know a reasonable amount about basic card magic before attempting many of the effects in these books.

Rating (out of 10): 10

Hmm ... I think I'll add this to my TO BUY list. Thanks!

Thanks for the review, are there just a couple of strong effects or are all of them very strong?

Quite frankly it is the best collection of close up material I own.

Just buy it today you will be slightly overwhelmed with the amount of material for awhile though.

greedoniz wrote:Quite frankly it is the best collection of close up material I own.

Just buy it today you will be slightly overwhelmed with the amount of material for awhile though.

His card through glass table is abso-freakin-loutly amazing. I'm going to write up a review on just that effect sometime this week.

*Makes a mental note to start reviewing things more*

Best wishes to all,
~Magically Dave

what are the best ones here...best 5
preferably impromptu non setup ones

coash wrote:what are the best ones here...best 5
preferably impromptu non setup ones

"Reset"
"Bizzare Twist" leading into "Immaculate connection"
"Tap Dancing Aces" leading to "Invisible Palm"
And Daryl's, "Fantasy Aces".

Err you say there are tricks with leaves! I may just have to buy this.

Hello!

Thank you for your review! By the way, the leaf effect is where you tear a leaf off a tree, have someone sign the leaf, and the magician then reattaches it to the tree, healing it.

Michael Kras

I think all of the members here are aware of Paul Harris' amazing contributions to magic. His "Art of Astonishment" books are still one of the best around and people here does not need a review to buy it. We often get reviews for tricks that we are uncertain of. Mainly because we always end up in a "trick trap" since we really do not know how the trick is done once we bought it. More often, we really do not like how it is done.

But when it comes to Paul Harris' work, I have no question at all. These are timeless effects.

I now have volumes 1 and 3 of these books and they're excellent. Very strong material within these pages. I have performed Bizarre Vanish quite a few times now and it always get a stunned response!

The Harris effect I am interested in - and I don't know it's name - is the one where the middle is torn out of some cards and they are linked together a la chinese rings. Is this in volume 2? I have looked through the ones I have and can't seem to see it.

Lord Freddie wrote:I now have volumes 1 and 3 of these books and they're excellent. Very strong material within these pages. I have performed Bizarre Vanish quite a few times now and it always get a stunned response!

The Harris effect I am interested in - and I don't know it's name - is the one where the middle is torn out of some cards and they are linked together a la chinese rings. Is this in volume 2? I have looked through the ones I have and can't seem to see it.

Because of the amount of effects in these books, it's hard to find what you're looking for indeed.

The effect is called Immaculate Connection. It is in volume 2, page 77 I think. Just after the similar effect, Cardboard Connection. Truly a surreal piece!

Thanks for that! Volume 2 is the one I'm missing which explains why I couldn't find it. That's my next purchase sorted out then...

Lord Freddie wrote:Thanks for that! Volume 2 is the one I'm missing which explains why I couldn't find it. That's my next purchase sorted out then...

Plus it has Stretch. My all time favorite Paul Harris effect. I repeat this to spectators over and over. They don't get tired of it

It's definitley my next purchase. There's so much good stuff in these books and you can just dip in anywhere and find something great.