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The Effect

Steven Youell's Weapons of Mass Destruction is one great book ! It's a collection of sleights/effects/advice about card magic ! The tricks are real magician foolers ! And this can only give you an idea about how good reactions would be from a lay audience. Check the review for details !

Cost

USD 25 off H & R Magic Books - http://www.magicbookshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=8528 - Paperback 65 pages.

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)

I would say between 2-4. A memory system requires a few hours of dedication but it will serve you well !

Review
Well, what can I say about this book ! It's crammed with effects,sleights,peeks and a ton of advice from the master ! From the way the book is written, you can see the experience of the author !

The effects :

The Card Trick That Has No Explanation - Read this carefully :
A spectator selects a card in the fairest possible manner and then shuffles the deck. The performer even lets her check to make sure that her card is still in the middle of the deck! The performer then tells the spectator that he will ask her three (and only three) questions and each time her answer will be spelt out using one card for each letter in her answer. After the three questions have been asked and the answers spelled out, regardless of how she answers, her card will be on top of the pack! “And,” says the performer, “You don’t even have to tell the truth. You can lie to any of the questions and none of your answers have to be consistent with the previous ones… oh, one more thing—I’ll let you do the dealing!” True to form, the three questions are asked, the spectator spells out her answers and when finished, her card is on top of the pack!

10/10 ! What an effect this is ! This will fool anyone if they don't know the method (unless they're a real authority on card magic ) ! I would've paid 25 Dollars just to learn this ! A breathtaking effect and a true masterclass !

The Ultimate Weapon - A photographic memory effect.

9.5/10 ! Another awesome effect. It will take some time to get down but it's worth the effort.

The Image Fades - Performer makes the spectator see the image of a previously selected card on a random card.

8/10 - An idea explored before many a time. This effect is really really good, and it knocks out lay audiences.

The Infamous Non-Working Self-Working Card Trick - Another great magician fooler !

9/10 - This effect is strictly for magicians. Lay audiences would fail to appreciate this one !

Dead Solid Perfect - A revamped version of 'Thought Stealer' from RRTCM, but yet so different that not a single magician will recognize it when you perform it !

9/10 - Another awesome effect to perform to magicians !

Trick - A great routine where the spectator's selection is the only blue backed card in a red deck !

8/10 - Requires some preparation but it's a knockout punch to lay audiences !

The Perfect Choice - An impossible card location effect.

8/10 - I've been unable to do this because of my inability to perform a certain sleight. But a great effect nevertheless.

Blinded by the Sleight - A blindfolded prediction routine !

9/10 - Awesome awesome awesome !

Plus, a great collection of sleights are a big treat !

The ProActive Card Control

In the author's words, ProActive Control is a systematic application of principles, strategies and ideas that :
1) You will eliminate fear of failure which will allow you to perform with total relaxation and no fear.
2) You will be able to cover almost any and all adverse situations without the audience even suspecting that something has gone wrong.
3) You will avoid creating an adversarial relationship with spectators and be able to diffuse even the most difficult spectators in an entertaining way.
4) You will develop an ability to handle cards that goes well beyond standard Sleight-of-Hand.

This is just a gift to every card worker, a must read ! It has significantly improved my card magic.

He further gives several guidelines plus other miscellaneous stuff, and this book is going to help your card magic like no other.


Overall

'Nuff Said. Get It ! 10/10 . I couldn't take anything away from this book ! [/b][/quote]

I agree that this is a good book. The first time I read it I remember thinking that there is a lot of memory work to be done. It's hard to do the tricks, not physically, as there are very little moves to be done, but mentally.

If you have got the patience to learn the memory work (things like knowing how every card is spelled out without hesitation), then this PDF is very good!

Steve has also released his "Weapons of Mass Deception" which is his second PDF/book. I haven't got it, but have heard great things about it..

I have spent many hours reading through and working on some of the amazing effects in this book. One of the things I enjoy most about it is that I don't need to have years of physical dexterity under my belt in order to perform these effects. Yet, for the most part it's a real test of mental ability to attempt them, at least for someone like me who's relatively new to mentalism.

As babyshanks mentioned, the chapter "Proactive Strategies" is worth the price of the book. It has helped me develop and work past a couple of real showstoppers I was struggling with. Thanks to Steven Youell, I feel much more confident to deal with the unexpected in a way that the seasoned pro would probably not think twice about.

hardik988's review is spot on and the second book is high on my CUPS list!

I could not recommend this book enough ! It's really superb !

hardik988
Nice review of Steven's notes. I've had the pleasure of being a member of his subscription site for the past six months and besides these notes Steven has shared many tips for making the effects even better.

One benefit members have are his video clips some of which are sleight specific and are needed for some of the effects.

He has a demo of the Image Fades as part of the clips available to members and Dead Solid Perfect will fool magicians even if they recognize it as a variation from RRTCM.

Unfortunately Steven is down with a medical issue right now so I'm not sure of the status of his site for new members. But if you have the opportunity get these notes for all the reasons hardik988 posted.

I agree with Tony. I've been a member there for quite a while now and Steven will post up expertly explained tutorials for all his members on specific sleights that his members may be struggling with.

At the moment there are false shuffles, multiple shifts, double/triple lifts, revelations, controls, glimpses and forces, most of which are very rare to find, all explained and able to be viewed whenever you wish.

You even get some of his releases earlier than everyone else, and help his when he is producing products.

But as Tony said, it's been quite quiet lately, due to Steve's health problems, but I'm sure it will be back to it's usual self shortly.