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”The King has left the building… With Amnesia” by Jeff Pierce
$25 (approx £13) from Jeff Pierce Magic

Overview
Originally TKHLTBWA was sold as a limited edition (100 print run) book This book was much talked about on other forums and very quickly sold out. Well the good news is that it is now available as a downloadable pdf for $25. So the question is does it deserve all the hype?

I have to admit that I am no stranger to the magic of Jeff Pierce as I have already bought two items from his website. "Imagine" and the "ani-matrix" both of which I am more than happy with, so I was very much looking forward to reading TKHLTBWA.

First the facts. It contains no less than 30 effects. 22 of them are card based, and of the remaining 8, there are 3 rubber band effects. It has also been wonderfully illustrated by a guy called Reis O’Brian. I don’t want to go too much into these illustrations but I have to say these are as good as any that I have ever seen (and better than the majority) and they really do a wonderful job of complimenting the text.

All in all, the document is extremely professionally produced and will come as no surprise when I say it is of book quality. After all, it was originally a book…

Difficulty.3/5
1=Even I can do it, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
There are 30 effects in this book, and so obviously each has it's own difficulty rating, but over all I would say that the vast majority are eminently doable by the beginner (although some knowledge of card magic is required), and yet are strong enough to make it worth while (IMHO) for all working magicians.

The Effects.
It would be foolhardy of me to review each and every effect, apart from anything else you would be bored with reading it, but to be honest I am finding it difficult to work out which effects to leave our. They ARE all that strong. However here are a few of my favourites. Actually more than a few, so maybe this is one to print off and read over a big hairy cup of coffee.

a) "Thinking Inside the Box".

A thought of card vanishes from the deck and appears in the card case sandwiched between two jokers.

I really like this one. It is very workable, and would fit nicely into any close-up routine. This was the first effect in the book, and a good sign of things to come.

b) "Empowerment".

Two spectators are empowered to create a very magical effect.

This one has a very nice comedy aspect to it in the same way as Slydini’s Paper Balls Other the Head effect. I have only performed it twice so far but on both occasions it has gone down extremely well. The actual magic isn’t the strongest, but for sheer entertainment value it is a definite keeper.

c) The 3 Rubber Band Effects.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of rubber band magic and I already have a routine made up from my favourite band effects and I can see that these three will fit in very nicely with that. If you already know Crazy Man’s Handcuffs then imagine starting with one band, you claim that you need another and use "the rubber band split" aka "the joining" to magically split a second band from previously examined first. You then perform CMH and as an alternative second phase you do a very nice "Visual Rubber Band Un-link" – actually the name says it all. Then finally, still continuing on from CMH, you visually make one the bands shrink all the way down to nothing using the "Shrinking Band" effect.

In case you are wondering. No, you don’t need to know CMH to do these, and the moves are quite easy to follow, chiefly due to Reis O’Brian's illustrations.

d) "The King has left the building…with amnesia".

This is described as a surprising revelation of a chosen card by means of a totally unexpected revelation.

Well as this is the title effect, I had to give it a mention really. It is a fairly standard effect but with some truly great patter. If you are like me and you enjoy performing effects with elaborate storylines then you will love this I promise. This is probably not one I will ever do in a table hopping environment, but in the right situation, like nights down the pub for example, I can see it going down very well indeed.

e) "The Card Whisperer".

A freely selected card is cut into the deck. The magician names the position of the selected card and the spectator finds it at that location.

To be honest I already new a variation of this one. I think it was in one of Bob King’s lecture notes (I may be wrong), but it is one of those great effects that for whatever reason I stopped using. Well I can tell you that after reading Jeff Pierce’s version it is going straight back into my repertoire.

f) "What’s your name".

This is a variation of a Jay Sankey effect, so that should give you a clue to how entertaining it is. It’s not one ideally suited for table hopping or indeed for performing to strangers as you need to know the name of one of your spectators, however in the right situation this is a killer effect. I know. That term gets used a lot but this is a very strong card mentalism effect that could just be the perfect end to an informal party.

g) "Cash Deposit".

The spectator places a £20 (or indeed a note of any value) into a pay envelope, that is consequently wrapped in an elastic band and has the word cash written on it. In another envelope similarly wrapped envelope is placed a deposit slip and the word deposit written on the envelope. Magically the contents of the two envelopes witch places.

Well I really couldn’t leave this one out as it is one of my favourites. I confess that I have only performed it once so far at a dinner party. The only change I made was to use an IOU instead of a deposit slip, but it went down exceptionally well. Funny in all the right places, and very magical at the end. A very clever principle is involved that could easily be adapted to many new effects. I can see this one playing well in a parlour situation.

h) "Two Degrees of Separation".

This is a nice "Out of This World" variation. If you already know OOTW then you may think that you really don’t want to know about yet another variation, however this is worth reading as it plays so well to two spectators. I can think of numerous circumstances where this is the variation I would choose above all others. If you don’t already know OOTW then frankly buy this manuscript just for this one effect. OOTW is in my opinion one of the strongest card effects we can do.

i) "Four the Hard Way".

The Joker is taken by a spectator, ripped into 4 pieces and discarded on the table. Four spectators then each select a random card, fold it into quarters and hide it in their hands. After several failed attempts to find the cards, each spectator is given one of the four pieces of torn joker to wave over their card (to act as a magic wand). When the spectators unfold their cards they find a corner piece missing and lo and behold, the missing corner is the piece of torn joker that they used as their impromptu wand.

This is another of my favourites simply because it gets such a great reaction. The only downside is that I doubt I would use it in a table hopping environment purely because it isn’t all that resetable. Great effect though. Real Magic happens.

j) "Paid In Full".

The effect as described is not particularly doable in the UK, due to the fact that it is designed for fifty one dollar bills. Bearing in mind that the smallest note available to us Brits is the fiver, 250 quid is probably too much to walk around with. However I still mention it as a favourite for the same reasons as mentioning the OOTW effect. The reason being that “Paid in Full” is a clever variation of a classic prediction effect called "Miraskill" by Stewart James, and if you don’t know this effect already – then again it is (IMHO) worth the rice of this manuscript. Don’t get me wrong, this variation is a still very nice, just not really workable as written in the British arena.

j) "Substitute".

You ask a spectator to hand you a packet of sugar and a packet of sweet and low. You place both in her hands, and then remove one from with her grasp. With a flick of the wrist (or any other magic gesture) the packets swap places.

This is a perfect opener if you are working in a restaurant, although it works just as well as a nice piece of impromptu magic if you are just out for a meal with friends.

k) "The Split Stack".

The split stack was something I was already aware of. It is not an effect, but rather a special stack that is used by two of Jeff’s routines. It’s actually rather nice in the same way that the Gilbreath principle (a thing of terrifying beauty) is. Neither of the two effects, “The Lucky Cut” and “The Match Game” really worked for me on the grounds that they both require you to be able to cut exactly half a deck. If this is something you are happy doing though, then they are both extremely strong effects.

l) "The Double Jointed Card".

In short this is a rather sweet and very original card warp routine that uses a card and a note of any denomination (£5, 10 etc). The patter laid out is great and this really does breathe new life into an old – but nonetheless classic effect. There is one aspect of it that I am not so keen on. The supplied storyline requires you to show a deck that contains gaffed cards. Personally I’m from the school of thought that doesn’t think the audience should ever know that these things exist, let alone show them off, but with a little forethought it didn’t take too much effort to rework it into something I will (and indeed already have) used. Also I should add that although the gaffed cards are shown that is NOT how they are described to the audience.

There is no doubt that this is another really strong effect.

m) "Red Write and Blue".

This is an extremely powerful double prediction mentalism routine that although reads like it will play very well. I haven’t as yet had an opportunity to perform it, but I do have a stage mentalist act that this will be included in once I have had a chance to try it out a few times. Performed with the right mental persona I really do think this one will play very well indeed. There are also some subtleties in this routine that are well worth knowing even if you don’t do the routine as stated.

n) "Tomorrows Technology Today".

I’m not going to even describe this effect as I would like all that buy the manuscript to have a nice surprise. It made me smile reading it, and it makes me smile every time I try it out. It’s one of those really great ideas that I know I will be using time and time again.

I admit that it is a variation on another classic idea – but what a nice variation it is. It requires a gimmick that although Jeff Pierce will supply on his website, is unlikely to be that useful for anyone in England, but it didn’t take me long to knock up loads of the little buggers on my computer. Great for that impromptu show us a trick moment.

The Review

As I mentioned before I haven’t gone into detail of every single effect, but that doesn’t mean that the others are turkeys, it just means I decided to write more about my favourite effects at the expense of missing out some of the others. Looking back at how much I have written though, just serves to illustrate how much I really do rate this e-book.

Rating. Effect/item: 8/10, Quality of goods: 9/10, Value for money: 10/10

Bottom Line

Don't you just love it when you discover something you really like? The problem I have is that because I so often write enthusiastic reviews, I fear I lose some credibility, and I really do want everyone to believe me when I say that this is the best collection of effects I have seen for a very long time. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

I am not saying I will be using them all. One for example (Remote Viewing) requires a card board tent like container that evidently houses stickers sold from vending machines in US restaurants, malls etc. I have absolutely no idea what this is – although I still very much enjoyed reading the effect.

The bottom line is simple. If you have £13 to spare – then this is a great buy. Just think it's possible to buy single effects for this much (or not a lot less), and with this one you are getting 30!

I am not sure why this had no interest from anyone, I can only surmise that my lengthy review actually put people off.

Anyway, I thought I would let you know that Jeff Pierce is now auctioning one last copy of the limited edition printed (no.88 of 100) version of this book, and the price starts at $20 (approx £10). This is incredble value, as it also includes an accessory pack that he sells separately at $12 and it includes the "Drop Dead Queens" effect that he also sells separately. I cant say anything much about Drop Dead Queens, as I dont have it but it by itself has had good reviews elsewhere).

See the link in the magic cafe thread for more information if you are interested.

Ok I'll reply - this has some great effects, i will suggest it, if you like things full of surprises then buy this, you will get to love it - well I have lost interest in it now but when I did get hold of it, I was amazed.

(Edited to make more sense)

Ok ill help - this is a great trick, i will suggest it - an dot be even by reading the name it says all, if you dont know what it means, then buy this trick, you will get to love it - well i have lossed intrest in it now but when i did get hold of it, i was amazed.

Hawk - I didn't understand a word of that and I can only guess you posted it in the wrong thread...

Changed it around.

Hawk wrote:Ok I'll reply - this has some great effects, i will suggest it, if you like things full of surprises then buy this, you will get to love it - well I have lost interest in it now but when I did get hold of it, I was amazed.

(Edited to make more sense)

Bananafish, thank you for the review and follow up. I'm glad you like the material.

Hawk,
I guess your amazement didn't last very long. I'm curious, did you try any of the effects at all or just read thru it?

Jeff Pierce

Ive tried and red it through - even so it was great thats not my area of magic.

WOW What an excellent book.
I was lucky enough to pre order my copy of the original limited edition print of the book (I have #23 to be precise) and I am really glad I did.
It is a well produced book with many useable effects and routines.
My particular favourite is "Twisting Dimensions" even though there is a slight discrepancy towards the end of the routine.
This is a packet trick from an ordinary deck routine which involves four cards turning face down one at a time and ends with a very unexpected colour change of the backs.

I would give the book a 10/10 all round. My only gripe is that my not-so-considerate postman decided to fold my special package in half and cram it through my letterbox even though it clearly said book on the packaging !

One month on I have to say that I am still using several of the items from this manuscript, in fact I use a variation of "Tomorrows Technology Today" to end with if I am table hopping, mainly as it really is a great way to leave my name and phone number with the spectators in a very unique an unusual way.

Hodgkinson wrote:WOW What an excellent book.
I was lucky enough to pre order my copy of the original limited edition print of the book (I have #23 to be precise) and I am really glad I did.
It is a well produced book with many useable effects and routines.
My particular favourite is "Twisting Dimensions" even though there is a slight discrepancy towards the end of the routine.
This is a packet trick from an ordinary deck routine which involves four cards turning face down one at a time and ends with a very unexpected colour change of the backs.

I would give the book a 10/10 all round. My only gripe is that my not-so-considerate postman decided to fold my special package in half and cram it through my letterbox even though it clearly said book on the packaging !

WOW What an excellent post. I appreciate your comments about my book and LMK what other routines you like.

PS. My book is available for download as a PDF file from my website at
http://www.members.aol.com/jeffpiercemagic/magic.html

Jeff Pierce