talkmagic.co.uk

Im a fan of Scam School on youtube and heard about the presenter's book test and was curious. As anyone heard about this trick or know any of the few mentalists who have got there hands on the trick at 12 grand a piece. It's being sold online to anyone but its costing $399.99 a book or all three for $600.00. Is this really the greatest book test as he hypes? I dont know. It feels like an over hyped regretful purchase but I can't really judge.

Any old books and a second hand copy of Corinda and you're a few hundred quid better off!

Also, title brings flashbacks of Monkey Island....

Anyone with a thing to sell will tell you it's the best thing ever. The more they're overpricing it, the more they need to tell you how wonderful it is.

I don't know ow often you'd use it, but I think that price for a book test is amazingly excessive.

There's a worry among magicians about making things foolproof, and so people want to be able to fool other magicians with their magic. The most robust, the most unbelievable, the most examinable.

If your usual audience isn't magicians though, you just do not need that. I amazed people table-hopping the other day with the 1089 force and a copy of "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre. It needed some flannel about coming up with a "truly random page to avoid unconscious bias" but people go along with this because they want to be entertained and they know you have to pad it out. (Page 89, pertinently, is about "bullsh*t", which added very much to the fun).

Perhaps he'll cover the workings on his Scam School videos, like he seems to do with other peoples material.

There are literally hundreds of cheap, usable book tests out there. It just depends whether you want them gaffed in some way, or ungaffed with a force. Most forces will fly past laymen as will most gaffs. If you're doing something for your friends where they will want to inspect the book/s and have the effect repeated then this can be achieved, but you don't want a heavily gaffed book. For strolling, the oasis book test is easy peasy. For stage, you can use simple forces, or a word in thousands. Again, very cheap and easy to do. You can also use mathematical forces, card forces, change bags, cribs.... Blah blah blah. Whatever you like to hide/disguise what you're doing. My only advice for book tests is keep it cheap & keep it simple!! And I say that as someone who has spent the national debt if Greece on book tests. I think I own every book test ever invented!

K

I've not seen it but from what I've heard, Brushwood's book test is certainly nothing new. If you want a good booktest you can't really go wrong with the Hoy test, although Colin McLeod's book test on his Opening Minds DVD is well worth taking a look at.

Imma defend Brushwood. I think his book test is very strong, and he's clear about what you're paying for - it's not the secret so much, it's the production of the gimmicked books. I think it's important, especially in book tests, that choices be as free and fair as possible. Most forces have a tendency to smell like a force. Brushwoods force (presuming I understand the method correctly) doesn't smell like a force, there's no "first word on the first line", no weird maths, the book isn't in the performer's hand. So really what's not to like here? If it's the price, then fine, but it doesn't seem that unreasonable a price for a professional to pay. If I had the money, and the audience, I would pick one up without a moment of doubt.

Also, I think the way of getting the one bit of information you need is inspired, and possibly worth scribbling into the front cover of your copy of Naked Mentalism.

I agree up to a point with the above posts, that there are other, cheaper book tests out there. I've also sat in an audience of colleagues who have watched a magician do ten book tests in a row. They didn't fathom all the methods, but they were certainly close to the mark on a few of them. Worrying too much about the audience guessing your method is only a problem if it a) impacts on your performance, or b) stops you doing something all together (unless it's 100% transparent and not done as a gag). I did see a professional presentation of Word In A Million which has convinced me that that's probably the most effective, cheaply available book test possible with an almost as clean handling (any word, any page, in the participant's hands when the heat is on). It's performed in Rob Drummond's Bullet Catch, and the compromise is handled beautifully.

apparently the reason it's so expensive is that there are and can ever be only a limited number made due to the fact that the books used are G*****KED from the original books and they only have a few hundred in stock.

Its one of the reasons that puts me off. what if the spectator knows the book really well?

mdawg wrote:Its one of the reasons that puts me off. what if the spectator knows the book really well?

Im guessing the changes are subtle enougth that unless you've photographic memory it won't be noticable.