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The Pass - Gary Ouellet
Hardback - 140 Pages

£25 from International Magic
I'd imagine most magic suppliers have this in their catalogue

Difficulty - 4
(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)

Review

First, a quote from the back of the book by Gary Ouellet

'There have been, in the chronicles of civilisations, more vital fields of study, other areas of human endeavour with greater potential to inspirit than this journey of mine to explore and discover this ever intangible, elusive, and for the most part thankless sleight-of-hand move with playing cards known simply as The Pass. A common word, a life-long quest, wisely avoided by the majority of sensible magicians, who, not unreasonable, conclude that the effort could far better be expended elsewhere.'

I guess this serves as a warning to whoever wants to learn the Pass, and one day perhaps master it, is going to be in for a long haul. I don't know about some of the people on here, but I've been working on mine for 9 months now, and I still don't think it's close.

This book takes you through every stage of learning the Classic Pass. It is well photographed throughout, with pictures of the author holding the cards at each stage of the move. In fact, the first 60 pages are dedicated to describing the Classic Pass in every detail.

Ouellet then moves onto further moves later on, such as the Spread Pass and the Malone Shift. He also covers Lee Asher's 'Asher Twist' trick with the 4 Aces, which I enjoyed.

The book has a definate learning curve to it, and you shouldn't proceed from one chapter to the next until you are fully competent, as Gary often points out. If you follow his advice, you may learn the Pass slower than some, but you'll learn it better.

Overall

For anyone serious about learning this sleight, I'd say this book is a good investment. The writing and pictures throughout will help you get every stage of your Pass correct... Ouellet knows his stuff!

4 out of 5