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Miraculous Ploys by Kenton Knepper

£20.49 from Alakazam www.alakazam.co.uk and run a search

Difficulty level: 3

43 pages in length, pages slightly larger than A4 (same size as Kentonism, Seven Deceptions, etc.)

Well, let me begin by saying I like Kenton’s material - from what I have seen of it, that is, so expect a few more reviews from me of some of his works.

Miraculous Ploys is, in my opinion, classic Kenton - great ideas, practical and featuring a lot of linguistics. That said, if you are under the impression that this is suggestion DB style then you may be slightly disappointed. The lingusitics are there, and anyone who knows of his Kentonism should have some idea of the kind I mean, and I feel that this is a book that can only really be appreciated having read Kentonism or some of his other works, however I’m sure anyone who hasn’t read any of his other stuff will still find things of use in here.

So, on to the effects. Please note that I haven’t had chance to try any of these out yet, so what you are about to read is based on opinion alone - these are also my three favourite effects from this book.

Stirring - this is a nice piece. Like I said, I haven’t been able to try any of theseout yet, but this is a great idea. Simple, but in the right hands this could be quite effective.

My Spirit Pen - I had not come across this effect before (in which a pen writes something on a piece of paper seemingly of it’s own accord) but this is a brilliant method. Takes some practise and you may need to adapt the handling to suit yourself, but this does look effective. It’s practical, too, although there are some angle considerations.

Chill - not really too much I can say about this one, except that it again uses a very ingenious method combined with some cunning linguistics. This is one of those ones which, I feel, needs to be presented almost as an impromptu effect so as not to have people say it’s a trick.

Plus his presentation for the Rainbow Deck (great), a way of reading words etc. written on a piece of card and sealed inside an opaque bag (great), a way of making someone feel you touch their head when everyone else swears that you didn’t (great) and some very thought-provoking ideas on performances which are, simply, great.

If you’re in to Kenton’s stuff, this is another great addition - some really good pieces here and uses for props you may already have. If you’re new to Kenton you may want to check out some of his other stuff first.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Great review! Have you had a chance to try any of these out yet?

.:Ham:.

I have indeed, and they work really well for me; I'm hesitant to say much further any more however, so I won't.

That's fine for me, thanks!

.:Ham:.