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Greets All

I have not really ventured into Mentalism before but being a 6"3 goth with half my hair white and the other half black pepole seem to expect that I am going to be performing some routines involving general spookiness and mind reading etc so with this in mind I popped over to Amazon and this is what I bought.

Karl Fulves Self working Mental Magic is a slim book of 121 pages but do not be put off by the size of the book as there a true treasures within.

I have not performed all the effects in the book and I doubt I ever will but let me run through a couple of the routines in the book in fact they are both on the first page.

Money sense
You give the spectator a small item and tell them a story of how the coin, ring, badger nose or what ever you choose to use is possesed or charmed etc then you ask them to pop the coin behind there back and put it into one of there hands and close there hands tighty around the coin then to hold there hands out in from of them and with a bit of practice you can know which hand the coin is in about 9/10 times a great quick mentalist effect that is very easy to do.

The Blindfolded deck

This trick is worth the price of the book

You have a spectator freely shuffle the deck and you inform them that you are going to predict at what card they will cut the pack to, you then look through the cards and write your prediction down on a piece of paper and put it in clear view of the spec.

You place the deck on your outstretched hand and then cover the deck of cards with a blindfold and for this you can use a hanky and then ask the spec to cut the deck through the handkerchief and keep hold of where they have cut the deck.

When they have done this you remove the bottom section of the deck and ask them to turn over the top card and then to check out your prediction that has been sitting in front of them all the time and they both match.

There is so much you can do with one and it works fabulously with a deck of tarot cards and a routine about fate.


The cost of the book is £5.56 plus £2.50 for postage from http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 50-0688624 and even though this book is targeted at beginners in mentalism like myself I think there is something here for everyone as the tricks are easy which gives you time to concentrate on your patter and getting the mood right.

I give this book 10/10 as there is 67 different routines and whilst they are easy you will need to practice your patter as this is key to a good performance and there is enough material in this book for several mentalist acts and don't be put off by the fact that they are easy as the good ones often are.

The book included sections on ESP Magic, mind reading with cards, book tests and a lot more.

Dean

This is indeed a book which can open the gateway to mentalism for many who are new to the genre.

At the price, it's a steal. And with the added bonus of being practically self-working with instant results, it gives good foundations and knowledge of many of the pro-level mentalism workings.

Your comment about patter is very important: with a lot of mentalism, the critical fine-line between a hokey performance and a credible one.

Fulves' advice on patter is important: and that is, you should heed the points of emphasis to keep the spectator's mind on the effect, not the workings.

A great little handbook.

And a fab review

I started working with mentalism with this book. I agree with all of the above, an absolute bargain full of good stuff. As Dorian says, Blindfold Deck is worth the money on its own.

remember this. Derren Brown has used at least one item from this book on his last full series.

And yet puzzled us all, no doubt. Add his own little touch, like only Derren can, to an effect from a book probably overlooked by most, and he's got a miracle on his hands.

I have this book; some interesting stuff. Definitely not the most informative book on the subject, maybe not one for purists, but still very useful indeed.

Thanks for the review. I have owned this book for a while now, but have not been interested enough in mentalism in the past to look in it. I will have to have a look at Blindfold deck now though.

This is one of the "Holy Trinity" of the first year Mentalism student (followed by the Annemann Mental Magic and Corinda's 13 Steps tomes)... learn these and you will be well on your way.

In that you are "Goth" by choice, you may wish to pick up a copy of Rick Maue's BOOK OF HAUNTED MAGICK {http://deceptionsunlimited.com/products.html} and though I don't have a link available, try to get your hands on the books put out by Ed Solomon. You may likewise enjoy the following resources...

http://www.dragonskull.co.uk/main_map.htm

http://www.online-visions.com/

http://www.grimghosts.com/phantom/seance.html

Then again, I do believe Mr. Blackhart roams about these spaces and he's got some seriously cool material to offer that would be right up your alley.

I've not read my old copy of SWMM for ages, but I started flicking through it again this morning and it really is excellent. Definitely a good start on the journey for the budding Derren Brown.

matias wrote:I recommend it BUT with reservations:

There is a lot of ...

The point about mentalism is that once you know the secrets, it can be really simple. It's the patter that makes it - try a Magician's Choice with and without patter and see what I mean.

Anyway, even if you're correct (which I doubt), it's still worth £4.75 (via amazon's second hand sellers) for me to find out.

aporia wrote:

matias wrote:I recommend it BUT with reservations:

There is a lot of ...

The point about mentalism is that once you know the secrets, it can be really simple. It's the patter that makes it - try a Magician's Choice with and without patter and see what I mean.

Anyway, even if you're correct (which I doubt), it's still worth £4.75 (via amazon's second hand sellers) for me to find out.

That's a most excellent point and something few ever take into consideration when starting down this path. Besides, there have been several solid treatise written on the Magician's Choice in which words are everything!

Hi

Glad to hear you liked the Review

Thank you Craig for the links.

Highest Regards

Dean

Cardza wrote:And yet puzzled us all, no doubt. Add his own little touch, like only Derren can, to an effect from a book probably overlooked by most, and he's got a miracle on his hands.

I have this book; some interesting stuff. Definitely not the most informative book on the subject, maybe not one for purists, but still very useful indeed.

Have the book and agree its great, just out of interest what effect does derren use?

What happened to my post?

matias wrote:What happened to my post?

Sometimes I manage to press preview instead of submit and wonder that

Greetings Matias

Looking at your profile it says that you have only made one post which will be the one I am now replying to.

Please do re-post as I would love to read your comments also if you would like to post a brief introduction about yourself in the introductions section that would be a great way for everyone to get to know you.

Dean