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Please review The complete workers volumes 1-5 By Michael CLose. I dont know whether to buy this or not.

Hi Murtagh55

I don't have time to review the complete set right now, it would take all week to do it properly anyway, but rest assured it is a great set.

I am not sure what format you are specifically you are asking for, but I have both the DVD's and the ebook version, and I couldn't recommend either highly enough.

I am not the biggest fan of Michael Close's performing style, and by that I certainly mean no disrespect, as I believe that he is one of the greatest thinkers in magic and his attention to detail is second to none.

Workers IS a incredible volume and in my opinion is a great addition to anyones library.

There is a real mixture of material, from beginner to advanced and covering many genres of magic. Probably more cards than anything else, but a lot of oher things as well..

Very highly recommended...

thanks bananafish for the reccomendation, if you think of it so highly it is sure to be good therefore this weekend I am going to go ahead and purchase it.

Just out of interest - I did review this before...

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic6500.p ... ael+worker

Actually, bananafish I was talking about the books, is the material in the books pretty much the same?

Identical.

Hi,
I have the ebook on CD (I think you can also get it as a download).
It is the same as the original books (Michael Close did his own DTP and I believe these are the original files)
In addition he has added notes to update some handlings and give additional tips.
They are in pdf format and easy to navigate. They are also suitable for printing out if you prefer to read them from an hard copy.

As for the material there is too much to review individually. Michael Close has provided lots of very useable routines. The first couple of books are close up and later he includes some parlour/ stand up routines. All of the routines are highly detailed including full patter and subtleties and this is what makes them special. The misdirection and entertainment is built in. No-one wants to produce a whole load of Michael Close clones, but he did intend for people to be able to learn and perform these as written. By doing this you will learn the importance of the check points and details that he has included and be able to incorporate such strategies into your own work. I'm not going to tell you my favourite routines as everyones needs are different, but there is some great work on the memorised deck in volume 5 and a few (3 actually) solid coin routines.

Apart from tricks, there are some very thought provoking essays on the whole range of magic. The topics go from how to perform various sleights (including one of the best mini courses on learning to palm cards), through patter, imitation and theft of material, choosing venues and dealing with difficult spectators. He is a thinker and a very clear writer.

There is an huge amount of material in these 5 volumes and I think that they are a fantastic bargain.

Simply- get them

Shanester