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The Effect One in a Hundred Book Test" by Brian Lewis



Cost £7.99 from HERE



Difficulty
(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)
would say an easy 2


Review what it says on the tin...."A spectator freely chooses two playing cards, for example a 3 and an 8. A book is picked up and turned to the page chosen by the cards (using our example this would be 3 & 8 - page 38).

The spectator is asked to concentrate and place their finger on the first word of this page. The performer instantly tells them the word under their finger, despite not seeing the selected cards, or touching the book at any time during the performance!

Description :


Very easy to perform - no sleights required
The choice of cards is completely free (no forcing)
Any book with 100 pages or more can be used
Can be instantly repeated
NO memory work, stooges, or fishing/questioning required
The "One in a Hundred Book Test" is a very easy, yet truly mind-blowing piece of magic. Despite seemingly impossible circumstances, you are able to name a random word with ease! We believe this is one you will use over and over again.
Comprises full instructions and sample routine. Also require a Standard Bicycle Deck (not supplied)."

what its really like" you recieve a 13 page booklet. the book is selected by the magi so the "impossible circumstances" maybe arent that impossible? although the impossibility rating can be improved(will post my idea in the MO section maybe )


Overallan easy to do effect which can be made impressive with the right patter, would rate this a reasonable 7/10 but with the right patter could boost it to 8 or 9

You really are psychic!

I was just reading the review THERE, came back here and your posting appeared -as if by magic!

no hypnotic gesturing required... heh heh

The book test sure does sound good. I have been thinking about purchasing a book test for some time now. If money was no object (huh, I wish), what would be the most killer one?

regards,
Valentino

would have to say the BIP book (even though i dont have it ) but according to most reviews its tops for value for money and effectiveness

Can anyone review the BIP book test?

regards,
Valentino

Can anyone review the BIP book test?

one can - and indeed one has.

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1762

Valentino

Check out my B.I.P book review in the reviews section.

It really is as good as the review states & a reasonable price.

I have tkaen delivery of the 100 Book test today, but postie comes after I leave for work, I will post my findings tomorrow.

Cheers
Mark

cheers roman,

I'll be interested to know how the two compare.

regards,
Valentino

B.I.P is extremely convincing, very easy to use and it takes only a few minutes to get the hang of what the performer has to do. After that it's sheer presentation and style which makes this a very strong effect. Highly recommended.

I must say at the moment it sound's like bip has my money. To me the key selling point is it's size! My pockets are already bulging with the tricks I carry round.

Where is it available for sale?

regards,
Valentino

Forgive me, gentlemen, but I don't see what the fuss is about. Annemann did exactly this with a good deck stack years ago.

Also, ask yourself this: if you could really read minds (and that is the point of this effect), why would you have a word selected in a book by first having playing cards selected? It's illogical, "magician" thinking, and has been left to fade away by modern mentalists.

If you have Practical Mental Effects, this strikes me as a waste of money.

why would you have a word selected in a book by first having playing cards selected?

Neil - I don't think it is as bad as all that. You could easily sell using the playing cards as a way to make the selection random - I mean after all the cards are "coincidentally" there any way.

I don't have the trick myself - so I can't comment properly but I don't think it should necessarily be dismissed just for that reason.

In saying that, if there are stronger, better book tests out there I can't see the point of buying one that is inferior in anyway. The BIP book however can be used in conjuction with other book tests as it is just that little bit different. The actual design of the BIP book is what makes it so believable and it's more just pure mind reading than an actual book test.

Just my thoughts

yup. What I'm interested in is that ultimate ONE AND ONLY book test. The one that has a killer effect, packs small, limited skill required, and works under all conditions.

Not too much to ask for?

Mind you Neil may just be slightly biased towards his own product

regards,
Valentino

As if by clairvoyancy - I've just emailed Mog about the Annemann question... how spooky is that???

Neil's right in one sense - and the strength of this effect would be determined by it's position in your whole act. For instance, at the beginning would be strongest - before the audience suspect that you could be forcing a card. Also, if you're performing a mentalism feat - why use randomly selected cards to divine the page? Surely the logical route is for the spectator to choose a page at random? I thought that was the 'dictionary definition' of a book test?

But I also agree with Bananafish in as much as this effect is, in it's own context, using the cards as a random choice has it's own place.

Kind of neutral, I know - but sometimes it's the effect which is important, sometimes it's how much you enjoy your performance. That's why we've all got our own crazy styles - which is a good thing.

The true mentalist, in an ideal situation, would never have seen the book before, and the spectator would freely choose a random page - at point a word is selected. The odds are astronomical in one sense of the magi guessing the word, but consider you're immediately narrowing the selection to one word per-page, it gets easier and less mystifying anyway.

Utilities such as the Silver Bullet (which I resurrected and reviewed not so long ago) make this sort of effect totally possible. But it's all about the performance, I think.