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Price $55.00
REViEW BY W.S. DuNCAN
I’ve been waiting a very long time to read this book. Somewhere back around 1990 one of the local boys, a fellow named Stephen Hobbs, moved off to New York City and began to write magic books. One of them, Gene Maze and the Art of Bottom
Dealing, is an underground classic. It
seemed, however, that a book of Sol Stone’s magic would never be completed. But happily, I can report that The Essential
Sol Stone, which Hobbs started all those
years ago, has finally seen the sun. And it shines in the light of day.
After a brief biography to introduce Mr. Stone, there is a section (called Theories) that offers a bit of insight into how the magic is created. You should read both sections before you begin learning the tricks. Author Hobbs, who is a talented coin worker himself, knows that to really learn magic, you have to understand it on a level beyond the physical manipulations. By introduc- ing you to the creator as a person, whole and complete beyond his magic, I think you’ll have a more intimate connection to the material. These aren’t just tricks. They’re Sol’s tricks.
The first routines are simple card tricks that were created to help a shy young man break the ice with young ladies. In two of them you are required to hold a girl’s hand. Also covered in the card magic section are Mr. Stone’s Ambitious Card routine, an in- the-hands Monte effect, and a Cards to Pocket based on T. Nelson Downs’s version from The Art of Magic.
When the coin magic starts, it begins with methods for the false transfer, the click pass, and lessons on how to hold your hands when concealing a coin. With those basics covered, the content shifts to penetration effects, transpositions, and fusion effects (merging two quarters into a half dollar and splitting it back in twain, and a more demanding version using halves and a dollar that ends with four quarters). Then come sleeving, the back finger-clip, one-handed Spellbound changes (including a quadruple change), and the Tenkai Pennies done with quarters.
The coin magic section ends with the Miser’s Dream, in which the wonderful illustrations by Cassiday Alexander become not just drawings, but portraits of the artist at work. In a picture on page 188 you can almost see the twinkle in his eye as Mr. Stone plucks a coin from the air.
Ms. Alexander’s work ranks with the best I have seen. She is a talented portrait artist, working from pre-illustrative photos taken by Richard Kaufman. A better combination I can’t imagine, and have not seen.
The book ends with an excellent ring on and off pen routine, a handling for the Imp Bottle, a rope routine, and a couple of other simple close-up effects. The last item is a very clever and different routine using dice, which is available as a dealer item. Reading this convinced me that I need to spend the money on that item to obtain the necessary dice. They’re “special” in a very subtle way, and the routine is good enough to warrant the extra expense.
Sol Stone’s magic is, to borrow a word from Meir Yedid, “casual.” If you have seen the video (Quick & Casual Close-up) produced by Mr. Yedid, you’ll understand the full meaning of that word. When Sol Stone performs coin magic there is no effort, only effect. Amazingly, Hobbs has managed to not only convey that smoothness, but he is able to impart some idea of how to achieve it. So to Mr. Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, Stephen Hobbs, designers Thomas Baxter and Martin Kostanje (who helped make the book itself as exceptional as its contents), and Richard Kaufman for getting things started all those years ago, thank you so very much. It was worth the wait.
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REViEW BY MiCHAEL CLOSE
The final volume of the hardbound collection of The
Trapdoor has arrived, and that
is an occasion for great joy and great sadness: great joy because of the quality of the material, and great sadness because it is the end of this project. (And don’t even get me started about feeling bad for all the trees that were around This month we have two very different videos for you to consider: a young man named Francis Menotti’s two-DVD set called
The Treachery of Tricks, and a large collection of magic by maestro René Lavand. The two men couldn’t be more different, and yet
having seen both DVD collections, I find that their offerings are more alike than they are different. Both men have unique performing personas, and their acts are a combination of standard effects and original ideas done in a singular style. Neither set contains material you will watch and do as taught a week later at the magic club, but both contain a lifetime of lessons.
Dan Garrett reviews the third installment of John Carey’s walk-around magic, and Payne makes a recommendation for a painless version of the spike trick. And you’ll see my review of The Essential Sol Stone, which (even with four months remaining in 2012) is my pick for book of the year. And now, I’m off to PCAM 2012.
thick book – the type of book that can intimidate merely by its size. As originally published, The Trapdoor (during the years covered in this third volume) doled out its goodies in quarterly portions. Subscribers had three months to play with the material before they were hit with another blast. The Trapdoor Volume 3 logs in at 600+ pages. How do you approach such a book? Here are some suggestions.
You can read through the book front to back, attaching cute, colorful Post-It Notes to the pages that have tricks that interest you. When you finish, you’ll have a book that looks more festive than a peacock in mating season, and you’ll have enough tricks to try out to last you until next summer.
You can look for your favorite magic creators, to see if they have contributed to the magazine. Mr. Beam has made this easy for you by providing a Table of Contributors at the back of the book. You’ll find such well known people as Stephen Bargatze (who generously contributed his hilarious Chop Cup routine), Steve Bedwell (Shake, Shuffle, and Twist and The Dribble Toss Control are great), Tom Gagnon (with many items, including his remarkable Versatile Spread Control), Troy Hooser, Larry Jennings, Harry Levine (with an extraordinary discussion of the Breather Crimp), and Aaron Fisher and Lee Asher (two talented young men whose routines are anything but pipe dreams – these tricks will smoke anyone).
Or, you can do what I did (and what I have done with the previous two volumes) and head to the back of the book where Mr. Beam has offered contemporary commentary on each of the twenty issues. In this commentary you’ll find his favorite routines from the various issues, updates on the contributors, and various other bits of fascinating trivia. Before I read a particular issue, I flipped back and read the commentary on it.
What were my favorite items in the book? I’m not going to tell you. My tastes are not your tastes, and I don’t want to deprive you of the pleasure of discovering the gems for yourself. I will tell you, though, that I was delighted to find a complete recounting of the story that has led me to refer to the editor as Steve “I take my coffee black” Beam for many years. This is a great story, and one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen at a magic convention.
Excellent, varied magic and great stories, liberally seasoned with Mr. Beam’s dry sense of humor – what more could you ask for? For fans of close-up magic, The Trapdoor Volume 3 (like its two younger brothers) is a must-have purchase. Highly recom- mended.
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REViEW BY PAYNE
Last year, M-U-M columnist Levent released yet another one of his outstanding, all-encompassing, and encyclopedic multiple- DVD sets featuring everything you’d ever possibly want to know about a classic magic effect, one of my all-time favorite tricks, the Linking Rings. It spans four discs and contains over seven hours of moves, routines, subtleties, philosophy, and recreations of classic performances. All with the borderline obsessive attention to detail that Levent is famous for.
At least that’s what I’ve heard. I am somewhat ashamed
find the time to sit in front of the DVD player long enough to work my way through this extensive and comprehensive set. Granted, what I’ve seen so far is excellent and I look forward to viewing the rest of the material as soon as I can squeeze another six-and-a- half hours into my schedule. Perhaps I need to invest in a portable DVD player so I can watch them on the go. But this probably isn’t going to happen, because I’m something of a Luddite. So it should come as no surprise that even though my magic library is meager by most counts, it still outnumbers my magic related DVD and VHS (yes VHS) recordings easily ten to one. I learned magic out of books and, while I do find DVDs espe- cially useful for certain genres of magic, I still prefer them over digital media. So I was pleased to learn that none other than Pete Biro was releasing a book on the Linking Rings.
The Real Secrets of the Linking Rings
is a treat. It has something for everyone. Those who simply want routines will find sixteen of them between the covers. History buffs will find new and informative material, including a comprehensive timeline detailing the earliest known references of the performances of the trick as well as a listing of the multiple variations and who (if known) performed them. There are anecdotes galore, one of my favorites being the reason why Al Koran as a mentalist still performed the rings. There are essays gathered from Paul Daniels, Trevor Lewis, Robert Harbin, Viktor Voitko, and Levent.
Bibliophiles will be pleased to know that this informative volume not only contains the first known written instructions for the Linking Rings, but it also reproduces in its entirety (in facsimile form) the much sought after The Odin Rings, believed by many to be one of the definitive texts on the subject and virtually impossible to find. The inclusion of this text alone makes Mr. Biro’s tome a bargain even at twice the price. But if this wasn’t already enough to send book collectors into spasms of rapture, there is also an extensive bibliography of the Rings in the magic literature put together by Etienne Lorenceau – a listing that should keep many an enthusiast occupied for many a year.
It may seem hard to believe, but there is even more to be found between the covers of this 242-page opus. For Mr. Biro is not only obsessed with the linking of large metal rings. He is also inter- ested in the conjoining of other objects as well. Thus there are sections devoted to ring-like objects, such as the Linking Coat Hangers, Terry Seabrooke’s Vicious (barbed wire) Rings, the linking ropes, and the linking finger rings. If it links together, there is a reference to be found about it in this book – a text that is destined to become one of the classic works on this classic effect. If you’re already a fan of the Rings or looking to become one, add this volume to your must-have list.
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REViEW BY ANTONiO M. CABRAL
a universe away from what it would eventually become. What set Lavand apart from everyone else then was the fact that he performed all of his tech- niques one-handed. What separates him now is a lifetime of being…René Lavand.
His repertoire has changed very little, if at all, since its earliest pub- lication (available in the wonderful compilation Magic from the Soul) and later appearances in Mysteries of
My Life and his five-volume Close-Up Artistry DVD set. Now, The Essential Magic Collection provides
yet another, extremely well-produced look into this extraordinary artist with a four-disc set titled simply René Lavand – Maestro.
Of the four discs, two are dedicated to the performance and ex- planation of a full evening’s command performance at the Ajuda National Palace in Lisbon. One disc features the performance and the other provides the explanations, or the “Threads of The Mario- nettes.” Disc 3 is a collection of Lavand’s Signature Compositions, routines that do not feature in his full evening show but which are delivered with just as much gravitas and aplomb. They are classics in their own right and explained in detail. Disc 4 features explana- tions of the one-handed techniques that form the backbone of his repertoire: the false deals, false shuffles, palms, and changes. One exciting addition not previously published is a new false shuffle, this one using a one-handed Zarrow-type dynamic instead of the strip-out of his previous shuffle. Lavand states he got the concept from one of his students, and it’s a strong object lesson that even a maestro can still learn something new. Bonus features across the discs include a four-part interview and extras like Lavand’s appearance at the Essential Magic Conference 2011 and two of his appearances on Luis DeMatos’s TV specials from Portugal. Throughout these discs, the video quality and camerawork are superb. In addition, the use of subtitles makes the viewing a little easier on the ears than having to deal with overdubbed translation, and lets you fully experience the cadence and rhythm of Lavand’s presentations without interference.
It’s a beautiful production without a doubt. The question for the average close-up magician is, what can you learn from René Lavand? This is a difficult question, because everything about Lavand’s magic is singular and unique, from the one-handed tech- niques he uses out of necessity, to his choice of material, to his choice of presentations. It would be as big a mistake to attempt to ape Lavand as it would for a twelve-year-old to quack on about his “recent visits to a wise man in the mountains of Tibet.” And yet, Lavand is precisely what every magician strives to be. He’s a con- summate artist, he delivers his material with the seriousness of a great classical pianist, and he commands respect and he receives it. He takes a plot like Oil & Water that every armchair expert says is death on toast for an audience and turns it into a master- piece. He even has the bizarre nerve to perform a whole program of card tricks. He’s the ultimate exception to test the “rules.” I would go so far as to say there is absolutely nothing on this DVD set that the average close-up worker could learn from. What every close-up worker should get out of this DVD set is inspiration. I don’t mean in a knee-jerk “overcoming one-handed challenges” kind of way, I mean in a “this is everything we dream of being” kind of way. Even if you never aspire, you can still dream. Highly recommended.
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Available from: www.PaperCraneMagic.com Distributed by Murphy’s Magic Supplies Price $40.00
REViEW BY MARC DESOuzA
Let me begin by saying that Francis Menotti is a friend and colleague
whose talent and skill I admire immensely. That will not prevent
me from presenting an unbiased review of his new DVD set. I believe that Francis has a dis- tinctive voice, and that is a rarity in the magic world today. His character and point of view are indelibly stamped on his material. In this project, Francis performs and teaches a number of effects, but more important, he talks about the “whys” along with the “hows.” There are also a thirty-five- minute performance and an essay section, but more on that in a moment.
On Disc One, he performs and teaches six close-up/parlor effects, along with a gag and a bonus effect called Schroding- er’s Card. The effects include the prediction of a coin and the date on the coin, an interesting prediction of a selected word, several very novel coin routines (which include a few cool new moves), and a three-phase two-card prediction. Not only are these well performed and taught, but each explanation has additional thoughts discussed, including the artistic decisions made in the construction of the effects and the importance of framework and presentation, as well as some variations on some of them. There are extensive credits presented for each of the effects as well. I don’t want to spoil the gag taught on this disc, but it breathes new life into an overused gag we’ve all seen far too many times. Once you watch the performance on Disc Two, you will see how he has taken this even further and uses it as a running gag throughout the entire show. But as good as these effects are, and there are some really fine ones for working performers, it is the material on Disc Two that gives the most value and benefit.
Disc Two begins with a performance by Francis. This show includes some of the material taught on Disc One, but the majority of it is material right out of his working repertoire. He begins by explaining why this material is on the disc. This material is not being taught, nor do you have permission to use it in any way, shape, or form (except for the opening effect, which has been in print before, but you still shouldn’t do it unless it fits you as well as it fits Francis). These effects are there for you to enjoy in per- formance and to be inspired by. You can learn by watching and studying the construction of the routines. Even better is the fact that you can watch the entire performance a second time with Francis doing an audio commentary in which he talks about how and why he created the material and why he has made certain choices in the development of that material. This is great and will provide a real learning experience for many of you. Finally, there is a section titled Essays. When you click on it, you will find the title “On Betterment.” Don’t be surprised that this is the only essay on the disc. When you watch the whole thing, you will realize that