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Reviews of Magic Tricks, DVDs & Books

Reviews of the latest magic tricks, books and videos. To see all of our reviews, please refer to the categories below.

Review of Minotaur The Final Issue
"Minotaur The Final Issue" offers a lot of useful effects with a variety of props, and while most of the material is for close-up, there are some for stand-up. The props are varied and include: cards, coins, orange juice, popcorn, toothpicks, mardi-gras beads, brown bags and more. Best of all, you get the benefit of material from the brilliant...

Review of Deception Vol. 1 by David Forrest
"Deception Vol. 1" features David Forrest's newest card effects that are strong, visual, commercial and varied. The collection includes a couple sandwich effects, brilliant work with mint and card boxes, a few sleight of hand moves and more. I think there's something for just about everyone.

Review of the Retro Gravity Levitation
Retro-Gravity relies on a diabolically clever method that allows you to modify your shoes to achieve a two to four inch levitation. Angles are far better than the "traditional" method and there are no covers - jackets and such - needed. Also, there's no need to wear special clothing or pants.

Review of Calen Morelli's "Function 9"
Taking magic to the streets, David Blaine style, in "Function 9," Calen Morelli offers first rate effects that employ cards, water bottles, cell phones, rubber bands and more. Some routines are practical for walk-around and restaurants, but many work best "on the street."

Review of MatriXpress by Shawn Farquhar
When it comes to laying coins onto a table and causing them to magically move around while shrouded with playing cards, Shawn Farquhar's excellent "MatriXpress" offers an impressive effect with a clever and convincing gimmick-based method. Best of all, this one is not overly difficult to learn and perform.

2012's Top Ten Magic Products
So here are the best DVDs, books and tricks for magicians for 2012. After reviewing just under 100 products during the year, I've whittled the stack down to those that are the most innovative, as well as to material that is useful to magicians and connects with spectators.

Best Magic Products - Readers' Choice Awards
So what is the best magic product? I'll be compiling your nominations and identifying the top five submissions, and ultimately, crowning a winner. Let your opinion be known for "Best Magic Product."

Tell us about your favorite iPhone Magic Tricks and Apps
Know of a great iPhone magic app? Whether you're a magician or a creator/publisher, here's a place where you can tell us about your favorite app. Feel free to include links to websites and online videos. If you know of a great magic-related app, I want to hear about it. See submissions

Submit Your Reviews of Magic Products
Want to give your opinion on a commercial magic trick or instructional DVD? You can write a review and it will be given its own page here at Magic.About.com. See submissions

The Best of 2007
We look at the best products of 2007. It was a magical year.

DVD Review: Chicarnery-John Carney
John Carney is a magic Jedi master and "Chicarnery," his excellent instructional DVD, serves five great effects with cards and coins. There’s a great signed bill into pen effect that is almost as strong as "bill to lemon," but without the involved setup and resulting mess; a fantastic and visual card color change sequence; a transposition routine where red and black aces change places in a four-card packet and more. If any one effect fits into your repertoire, it's worth the price of this DVD.

Review: Bicycle Red Gaff Deck
Ellusionist.com's "Bicycle Red Gaff Deck" offers an intriguing and comprehensive collection of gaffed playing cards that you can use with a normal red Bicycle deck. Some are well known standards and the deck goes far beyond with amazing and visual variations that will spark your imagination and dress-up your card effects.

DVD Review: Official Poker Flourishes DVD-Vol 1
On this DVD, Rich Ferguson offers excellent instruction to teach basic card flourishes that include: springs, fans, waterfalls and spreads. Beginning magicians can learn a lot here. And the flashy moves will add visual interest to their card sets.

DVD Review: Andrew Normansell 100% Commercial - Comedy Stand-Up
Andrew Normansell’s comedy DVD offers a strong selection of commercial stage effects. This DVD does not present an act, but several routines that are largely weighted towards cards. Normansell has an engaging stage presence and the effects he presents here offer lots of opportunities to interact with spectators and are not difficult to perform.

DVD Review: Criss Angel Self Levitation
If you want to learn and perform an excellent self-levitation, one that allows you to lift your feet in the air while standing almost anywhere, Criss Angel teaches one of the many techniques that he performed in his MINDFREAK television series.

Review: Bill Goldman’s Little Book of Big Secrets
As the title implies, Bill Goldman’s book is small and may be read in less than half-an-hour. On the other hand, the collection of meandering essays, while entertaining to read, generally fail to deliver the inside scoop on what makes a magician of Goldman’s caliber so successful.

Trick Review: The Tim Card Poker Deal
Tim Ellis delivers a winner with his Tim Card Poker Deal, a poker-style effect where the magician plays three hands of poker against a spectator and always loses the first two hands and wins the last. The spectator seemingly makes the choices. It’s an easy effect that is great for beginners, offers lots of opportunity to interact with spectators and is strong enough to work in a walk-around set.

Book Review: Bill Goldman’s Magic Bar and Grill
"Magic Bar and Grill" was Bill Goldman’s ten-issue newsletter that was published over a period of nine years. It was a creative and well received outlet for Goldman's ideas, presentations, methods, opinions and more. This book brings together all ten issues. While it’s somewhat quirky, there are some definite gems to be found within.

DVD Review: Captured! The Outlaw Magic of Lonnie Chevrie Volume II
In the second volume of his “Outlaw Magic” series, Lonnie Chevrie tips four solid close-up effects that are visual and only require fundamental sleight-of-hand skills. If the effects sound as if they’ll fit in your walk-around or close-up sets, the DVD is worth the look.

DVD Review: The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion-Asia
If you want to find out what it’s like to carry out an international tour, The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion-Asia offers an entertaining compilation of backstage and on-the-road footage. The DVD demonstrates no secrets and the performance segments are limited, but it’s fascinating to watch The Spencers and their support team in action and experience their Asian tour through their eyes.

Trick Review: Seance Handcuffs
The seance is a magic classic. In a seance, the magician is tied-up or bound in some way that constrains his or her movements, and then spiritual “manifestations” and strange events occur. To perform the effect, Cannon’s Great Escapes offers its superb Seance Handcuffs that work well and rely on a clever and almost undetectable gimmick.

The Official Poker Shuffles & Cuts DVD-Volume 1
Geared towards poker and card players who want to show off, The Official Poker Shuffles & Cuts DVD-Volume 1 teaches a comprehensive collection of cuts and shuffles, both basic and advanced that magicians can add to their repertoires. For beginners, there’s a wealth of material that will keep them busy for months.

The Magic Junk Drawer: Bubble Magic
Two marketed effects in my junk drawer relate to bubbles. A few years back, I thought that a bubble effect could form the basis of a strong opener. I would walk out on stage in my stand-up act, blow some bubbles, reach up into the midst of the bubbles and pluck one out of the air. But alas, the effects that I purchased quickly ended-up in my junk drawer. Here’s why.

DVD Review: Cellini, Art of Street Performing, New Orleans, Volume II
For those who want to perform magic in the streets or can use strong stand-up routines that work under almost any condition, Cellini, the street master, offers superb instruction in his Art of Street Performing, New Orleans, Volume II. With varied effects that use silks, coins, ropes, cigarettes and cups and balls, the DVD presents an entire street act.

Trick and DVD Review: McAbee Rings
The McAbee Rings offer an intriguing set of women’s bracelets that mysteriously link and unlink. Martin Lewis' amazing trick and routine can now be purchased with an excellent instructional DVD that explains everything you need to know. The routine offers a different style linking ring effect that looks more natural than conventional linking rings and leaves you completely clean at the end.

DVD Review: 24 Years of Living Next Door to Ellis
Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster offer a brilliant, hilarious and entertaining DVD that’s filled with first rate, commercial effects. The premise here is that a nosy neighbor, played by Webster, is constantly spying on Ellis in his home and figuring out and explaining his tricks. It’s loads of zany fun and Ellis and Webster often make the explanations as entertaining as the tricks.

My Magic Junk Drawer: “Watch & Wear”
Every magician owns magic tricks that he purchased with the highest expectations, but for whatever reason, never made it into his act. In this regular new feature, I discuss effects that I bought and now sit on a shelf. This week, it’s the “Watch & Wear” wristwatch, a mentalism effect where a spectator names a time of the day and the magician shows that his watch was previously set to that time.

What’s In a DVD or Trick Review?
One reader’s e-mail prompted me to evaluate and explain my approach to reviewing DVDs and tricks here at Magic & Illusion. Here’s some insight into the process that is designed to identify strong magic effects, steer you clear of bad ones, save you money and give you an idea of the situations where an effect will work and its difficulty.

DVD Review: Bob Sheets’ Hang ‘Em High
Another strong effect from Bob Sheets, his “Hang ‘Em High” DVD shows how to perform his stunning version of the rope through body. Two spectators hold a single rope at each end and the magician places the middle of the rope on his back. In the blink of an eye, the rope ends-up in front of the magician, somehow passing through his body.

Trick Review: Subterfuge
Subterfuge offers a gimmick and system that can vanish a small object or coin that is resting on a spectator’s hand and quickly ditch it. The clever system doesn’t rely on a traditional pull or string. It’s an intriguing and competent system that vanishes small objects in a manner that can’t be recreated by sleight of hand alone.

DVD Review: Stand-Up Magic For Kids
Can the secret to great kids magic be found in a single DVD? “Bill Abbott Performs Stand-Up Magic For Kids” comes darn close. This excellent DVD only profiles three routines, but they’re high-impact, powerhouse effects that are clearly worth the price of admission. This DVD is a virtual gift to serious kid magicians everywhere.

DVD Review: Xtreme Beginnerz
If you want to learn flashy card flourishes to dress up your magic routines or establish a foundation in xtreme card manipulation (XCM), Ellusionist’s latest DVD, Xtreme Beginnerz, offers an excellent teaching tool. This two-DVD set offers hours of first rate instruction and tips from experts De’vo, Jerry Cestkowski and other pros.

Trick Review: Daryl’s Ultra-Monte
If you’ve always wanted to perform Three-Card Monte but found the sleight-of-hand daunting, Daryl’s excellent Ultra-Monte offers a relatively easy, gimmicked-based version. And in addition to being a great trick, Daryl provides excellent instruction with both a DVD and written text.

DVD Review: Wanted! The Outlaw Magic of Lonnie Chevrie: Volume 1
The Texas outlaw magician, Lonnie Chevrie, tips some first rate, commercial close-up routines on his DVD, “Wanted! The Outlaw Magic of Lonnie Chevrie: Volume 1.” The five effects are not difficult to learn and perform, and one is strong and absurdly easy. Those who are developing and building close-up material can find lots to like here.

Book Review: “Up in Smoke” - Larry Jennings
Offering a treasure trove of powerful card effects, Bill Goodwin’s “Up in Smoke” resurrects Larry Jennings’ earlier book of the same name. Goodwin has completely rewritten the book’s 12 effects, added photos where none existed before and includes two new effects. The title offers excellent instruction and some great card routines.

DVD Review: Official Poker Card Stunts DVD
Rich Ferguson’s “The Official Poker Card Stunts DVD” teaches a wide range of card techniques to switch cards, reveal and deal cards in flashy ways, throw cards and execute flourishes. While there are no actual tricks, magicians should find many of the moves useful. It’s a first rate DVD that provides excellent instruction.

Trick Review: Sudden Deck II
In “Sudden Deck II,” David Regal provides an entertaining way to magically produce a deck of cards. The magician walks out with a couple of pieces of white cardboard. With a snap of the fingers, one of the pieces instantly “prints” itself to resemble a Bicycle-brand card case. The magician folds the cardboard into the shape of a box and then removes a regular deck of cards.

Review of Mark Southworth's "Tin Opener"
After a great card routine, Magicians are always looking for that strong finale that causes a signed card to end up in an impossible place. For this, Mark Southworth's "Tin Opener" mysteriously places the spectator's signed card inside of a mint tin that's been sitting on the table.

Review of "Mental Epic Compendium" by Paul Romhany
If you want to learn just about everything there is on "Mental Epic" you'll find it in Paul Romhany's excellent "Mental Epic Compendium." This book provides some 54-routines in its 360 pages and may just be the final word on the well known mentalism effect.

The Top Magic Products of 2010
Here's my list of the best and most innovative magic products of 2010.

Review of Richard Osterlind's Industrial Strength Link
Definitely something different, Richard Osterlind's "Industrial Strength Link" offers a sophisticated take on the well known "ring and spring" trick. Here, Osterlind has built a multi-phase routine that can play in close-up or stand-up. It goes well beyond the limits of a mere puzzle and works as an entertaining routine.

Review of "Stand & Deliver" by Shaun McCree
On McCree's latest title, "Stand & Deliver," I found more commercial and powerful routines for corporate strolling work. The routines are multi-phased and suitable for all close-up workers.

Review of Cash Flow
"Cash Flow" offers a fast, visual bill transformation. In the main routine, you bring out a folded check and in the blink of an eye, you're holding two dollar bills that you can convincingly display on both sides. The kit also comes with materials to build your own gimmicks to accomplish virtually any transformations that you wish to with paper...

Review of Kings Crossing
Here's a good version of classic "cards across" that may be performed in stand-up and stage settings that employs jumbo-sized cards. This one requires no sleight of hand or difficult moves, all thanks to the set of gimmicked cards. And the jumbo-sized cards allow the effect to be seen from a distance.

Jumbo Backstage Monte - Review
"Jumbo Backstage Monte" is based on the well known beginner's magic trick. It begins conventionally, but transforms into something of a sucker effect at its conclusion. The gimmicking is clever and the effect is a fooler, but the effect requires care so the magician doesn't come across as an annoying smart aleck.

Review of Chop by Craig Petty
"Chop" offers a fantastic idea and a great routine, and the opening and closing supporting segments stand on their own as routines in their own right. It's all from the brilliant mind of Craig Petty, and "Chop" is a routine that he says has been his closer for a couple of years.

Jump by Frank Zheng
Frank Zheng is an artist from Shanghai, China. His "Jump" instructional title teaches several great coin routines, along with some strong magic with cards and one with a balloon. I generally like the effects, but many have specific hardware requirements.

DVD Review: Classic Carney
This version of John Carney’s excellent instructional video on DVD offers some solid close-up effects. The strongest are the three-phase card in napkin routine, a fun triumph style effect and an outstanding cups and balls effect that’s blended with classic bill in lemon.

Review: Bicycle Masters Edition
For card handlers, a fresh new deck that is worked in just right is one of life’s pleasures. And if you’re lucky enough to own Ellusionist’s Bicycle Masters Edition, a high-end Bicycle deck that’s printed by the United States Playing Card Company, you’re working with the best quality deck that’s probably out there. And its stunning, redesigned Ace of Spades adds icing to the cake.

Trick Review-Saw by Sean Fields
This impressive bit of geek magic makes it look as if you’re sawing a piece of thread into your neck. You visibly saw a length of thread into your throat by moving your hands back and forth, and the spectators see the thread embed itself under your skin. Pull the thread and the spectators see it lifting the skin and tearing away. This one is easy to setup and perform.

Trick Review: Disjointed
If you’ve ever seen or performed Shinko's "Classic Arm Twist," you know the amazing reactions that the effect gets from spectators. David Blaine used it in his first TV special and David Copperfield showcased it on the Tonight Shoe. Now, magician Joe Russell presents a new version that is just as easy to perform, if not easier, and takes the effect in a new direction.

Trick Review: The Scorpion Pro UV Kit - Part 2
Second in a two-part review - Chosen cards reveal themselves in an eery glowing light, and messages, personal dates and serial numbers mysteriously appear. Illuminated UV ink and light form the basis of Ellusionist’s Scorpion system, a series of props, instruction and impressive effects. Brad Christian and his team have compiled a system that offers some intriguing possibilities.

Trick Review: The Scorpion Pro UV Kit
Chosen cards reveal themselves in an eery glowing light, and messages, personal dates and serial numbers mysteriously appear. Illuminated UV ink and light form the basis of Ellusionist’s Scorpion system, a series of props, instruction and impressive effects. Brad Christian and his team have compiled a system that offers some intriguing possibilities.

DVD Review: Infusion by Geir Bratlie
Borrow a glass and a quarter and in the blink of an eye, the quarter has somehow penetrated the exterior of the glass and is now found inside. Ellusionist’s Infusion DVD shows you everything that you need to perform this amazing effect. It’s a “quickie” that can support other coin-related routines as well as stand on its own.

DVD Review: Adam Grace’s Glass
Has Adam Grace created a new close-up genre? His conjuring, as explained on this DVD, involves a square of glass, a marking pen and some sleight-of-hand. While the 15 tricks are a mixed lot, the strongest ones are impressive. And whether you like the effects or not, they are a tribute to Grace’s creativity, innovation and originality.

Trick Review: Enchanted Cube
An intriguing and visual effect, you instantaneously solve a Rubik's Cube right in front of spectators. The cube is clearly mixed at one moment, and, after tossing it up in the air, it's solved with all of the colors matching on each side.

Review of Luke Jermay's Colorblind
Touting a skill known as "dermioptic vision," Luke Jermay's excellent "Colorblind" offers a kit and several techniques to seemingly allow you to read the color of playing cards faces - black or red - using only the tips of your fingers.

Review of Psychedelic Foursome
"Psychedelic Foursome," a packet trick, offers a variation on classic "twisting the aces." The kicker comes at the end when the four cards are shown to have different colored backs, although they appeared to have the same backs throughout. At the end, you’re left completely clean and spectators may examine the cards.

Review of The Inside Job vs Aperture
For $25, this kit offers not just one, but two card tricks. The first trick, a great transposition of two cards that occurs in a card box, impressed me. The second, a moving hole effect where a hole in one card transfers to another, in comparison, is not as strong.

Review of Bruce Bernstein's Linking Pins
Much like a linking ring routine, but instead using ordinary safety pins that may be examined by spectators, "Bruce Bernstein's Linking Pins" is a smooth and convincing close-up effect. And the instruction here is among the best and most thorough that I have seen.

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