Maynia by Andrew Mayne

In Maynia, Andrew Mayne offers five offbeat, but visual effects. I particularly liked his production of a lit lightbulb from a sketchpad and finger stab of a selected card from mid air. You may find something to like among Mayne’s effects, and for twenty bucks, you probably can’t go wrong.

“Pop Fist” allows you to create an explosive opening from your seemingly bare hands. The magician shows his hands empty and suddenly, a fairly loud “pop” is heard and streamers shoot from the hands. As Mayne explains, this will draw attention and surprise spectators.

While the effect offers a surprise, I don’t think that it will fool lay spectators who will see the results and immediately figure out how it was done. The magician is left with some evidence in the hands, but Mayne offers a good method to cover for this.

My favorite on the DVD, in “Drawn from the Light,” the magician draws a light bulb on a sketch pad. With a wave of the hand, the cartoon light bulb illuminates itself and then, to the spectators’ surprise, the magician pulls a lit lightbulb from the pad. This one is visual and strong. Of course, it does require some specific props and preparation.

“Death Finger” is Mayne’s card stab, but instead of using a sword, he uses his finger. Here, a selected and signed card is stabbed in mid-air with a finger from a deck that has been sprung into the air. This one can be done at any time and is strong. As you would expect, you do destroy a card in the process and have to clean up a mess of cards on the floor.

In a bit of impromptu geek magic, “Finger Saw” allows you to appear to cut through your finger with the edge of a card. This one looks great.

A version of those “Russian Roulette” style effects that are so popular these days, Mayne offers a good version in his “Stab'd. In these effects, a sharp object such as a knife is placed under several covers, usually paper bags or cups, so the magician doesn’t know where it’s located. The bags or cups are mixed by spectators and the magician eliminates the choices, one by one, by slamming her hand down on the bags or cups. If she’s wrong, she risks serious injury.

The deadly implement in Mayne’s version is a sharpened pencil that’s enclosed in one of several envelopes. The envelopes are mixed and spectators choose one, which the magician stabs into his chest. And the second envelope is slammed into a spectator’s hand. This is not for the faint of heart and does have an element of danger.

Mayne offers excellent explanations and lots of insights into performing the effects. None of the tricks are difficult to perform but will require practice. Four great effects and one more for good measure for twenty bucks isn’t a bad deal. If you like the sound of any of the effects here, check out Andrew Mayne’s Maynia DVD.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $20

Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.