Bullet Party by John Bannon

Packed with great close-up card tricks and some first rate utility moves, John Bannon’s “Bullet Party” packs a definite punch. This book is apparently “the next installment in Bannon's ‘fractal card trick’ series (from what I gather, they are Bannon’s packet tricks) and there’s some relation with a Bannon DVD. I’m not familiar with either one and will simply judge this excellent book on its own. I like the four of a kind assemblies, the multiple shift and false cuts, and an effect called “Question Zero,” which I’ll discuss later in this review.

The book’s first effect is the namesake “Bullet Party.” This strong packet effect is based on Alex Elmsley’s “Four Card Trick” and it’s a good one. You bring out four cards; three jokers and an ace of spades, and ask a spectator to follow the ace through a series of changes between the jokers and the ace. At the end, the four jokers turn into the remaining three aces, and each have something amusing written on their backs that supports the patter and plot.

I like “Bullet Party,” both for its plot and for its humorous touches, but I’m not fond of its use of the “tent vanish” (and I normally don’t care for the move anyway) - an application of the move that Bannon foresees a lot of magicians not liking. So he offers good alternatives. In this effect, you end up clean and the remaining cards may be examined.

“Bullet Catcher” is an interesting four ace production that provides a great way to quickly pull four aces from an apparent mixed deck. The process makes it look as if you are randomly cutting the deck and reversing and outjogging a card that you find at each cut. This is performed four times and at the end, the four outjogged cards turn out to be aces (or any four of a kind of your choosing). It’s a great move.

With the four aces out, you’re ready to perform a four ace assembly. And if you like four of a kind assemblies, you’ve come to the right place. Bannon teaches five ace assembly routines. All are quite different in execution and method.

Bannon says that he performs the five ace assembly effects one after the other, and together, they make up a set that he refers to as the “Bullet Catcher” routine. However, each can stand on its own and be performed separately. If you’re like me, you’ll probably find assemblies that you prefer and will want to learn - either due to the method or the plot of the card trick.

I liked “Drop Target Aces” where you appear to insert the four aces into different parts of the deck as you dribble it. However, the last four cards in your hand turn out to be the four aces. They have apparently moved from their position in the deck to the remaining cards. I also particularly enjoyed “Big Fat Bluff Aces”where the collecting pile contains not aces, but suddenly, kings. And the aces return to their original piles.

Getting away from assemblies, “Box Jumper” offers a transposition between two cards: one that’s left sticking out from the deck and a second that has been placed into a card box. Here, Bannon teaches the excellent “Banzai Spin Out” and a useful “Drop Sleight.”

“Fat City Revisited” offers a good two-phased sandwich routine. The first phase is fairly conventional to educate spectators on the premise of a “sandwich effect” or revelation. In the second phase - the real (lunch?) meat of the effect - the entire deck is found between the sandwiching cards and the selected card is isolated by itself in a surprising manner.

“Poker Pairadox Redux” is a revamped version of Bannon’s “Poker Pairadox” from his “Mega Wave” book. It’s a strong take on poker with the theme of “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

As I mentioned, I really like the premise behind “Question Zero.” The deck is shuffled and mixed by a spectator who removes any five cards (it’s a free choice) and mentally selects one. The cards are returned to the deck and lost. After a bit of mixing, you remove a card from the deck. When the spectator names his card, it is indeed the one that you laid out on the table. I love the premise of this trick - it’s a great application of psychology that I think can play strong, and also enjoyed the fact that I have already mastered equivalent moves to readily perform it. I haven’t tried this one out yet, but I’m definitely planning to.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to teaching some great moves. I liked the “multiple shift.” If I didn’t already have one that I already use and have frequently relied on, I would definitely consider learning this one. The last two moves are false cuts that are convincing and rather showy.

The book offers excellent and thorough instructions as well as background on each effect. There are also first rate pictures to guide you through the workings of each. While I love DVDs, I often prefer to learn effects and moves by viewing them in books such as “Bullet Party,” as I often find that I have to write things down anyway when learning from DVDs.

If you like the descriptions of any of the effects or moves that I have written above, this first rate book is well an investment of twenty bucks.