Book Review - Practical Advice On the Creation of Magic and More

 

I now hold in my hands, a copy of The Inventive Magician's Handbook w/Props by Judge Gary Brown, and please try and ignore anything you've read or heard me say previously. I had a feeling I was going to be a big fan of this book when it came out because I had many conversations with Gary during his process of writing it. I even saw some of the tricks long before he thought he'd be writing another book. But even with these little glimpses, I was not prepared for what came in the mail.

I knew from the beginning, a professional magic book that came with the props was going to be huge. The last time that happened was the original Tarbell Course in magic when it was a mail order course. You're not receiving as much stuff as the Tarbell Course, but what you get are a number of very clever magic effects that are unusual and fun to perform. This is PART of what you are receiving. The actual content of the book is multi-layered. You'll read about the history of inventiveness or creativity in our art. You'll learn techniques and strategies that various creators use to create their effects. You get several chapters on Gary's own tricks, where he explains the process of creation, and then gives you the full description of the effect, along with the handling and the script. The general idea behind the book is to help you, the reader, understand that you don't have to settle for what's out there in magic, or tired old tricks that have been seen a million times, but rather you can invent new plots, new presentations, and new routines by using these various tools that Judge Gary suggests. 

If you think he's going to teach you how to reinvent the wheel, or come up with brand new never before methods for tricks, he's not. He will address that. But he will also address the far easier approach to developing fresh material. Case in point, he included a routine based upon a Max Maven idea. He has permission from Max's estate to include this. It's an absolutely brilliant routine that you will LOVE. But more than that, once you see how to completely revamp the original routine, you'll understand how to do so yourself. 

As for the props, you are receiving a separate package with all the props needed from the book. You won't  need to supply anything for the tricks, with one exception. The chapter on Hypercards will require you to provide your own playing cards. Hypercards is not really a trick, but a magical give-away that you can custom create yourself. So with a few old playing cards and some scissors you can make one of the optical wonders. All of the routines, have scripts, but these are not the standard fair where the script is basically explaining the moves the magician is making. Rather, these are well thought out, audience tested stories, that push the narrative and the trick along from beginning to the final moments. To demonstrate the power of these stories, they could stand alone without the props and still be interesting. But WITH the props you add meaning to what you are presenting. 

There is one negative with the book and that is the limited quantity that have been made. A great number of books printed and available are already gone, having been sold during the brief pre-sale. They had to stop the pre-sale because books were going so fast. Frankly, It was an expensive book to produce. Larry Haas, the publisher, spared no expense in producing a first class book and prop kit. The tricks in the prop kit are printed with original artwork. And then neatly packaged, each with it's own protective envelope.  That adds more time and effort into the production of the final item. And the book itself is lavishly illustrated, it simply looks amazing. You'll have no problems following along to learn the routines. A bonus is also included, videos of Gary performing the various effects so you can see yourself, what they are supposed to look like. But trust me, you'll want to try them if for no other reason than to understand that underlying method of their creation. But they are so novel, you will WANT TO TRY these effects, because of how clever they are.

The book went beyond my expectations. It's an enjoyable read and you'll have fun with the included tricks. But mostly, it's extremely valuable to learn and understand the principles of inventiveness so that you can later use them in your own magic life. The Inventive Magicians Handbook w/Props is a breath of fresh air and a resource that every magician needs if they want to stand out from the crowd. They go on sale Oct 1st 2024, and are only available through TheoryAndArtofMagic.com. Don't wait. This book will sell out FAST! 

Impuzzibilities Series by Jim Steinmeyer BOOK REVIEW

 

I just watched a lecture by Jim Steinmeyer over on Vanishing Inc and he mentioned his Impuzzibilities books. Apparently, according to Jim, when he first put these out, many of his friends kidded with him about this project. From his comments it sounds like they gently were poking fun at him for putting out such material. Why? Well, many effects used a method that many thought 'out of date' or 'obvious' or maybe even hackneyed. But this was far from the truth.

In his defense, he also said he never expected to put out more than one book. That was not the original plan. But now, he has 10 in the series and potentially more coming.

I can't vouch for every book in the series, but I can vouch for MOST of the books in the series and say these are filled with diabolical magic material. The reason I purchased the first book, and then many subsequent books, was I was looking for 'radio' material. In other words, I wanted magic effects that could be done on the radio. I had a couple radio interviews on the horizon and wanted to be able to do some magic on the air. And, I did, thanks to these books.

When the pandemic happened, these books became invaluable to virtual magic shows everywhere.  And then after the pandemic, I tried to figure out the best material and include it in live shows. I honestly, do not like to share my favorite material from the books because I don't want a lot of people do it, if they haven't discovered it already. BUT, I will share one.

From the book, Subsequent Impuzzibilities, is an effect called Fingertip Mindreading. I first saw this on Jim's older website, when he had a client newsletter section. It contained an interesting image of a performer standing next to a giant hand on a stand, if memory serves. That image is NOT in the Subsequent Impuzzibilities book. But the cover does have a gold hand, which, alludes to that trick. Basically, Jim suggested you could make a big hand from wood, plastic, or whatever and use it to illustrate the trick. So I built a giant sized one out of wood. mounted it on a stand, and made it so that each finger could bend down. Why? Because during the routine, you eliminate fingers until only one remains. You don't need a giant prop like that, but it takes a small trick and makes it stage size. And I've used mine literally hundreds of times. (the hula hoops are not part of the trick, but it makes a good stand to hang stuff as well, lol)

There are tricks that are really only for one or two people. There are tricks that truly can be done on the radio, or tv, or virtually. And when I say that I mean, they are interactive and the audience can follow along and the magic will happen right there in their own hands. The majority of the material doesn't require any special props, other than some cards or coins. A few you might need to make up, but diagrams and such are given. 

The smart performer will figure out a way to incorporate some of these into their shows. I truly think these are a must have for any performer to keep in their library. They are available through most magic dealers, but why not get them from Jim at https://jimsteinmeyer.com/product-category/books/

The Inventive Magician's Handbook w/Props is UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU"VE SEEN IN MAGIC!

That's a bold statement to say, "unlike anything you've ever seen in magic". But, having had dozens of conversations with the author about this book, I can attest to the fact that it's both something very different, and something very special. As far as the creativeness of the author, yep, I can also tell you, Judge Gary Brown is big time creative. He can take some of the simplest concepts and turn them on their head and give you a brilliant new piece of magic. I have a number of Gary's creations that I use. One in particular is a feature routine in my show. 

What you have in this book is both the exploration of inventiveness and then Gary showing you his applications. And did you miss the part about this book coming with props?  That never happens in the magic world. Sure sometimes with beginners books for the public, maybe, and even then it's rare. But here you're getting 14 innovative tricks, with the scripts and the props!!!!!!

If you're not sure who Judge Gary Brown is, he is the author of Wandcraft. He is the author of numerous magic magazine articles. He's written for both magic and real world periodicals. He loves the history of magic and has even appeared on television documentaries about magic history. He's a recent contestant on Penn and Teller's Fool US, and of course he is a federal U.S. Judge. OH, and last but not least, Judge Gary is a creative consultant for the Magic Detective Podcast. 

The publisher is now taking pre-orders. You've got to get a copy before they're gone. Click here to reserve your copy of this really unusual treasure!