MagicBunny.co.uk

Name:
Five for £5 Series

Kids, Stage and Coffee

Author:
Oliver Meech

Price:
£5 each (funnily enough)

Difficulty:

Varied difficulty, though generally nothing knuckle busting. Most don't require any difficult sleight of hand but rely on good showmanship.

Out of 10:

9/10

Contents

Stage:

Spectator Blindfold Drive
Ted Vader
Trust No One
Say What You See
Crash Bang Wallop What a Pretty Picture

Kids:

Fronkey
Achoo
Mmm Laces
Well, Blow Me
Lego Go Go

I have not purchased the Coffee ebook (yet).


Comments

After hearing so much great stuff about The Plot Thickens I had to get hold of a couple of Oliver's ebooks and I was not disappointed. The two ebooks I have are brimming with great ideas and presentations. As Oliver admits himself, there are no radical new methods here but what you will get are some very strong party pieces to add to your shows.

While some of the effects didn't appeal to me I can see how they would work for other performers. However, there were a few gems that I will be trying out over the coming months. My scores are based on first impressions as I haven't road tested any of the tricks yet but in terms of raw ideas alone these ebooks have been well worth purchasing.

In the following comments I don't want to give away too much in terms of the presentations themselves because that's essentially what you're paying for.


Stage:

Spectator Blindfold Drive

A great way to present a classic marketed effect that practically every magician owns. I've come up with a couple of strong stage presentations for this item myself in the past and can see this version would certainly be a belter. 9/10

Ted Vader

Another superb bit of left-field thinking that involves combining a teddy with Darth Vader in a very clever way. My favourite from this ebook and something, ironically, I could see myself performing for kids rather than adults. 10/10

Trust No One

I like the principle of this effect which gets the entire audience involved. I think it's something that would play better than it reads and I will need to think about how I'd adapt it for my own persona. The plot centres on leaving a tube in the reception area and during the break audience members are invited to place poker chips into it. It doesn't instantly have the clarity and wow factor of the previous two tricks but in the right hands this could play big. 8/10

Say What You See

Wasn't as keen on this and is reminiscnet of another of Oliver's effect from The Plot Thickens that others think very highly of. It strikes me as something that could be charming and amusing rather than a show stopper. 6/10

Crash Bang Wallop What a Pretty Picture

I love the visual imagery of this trick and turning the old pulling-a-tablelcoth-out-from-under-the-crockery-without-breaking-anything plot could be a source for much amusement. The only downside for me is that it essentially boils down to another card revellation presentation. I think this plot could be put to even better uses. Great idea though 7/10


Kids:

Fronkey

Utterly brilliant trick that I can see working beautifully to a room full of screaming pre-teens. One of those that I don't want to say too much about because it's all in the plot but let's just say the kids are going to love the Frankenstinian grotesquery of it. 9/10

Achoo

A brilliantly gross way to reveal a card. Yes, it's a card revellation plot but you just know kids are going to love this. 8/10

Mmm Laces

A novel way to present a rope trick but I've never been a big fan of rope magic. Not for me but I can see how it's a novel twist on the format. 6/10

Well, Blow Me

A clever prediction of an animal using a common party blower. Again, not really my thing because it plays a bit smaller than the other effects, however, among a small group of children this could still be a good throwaway gag. 6/10

Lego Go Go

I loved this plot too - how to restore a full Lego model right under the kids' noses. Easy to do and uses something that taps into our potent childhood memories. Excellent bit of thinking. 9/10


Overall, I got so much out of these ebooks, not just in terms of effects I can use and adapt but from an inspirational point of view. I'm a big fan of using marketed effects in fresh ways and both these books underline the notion that its the effect that matters, not so much how you reach the end result.

I'd be very interseted in reading other peoples' thoughts on the tricks, especially the 'Coffee' manuscript which I haven't read. I'm sure others will find some of the tricks that left me colder perfect for them.

Bottom line: for £5 you can't go wrong. I defy you not to get something from these great ebooks.

cheers Wil. I'm glad you liked them!

PS Like Wil, I'd also be interested in other peeps thoughts on the tricks.

Oh, and I'd be happy to answer any questions, either general or specific.

Surprised there's not been more comments on these eBooks. They really are terrific.

Cheers Wil.

Here are a couple more reviews in case people are interested:

THE MAGICIAN ARMS
http://themagiciansarms.forumotion.net/ ... s-t110.htm

THE MAGIC CIRCULAR
Here are some highlights (the full review's in the August issue):
“The tricks are...often reminiscent of Paul Harris and Jay Sankey...
There's a great deal of imagination at work here...at £5 the booklets are a bargain"

Hi folks,

Thanks for everyone who's emailed me about the ebooks. I'm glad peeps are enjoying them.

If anyone fancies reading another review of the ebooks, there's a good, thorough one by Peter Duffie in this month's MAGIC, who finishes by saying that "you won't regret purchasing any of them".