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DavidJComedy New user Boston, MA 79 Posts |
Can't just say how sad it is that I even have to write this. What a POORLY written book. Terribly unclear descriptions of several of the effects. And I'm a card guy. A book guy. Could name you a bunch of very clear and concise books on cards. This is not one of them. Can't tell you how many times I have to go back and read something over and over again if it doesn't produce the desired outcome. And have to decipher why. It a mind numbing. And sad. Because had long been a fan of Larry's. Mike Maxwell, the author, should be utterly ashamed. One easy example is Twisting the Plot. Spent an entire evening on it. Not once (per instructions) did the effect work. What a waste of an evening. Could have learned 2-3 great routines from other books.
David
davidjcomedy.com |
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Uli Weigel Inner circle Berlin, Germany 1478 Posts |
Is it really THAT bad? Sure, the writing could be better, clearer, and a more thorough proof-read certainly would have helped as well. On the other hand, I never had any serious problems following the instructions. Good old Lewis Ganson has bestowed more headache upon me.
You mentioned Twisting The Plot. I decided to give it a shot, since I never learned the trick and couldn't even remember what it was about. Maxwell's writing in this case really is a little confusing, I'll give you that. But it took me no longer than five minutes to learn the trick. It also works every single time, by the way. So, I don't really understand, how a card and book guy like you can spend an entire evening on this particular trick without getting it. Or could it be that bad writing tends to feel less cumbersome, less confusing to non-native speakers? |
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Zedd Loyal user Germany 270 Posts |
Sorry to disagree! I think, this book is one of the BEST books ever!!!!!!
Regards, Zedd |
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DavidJComedy New user Boston, MA 79 Posts |
I recently purchased Regal's Approaching Magic. Eons above the Jennings book in terms of clear writing, descriptions, photos. That's just an example. Maybe because English is a second language you read and interpret it slightly different. But the way the count is described in Twisting is bizarre, confusing and obviously I'm not reading between the lines to make it work. I'm not saying all effects are this way, but most require often re-reading a sentence to make sure you understood it.
David
davidjcomedy.com |
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Rupert Pupkin Inner circle 1452 Posts |
Reports of this book's unreadability are greatly exaggerated.
Although if English is your second language, I understand how it'd be much more difficult to read. |
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BlackZ Veteran user 316 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 5, 2016, Zedd wrote: Maybe not the easiest book to follow but surely one of the best! |
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DavidJComedy New user Boston, MA 79 Posts |
For me, if I deem a book one of the best, it must be easy to follow. Out of the large collection of books I have, this is the only one not easy to follow for certain effects.
David
davidjcomedy.com |
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Poof-Daddy Inner circle Considering Stopping At Exactly 5313 Posts |
Having picked this particular book up recently (one of L&L's 60% off ebook sales) I have not read through it yet. Out of curiosity, I went to this effect and as Uli Weigel stated above, I too was doing this in 5 minutes. One quick read through and "1" re-read to make sure I understood the "zero" concept (I am not familiar with the other effect referred to). I did the effect 2-3 times in a row (shuffling every time) and it worked every time.
So, as far as "readability" or being able to understand the effect as written, It was spot on for me. However, the effect itself has its issues IMO. If I am going to deal through a deck (not once, but twice) I would much rather perform John Bannon's "View To A 'Skill" from "High Caliber"
Cancer Sux - It is time to find a Cure
Don't spend so much time trying not to die that you forget how to live - H's wife to H on CSI Miami (paraphrased). |
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Rupert Pupkin Inner circle 1452 Posts |
Correct. It's an awful trick (but not necessarily an awful effect).
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Shikina Loyal user Los Angeles 260 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 4, 2016, DavidJComedy wrote: Quote:
On Nov 5, 2016, Rupert Pupkin wrote: Sorry you both feel that way. I learned this routine directly from this book and have been very inspired by it! DvidJComedy, feel free to PM me with any questions and I'll be happy to answer to the best of my ability, but I assure you that this is an excellent book, and the effects, including this one, do work. |
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motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
While not as well written as books by Minch and Kaufman, it's still a wonderful book, filled much of Larry's best work.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
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Jim Oliver Regular user Las Cruces, New Mexico 141 Posts |
Hello David,
I kind of agree with you on this one. I do love the magic that is in the book, but I feel that the paragraphs of writing are a little more confusing than they have to be. They tend to describe several steps in each paragraph. Marlo used to write each step as it's own sentence. Also he would number each step. Way easier to learn that way in my opinion. Buy the way, did you happen to look over the credits? For someone who spent so much time with the Professor, most of the credits went to Marlo! Just my two cents, Jim Oliver
Ed Marlo rules
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Rupert Pupkin Inner circle 1452 Posts |
To be fair, most credits should lead back to Marlo
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magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 12, 2016, motown wrote: Agreed. Simply wonderful. |
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El Mystico Special user 573 Posts |
There is some wonderful magic in this book, and it is a pity the material didn't get the treatment it deserved; both writing and production values. From the credits page, it didn't have an editor, which is useful for most books and I think particularly for a magic book.
If you have Richard's Almanac, you may have read how close it was to being a Kaufman book. However, I still find the description easy too follow. Maybe that is due to first/second language issues, as well as extent of experience with magic. But Kaufman says some of the sleight are poorly described; I guess we need to wait till his books on Jennings to understand that. To look at this from a different angle; given magic books do not make a lot of money, how lucky we are that writers like Stephen Minch have given so much time to producing some wonderful books. His Neoclassics of Larry Jennings is a great example. |
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Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 30, 2016, El Mystico wrote: Yes, very lucky indeed. In addition to the content of his books, Minch's books are also, physically, works of art, each its own size, with beautiful covers and lovely end papers. |
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Jefferson New user 58 Posts |
I would hope that these posts would not dissuade any budding magicians from pursuing this book. It is full of great tricks that are fun to watch and fun to perform. Regardless of the writing, it's one of the best books in my library
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Wordsworth Veteran user 324 Posts |
I'm actually glad this topic came up because it inspired me to go back and look at this book. It was one of the first magic books I ever bought, and I remember at the time feeling some of the frustration that the original poster here referred to. The writing does feel a little laborious and can be difficult to push through. I persevered with it, but it wasn't until I was further along in magic that I really understood the value in this book. In my opinion it could be better written or edited; but I agree with Jefferson as well, that the style of the book itself should not dissuade anyone from buying this and working through it. There's some really good material that is worthwhile, and not outdated, etc. It's a huge, dense book that will require some time and patience, but the payoff is worth it. I'd give it a thumbs up for anyone considering buying.
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Wordsworth Veteran user 324 Posts |
L&L has the ebook for $10. What a crazy value. I think I paid $60 for my hardcover back in the day.
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magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
The hardcover is better value in my opinion.
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