Has anyone heard of anything about this book? I thought it might have cropped up in discussion but a Café search only shows one mention of it and that was simply in a listing of books that were published last year.

I would have thought it might have generated more interest and comment than it appears to have done. (At least as far as the Café is concerned)

Sealegs, it seems the book is advertised at popular websites, it looks like it is not really a book, but a protfoilo of pages in a binder.

At $330.00 for an unknown (to me anyway) name illusion builder, I don't think many would grabbing their credit cards.

Here is the ad copy provide to dealers, you did not mention if you already know all this, so I am listing for others as well as yourself.

"A lifetime's research and experienced gained from working on literally hundreds of different productions condensed and distilled in to one (oversized) book that is essential reading for any serious stage illusionist. Weighing 3kg, comprising 198 full colour A3 pages holding over 19,000 words accompanied by hundred of drawings, diagrams, pictures and photographs all bound within a unique leather portfolio this is like no magic book you've ever seen before.

Released in a strictly limited print of JUST 200 hand-finished copies this highly desirable publication has been developed for the serious working stage magician or illusionist who wants to improve their act and upgrade their thinking. The first half deals with pure performance theory; from developing your character to understanding how (and why) the optical illusions used in prop design work, how changing your music can heighten the magic of your performance to how you can harness creative minds to boost your show and earn more money. Bringing together the best thinking on psychology, physiology and design theory there has never been a more comprehensive study published in to the theory of illusion magic and how spectators can be deceived & manipulated in the name of entertainment. A fascinating peek in to the minds of your audience that helps you understand how they perceive your performance and how better to refine and develop your material to raise it to a whole new level.

The second half is pure illusion practice - complete workshop-ready plans for 5 grand illusions and one invaluable accessory that every illusionist needs. These aren't your usual "illusions" these were NOT pie-in-the-sky crazy half-baked ideas that were dreamed up just to fill pages in a book; but tried, tested and developed illusion concepts (worth over $40,000) that have been refined and used in real shows and performances across the planet. When we say "plans" we don't mean your usual "magic plans" that are rarely more than a page or two of rough scribbles with all the important information missing, instead you get huge A3 pages of fully annotated workshop plans detailing every dimension and construction detail you could possibly need across the 20-30 pages set aside for each illusion. With construction tips and notes from people who have previously built these items you are getting many years of research and experience presented in an easy to read format.

This is not a passive publication however - every registered owner will also have exclusive access to the members-only section of this website where we will offer support, advice & updates for the illusion designs, as well as updates and further examples for the theory and science ideas in the book. You are not just buying a time-capsule book but rather an evolving, exciting, glimpse in to the world of illusion theory that will help you remain at the very forefront of illusion thinking and technology.

"You write so well - its a VERY nice book"
- John Taylor

"Congratulations Tom on Confictura, I was thrilled to see what you've come up with. It's a valuable and insightful work obviously underpinned by your contemporary, innovative and exciting illusion designs, but more importantly focusing on the rarely discussed elements of stagecraft such as material selection and music choice. I feel sure it will become a must read work for all interested in illusion magic"
- Chris Murphy

"...and it looks great, very interesting articles and I like the ideas of the illusions, I will read it carefully!"
- Daniel Ka

"Thank you so much for the amazing book... WOW!!! It looks amazing!!!"
- Luis deMatos

About the Author
Thomas Moore has been designing, creating and staging magic for more than 20 years, crafting routines, props and performances for everyone from Paul Daniels to Jan Rouven, Erix Logan to John Taylor, Huge Pop Music acts to TV specials, Circus to Cruise ships culminating in 2012 when Thomas was commissioned to create a Pavilion for the London 2012 Olympic games. For more information about Thomas's career visit ThomasMooreCreative.com "

It looks very intriguing, but very expensive. And from the looks of it, you don't get a lot of illusion plans.

Sounds like a great buy to me. This is a small fee to pay for a man's body of work revealed.

I agree!

I had seen the ad copy but thanks for posting it here for those that haven't Bill as it lets people know what the subject matter is.

jcmagician wrote "Sounds like a great buy to me. This is a small fee to pay for a man's body of work revealed."

Well I guess that would depend on who's body of work it is that's being revealed and what it is. That was kind of what I was hoping to gleam some info on.

I met Thomas Moore last year at the British Ring IBM. He was a charming individual and came across as being a very well informed guy regarding a diverse range of the aspects of creating and putting on magic and illusions. He also seemed to be the real deal with regards to the work he has been involved with. But of course there's a limit you can gleam from spending an hour or so in the company of someone over a beer in the pub. On face value at having met him for a short time I'd be inclined to think that this is probably a good investment but I could be totally wrong.

I was hoping that, as this is the illusion section of the Café, someone here might have some knowledge either first hand, or otherwise, about this publication. But I understand that the price and the limited nature of the item might make that a long shot.

Any input would be welcomed though.

Sorry to drag open an old thread, but I was looking for information on this book and this was all I saw on the Café.

I ended up with a copy of this when I bought a large lot from a retired magician recently.

First off, the thing is massive. It weighs in at about 6 points. And the sheets are a huge size. The binder itself is made of a suede leather material but soft and unstructured, Not sure I would have done it that way, but I wasn't the publisher. Definitely not something I can fit on a bookshelf

I don't know much about building illusions, but the plans look really detailed--at least to a layman in this part of our art. The printing is excellent--everything is in color and the layout is clever.

Is the material good? Beats me. Stage illusions are not my expertise, but the project looks like serious quality.

EvilClown, if you ever want to part with it I’d be interested. Thanks!

FWIW, in my poking around to learn more, I noticed it is still available from the author, Thomas Moore, and it looks like getting it new there is a better deal than it was when it was available in the US--where I am.

On Vanishing, although out of stock, it appears it sold. for $330. Moore is selling it direct for £199 including worldwide shipping. If you are in the US too, that puts it at a little less than $240 shipped.

Is it worth $240? Beats me. Again, this is not a part of magic I know a lot about. I definitely want to "read" the one I picked up--and I put "read" in quotes since this thing is HUGE and I will need to sit a a long counter to really go through it. Open, I think this is about 3 FEET wide. And it is heavy, too. Well over 5 pounds if I had to guess. Not exactly armchair or in-bed reading.

To put this the size of this thing in perspective, if you look at most of my posts on the Café, they relate to magic books and literature. My magic book collection nears 5,000 volumes. Nothing I own is anywhere close to this item in terms of sheer size. I am not even sure how I will properly store it to protect it from damage, since it won't fit on a bookshelf. Perhaps this is normal in illusion books, but I own a bunch of them through my raw collecting and it is of an entirely different magnitude than any other I personally have.

But sheer size aside, I have no real idea if the material it contains is worth it. My building skills are limited to IKEA bookshelves and my stage illusion knowledge is limited to anything I might have absorbed accidentally when flipping through one of the illusion books I happened to have acquired.

Here's the link to the book on Moore's site if you need it: http://www.thomasmoorecreative.com/site/......nfictura

If someone with experience in this area has gone through this book, I would love to know their thoughts on it.

Thank you, that’s intriguing but as you say it’s hard to gauge the quality of the material sight unseen, and risky at that price. But intriguing nonetheless.

Do you happen to have Vivify by Mark Parker in your collection? I’m on the lookout for that too and it’s out of publication. Fingers crossed on eBay for the win!

I do own it. Can't say I have done much more than leaf through it at the time I acquired it.

It last sold on eBay from a US buyer to a US Seller for $153.99 on 7/16/21. If you have not done so, put in a saved search so eBay will mail you when one is listed.

@znelson I think I have a duplicate Hardcover of Vifify somewhere if you want it.(I'd need to go looking for it)

Ryan - definitely my friend! Name your price and thank you for the offer!

I have both books, Confictura and Vivify, and I think they are two essentials in a good library for a stage illusionist. Sure they are not for beginners, nor do they contain ideas that anyone can immediately incorporate into their show, but they are two fantastic books, with good food for thought.

As for the design of the book itself, they couldn't be more different. As has been comented, I agree that Confictura is an example of how a great book can be spoiled by a terrible layout design. It is HUGE, soft, and bound with 4 rings (therefore fragile) It doesn't fit on any shelf, neither standing nor lying down, so in my case it's always hanging around because I don't know how to store it. In my opinion I can't find any justification for making it so big, the same content could be laid out in a standard size book. However, Vivify is a jewel of a book in terms of binding, from the cover, to the drawings, the quality of the paper, it is a beauty.

I'm curious as to what else you see as essentials?

EvilClown my list of essentials is too long to be detailed here

In my opininion, a good stage illusions library should include most of the books and publications by Jim Steinmeyer, Mike Caveney, Paul Osborne, Randy Woodbury, JCSum, Mark Parker, Tim Clothier, Chris Murphy (among the living authors) and books written by or about David Devant, Guy Jarret, Robert Harbin... are perhaps the most relevant to me

Been working on and off to convert all of my softcover ring-bound books, get them scanned so I can make them a hardcover book for my shelfs.
I had put it off for some time but Ive started working on that for my own collection. Not a fan of the spiral bound books personally.

The Chris Murphy book is very good. One of the most detailed books I've come across.

@znelson yep will dig it out and send over hit you up on instagram.