I have it and like it so far. His thoughts on being a magician are interesting but may be controversial for some- he takes an opposite approach from Derren Brown insofar as he doesn't seem to believe that spectators can ever view magic as anything but a lightweight entertainment. I'm not sure I fully agree with his approach but it is a defensible viewpoint that merits discussion

His approach to being an amateur magician are also worthwhile. It seems that books and tricks are often written with the mindset that the readers are professional performers whereas the reality is that most of us are amateur/hobbyists. It makes me think that there could someday be an intelligent book written about how to be a really good amateur/hobbyist with an emphasis on the mindset necessary and the conditions/audiences we are likely to perform in/for.

As far as the tricks go, I haven't read the whole thing yet but I like what I have read so far. I was intrigued by "Final Verdict" which is his supposedly final work on his excellent "Directed Verdict" which addresses the problem of the final packet. I think it may be the best solution yet but the problem is not solved IMO.

I'm also having problem with the "Draun Glimpse". Does anyone do this move? If so, I would be curious on any tips one may have for this apparently useful sleight.

That is so true...
That's why some of the books that get really good recommendations didn't quite fit my taste as a lot of the routines in some books/DVDs are more for 'performances', rather than just casual amateur tricks

His works on impromptu ace assemblies is priceless!

Quinn, After seeing Alain Nu do "The Power of Poker" on his tv special. I jumped directly to this routine and have been having so much fun with it I have not had a chance to read any further. As far as I'm concerned, this one routine is worth the price of the book.

Jeff

I really like like "Degrees of Freedom", which is a variaton of Lennart Green's "4 Aces Squared" , and a principle by Bob Hummer named CATO, which uses a "folding" protocol in three stages.
Yes, you guessed it, its a matemathical principle.
Who said that self working card effects never could be fun!

Well, I posted it on Conjurenation and The Second Deal, so I might as well post it here:

I've now read through the entire book and worked through everything with cards in hand (except for "Perfect Strangers", which requires cards I don't have). Here are some of my thoughts.

It's a really good book.

It's close to 200 pages on nice, glossy stock. Clear photos and diagrams are provided where necessary. The writing style is good. Interestingly, Bannon alternates between a traditional "magic book" style of effect/method and a narrative style that reads like a novel, with Bannon performing and then explaining the effect for the anonymous "author". I found it to be a nice change of pace.

The writing is clear throughout. The only trouble I had (and it could just be me) was in the explanation for the effect "Dawn Patrol", where it wasn't entirely clear whether "cutting at the key" meant cutting above or below the card (it means below). I'm sure anyone who's interested in learning that effect--it's a very clever sandwich routine--would be willing to play with it long enough to figure that out anyways.

Favorite individual items include: "Bullet Train" (I know it's actually 3 tricks, but I think of it as a single 3-phase ace assembly), his reblocking of the "Last Trick of Dr. Jacob Daley" (I saw it a few months ago and it's become my preferred handling), "Dead Reckoning" (you will crush both magicians and laymen with this), and "The Power of Poker" (like the 10-card poker deal, but different/better).

Another thing I love about the book is the extended routine that's taught in the second chapter. When I read a book of tricks, I frequently wonder how the author weaves the tricks together in actual performance. I also wonder what other magicians' tricks the author performs. Bannon answers both those questions with an extended routine that can be performed with any borrowed, shuffled deck and includes a couple classic routines and ends with his variation of a classic routine. Do this extended routine with a deck that's handed to you and people will be convinced that you can do anything with a deck of cards.

From a technical standpoint, the toughest moves are a straddle faro, the Neal Elias multiple shift (which Bannon offers a couple very nice tips on), and (if you don't already do it) the pressure fan. Many of the effects are self-working or practically so. Bannon does a great job of disguising the underlying mathematical procedures ("Dead Reckoning" is "principle upon principle upon principle", and it will kick your ass). If you liked the mathematical stuff on the latest Lennart Green DVD, you'll really dig chapters 3 and 4. You'll also end up understanding why the mathematical stuff works, because Bannon explains it clearly.

I think this book has at least a little bit of something for everybody. If you're a move guy, there's the tips on the Elias shift, a really nice peek, a superb handling of the "touch force", and a very clever handling of the slop shuffle. If you do strictly self-working effects, there's at least 9 items in the book that you'll be able to do (maybe a little less if you think cutting at a crimp is a "move").

One word of warning. If you own a lot of Bannon's previous material (particularly his "Cardzilla is Coming" lecture notes) and are also otherwise well-read in magic, you will have seen some of these routines before (or similar routines, e.g. Henry Christ's Fabulous 4 Aces Trick, Simon Aronson's Shuffle-Bored). While I feel that Bullet Train, Dead Reckoning, and The Power of Poker alone would justify the purchase of the book, I also feel that the more familiar items have value. As I mentioned before, I like to see how magicians work their material in larger routines. So even though Bannon's changes to "Directed Verdict" from his own "Smoke and Mirrors" are minor, I got a lot out of seeing how he got into the effect from a shuffled deck, what minor changes he made to it (he's cleaned up the SWAK procedure nicely and modified the handling of the last card), and what he does with the aces after the spectator cuts to them. If people pass by some routines in the book thinking, "oh, that old thing?", they're skipping over a lot of time-tested, strong magic and the thinking behind it.

This is the first magic book in ages that I've read cover to cover, and I'm not sure if I have ever worked through ALL the effects in a book with cards in hand before. I know that I've never considered putting this many effects into my repertoire (or back into my repertoire for the familiar/classic effects) after reading a magic book. If you love card magic, I'm sure you'll find something to love about "Dear Mr. Fantasy".

Highly Recommended.

Paul, thanks for that helpful review. I haven't, as yet, worked through the entire book yet (I've got two babies, so I'm only on chapter three-though I've peeked ahead a bit). I agree with everything you've said thus far.

As I mentioned above, I'm still unclear on the "Draun Fan Glimpse" although I can do a decent pressure fan, I can't seem to figure out how to catch the glimpse without being obvious with my hand position. I guess I'm missing some vital piece of info that is probably quite obvious to everyone else. If you or anyone else can shed light on that, I'd be grateful. I generally find John's explanations to be crystal clear but I was left behind with that one.

Thanks again.

I'll PM you.

The early reviews have been impressive - check out Shane's comments on Visions-OnLine Journal of Magic.

Went to Online-Visions.com
Can't quite seem to find DMF there...
Can you post the direct link or give instructions on how to get there?

It's in the "At the Shop" section: http://www.online-visions.com/reviews/0510mrfantasy.html

Just sent a paypal payment to john bannon, total cost was $47 to the UK, I hope this includes global priority mail?

Same cost for me, and DMF vas delivered faster than I expected.

I just noticed that two effects from DMF; "Wait Until Dark", and "Last Man Standing", are extra material on the Impossibilia, and Smoke and Mirrors DVD's.

Outstanding review, Paul! I also have been working through the book with cards in hand this weekend. I don't remember feeling this way about a new card book in quite some time. Although my mind is spinning... coincidentally, I had just finished watching Lennart Green's "Green Lite" DVD when the Bannon book arrived.

Robert

It was interesting to see the overlap in the principles applied. Obviously both Green and Bannon have put a lot of thought into the floating key-card principle as well as the various "folding" experiments. I've enjoyed "folding" routines since Green published one in MAGIC a few years back, so the routines on Green's DVD and in Bannon's book were a real treat. I thought that I had put a lot of thought into the principle, but the depth of their work blows any of my minor experimentation out of the water.

Paul

Question: Is the Perfect Strangers effect an update to Stranger's Gallery?

No. It uses odd backed cards (which I assume is why they share the common "Strangers" name), but other than that they're completely different.

Got my signed copy of DMF today in Australia!
Took exactly 7 days to reach...Unfortunately can't read much now due to exam period for me!
Was a little dissapointed with the size of the book though considering it's $11 for shipping, thought it would be like the size of Impossibilia. But Bannon's signature and birthday wish made up for it! Plus, I'm sure this Focus sized book is packed with b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t stuff. Can't wait to read it!

I frankly prefer magic books that are printed in this smaller format. I love smoke and mirrors, but the size and cover make it look like a high school yearbook where John Bannon was the only student.

As for the amount of material, I tend to judge based on the percentage of material I'd actually perform. Measured on that scale, the 19 items in Bannon's book are a much better value than lots of weighty collections full of stuff I'll never do.

I think Pit Hartling's book is another example of this kind of value (and with only 7 routines).

Paul