Im still waiting for my credit card to be charged Alltough I agree with zap that the way Steve is handling the pre-orders is classy

As a contributor I received my books yesterday, and I just want to let you guys that have pre-ordered know that Steve has continued with the excellence that we are all accustomed to in this series. I stayed up all night reading and I have to say that there is some seriously KILLER card magic in these volumes....I can't wait to get back home!

Be sure to be on the look out for "Turning Heads", this is the title to one of Steve's tricks that he showed me before the books came out. This is will go directly into your "perform daily" category. It's totally impromptu and I haven't looked so forward to performing with just four cards since Hammon's "Twins"! This is the kind of borrowed deck STUNNER that has people talking WAY after you as a performer has walked away. You guys are going to love it!

Best,
Clark

Thanks Clark for the useful info. I really can't wait to read those effects.

By the way Clark, are those volumes covered some impromptu card magic materials???

Thanks!

Cheers,
Andrew

Hi Andrew!

there are many impromptu effects in these books, you will love them boss. by the way, the last effect you sent me is NICE! I have seen examples of your thinking and they are all very good. You rock andrew!

Best,
Clar

Thanks Clark!

Cheers,
Andrew

Just recieved my contributor copies a few days ago as well. I'm tottally overwhelmed by the amount of material in the books. Just had time to read a few here and there.

Max Maven has a version of miraskill that is extremely clever. Allows you to get to the repeat with a different outcome, wihout ever touching the cards. I was very taken by this and wondered why I or nobody else had thought of it! Brilliant.

Peo graciously alerted me to this thread. I’m going to try to stick to answering the questions asked so this doesn’t devolve into a commercial for the SACT series.

To Shikina and Boinko, I understand your concern about set-ups. I used to feel the same way and used to flip the page automatically when I would come to a full-deck setup in a book. Using Zap’s method of calculating (consulting the Routine Builder I include in the back of each book) Volumes 6 and 7 have a total of 95 tricks using a shuffled deck. Don’t read the tricks requiring setups – ask me to show them to you should we ever meet. We’ll see if I can change your minds.

Clark nailed my view on setups. I don’t care how many cards are set-up. I care how quickly I can get in and out of the setup, whether I can recycle all or part of it for a follow-up trick, and that the effect merits the effort. Thus, 1 trick requiring a two-card setup in the center of the pack (while not included in the 95 above) is for all intents and purposes impromptu to me. A 2-card cull and cut at 26 puts me where I need to be in seconds. (The tricks are semi-automatic – I often use sleights to set up for them or transition between them.) There are several tricks in both volumes that start with the reds separated from the blacks. I know that’s a setup but one can do a series of tricks that gets the cards close enough to that condition where it’s literally a few seconds on the downbeat to complete the setup. Gilbreath is the same way. Add a faro to the red/black setup I just described and I’m there in seconds.

Regarding the initial ECSS gathering that started this thread, I had a blast. The convention was small and very informal and a chance to spend time with Shannon Clark, Robbie Moreland, and many others. As for the 90 minutes I did in the bar, heck, I was just glad I was asked to do a few things. As I often say, you can ask me to start, but you have to tell me to stop. (And the effects I used were a mix of quickly-arranged setups and non-setups.)

Finally, I’m shipping the pre-orders as fast as I can. The books arrived from the printers last Saturday and I had hoped to be finished shipping them out by Saturday, but there were a lot of last-minute orders. Not only did that add to the number I was shipping, but it kept me busy responding to the orders/questions so that I wasn’t fully engaged in shipping those orders I already had.

Thanks for the interest in my material (and the material of my contributors). I genuinely appreciate it.

Now I’m back to shipping.

Steve

Okay, I said the books arrived from the printers last Saturday. They arrived from the printers last Tuesday. I was at a magic convention on Saturday. (Let me click 'submit' now so that immediately after I can figure out what's wrong with THIS post.)

Steve

I order the 2 vol at Hank lee, because I have other items to order.........when do you think it will receive the books?I'm so impatient! ;-)
Thank you!
Simon
Belgium

[quote]On 2006-08-31 17:42, RMoreland wrote:


Hi Robert, thanks for the tip, I'll go back and look at the construction of the routine in book one. I could have sworn that he had new work on that old trick, but now I know I can go back and get started on the stuff from one again and have a real gem to boot! That is one of the many strong things things about this series, when you go back through there is always a "new find" that you have looked over. Thanks again Robert for the reference. Look forward to getting with you again.

Best, Clark

Learachel,

The books are only available direct. Hank won't have them. He does carry the other volumes (1-5).

Best,
Steve

??!!!! bad new! I miss the pre order now!! why Hank lee tell me he can have it!??

It's not Hank's fault. I wholesaled the first 5 volumes. He assumed I would do the same for these two.

Steve

I received my books today. I haven't read them, just skimmed, so this is in no way a review, but they do look to have the kind of high-quality tricks that the other books have. I did read and work through the trick "Turning Heads" from volume 6, which was alluded to earlier in this thread. It is indeed a super-cool, easy, visual, impromptu gem. I don't want to give too much about it away, but I will say that the plot essentially is that you turn the head of a freely chosen queen around to face the other way. Super plot, and new to me.

Can you still order the new books from Steve???? I can get no reply to my E-Mail??Anyone any info

Any reviews on these two books?

I know 2 people who are HUGE fans of this series and, so far, have been disappointed with the quality of the effects.

I am looking forward to a more formal review.

Funny, I have found the quality to be very high. Unfortunately I have my library packed up do to moving so I haven't walked through them completely. I have been stealing time here and there (late nights) on the weekends to check these two volumes out. With my limited time I have already found some absolute gems, hopefully I will have more time tomorrow and I'll list a few of them in more detail.
Bottom line Steve's set, as well just as Giobbi's Card College, is invaluable to any lover of the pasteboards. No one such as Beam with as much skill, knowledge, and love for card magic puts out low quality books...not to mention the high quality of contributors the books have. Hard to go wrong with any of them.

Clark

I'm pushed for time and as I have pointed out, I haven't been able to give these books the time they deserve due to moving, but I am going to point out a few standout routine that I have either performed myself, or seen the creator perform. I will not go through and type out every effect, these volumes have entirely too much material for that sort of input....plus, if you are familiar at all with Scott Robinson's work at all you already know it tends to be very hard to describe.

I have been very impressed with the section that contains Ramon Rioboo's work. Maybe it was only me but I was unfamiliar with his name until Vol VII. but I must say this guy is one hellova thinker. Two of his routines that caught my eye right off are "Way Ahead", and "Mystery of the Kabbala." Both routines are solid for laymen yet both with FOOL the pants off a fellow magician (especially the later mentioned). From what I see this guy's thinking is typically great across the board, I have been very pleasantly surprised. I'll definitely be seeking out more of his material.

Scott Robinson is one of those guys that I immediately flip through a book and read what he has been working on. Why? Well he has a knack for thinking way outside the box, consistently. His "100% Location" is a vary interesting approach to the progressive sandwich type routines. I have witnessed Scott perform this routine and it is the type of routine that will take you in. He has constructed the routine is such a way that all of the usual pass work is eliminated. It's a totally in the hands routine that is super practical and will definitely fool.

"The Willie's" as well as "Wille's Sub" are two more of Scott's creations that are fun to watch and basically easy to perform. I have seen Scott perform both and both are indeed well constructed. I have to mention here that I Scott has used the letter mentioned to floor everyone at 4F, as well as everyone at the recent ECSS Convention. I watched him dismantle the whole group at the ECSS and these guys were no lightweights. There were several from this site, Mike Casey, Chad Nipper, Eric Jones, Jeff Case, as well as myself, Steve Beam, Joel Givens, Aaron Fisher, and the list goes on that will attest to the fact that this routine will floor just about anyone. Many, many people asked for the work on this routine, well it's here.

Marty Kane has a wonderful over the phone trick that caught my eye titled, "Triple Lie Detector." There are more over the phone type routines in the book, but this one in particular really peeked my interest.

Steve's own "Greased Shortening" is a technical reworking of his earlier "Killocation." This trick has a phenomenal impact on any audience. It is a very powerful revelation of a genuinely thought of card. The card is thought of as the cards are spread and eye level and the utter fairness of this procedure is unreal. I have witnessed Steve perform this on several occasions and have been eagerly awaiting the work to come out. I simply love this routine. It's like being able to do Vernon's OOSOOM (which is one of my all time favorite card effects), but quickly, I love it. Steve's work is something you can count on to be thoroughly thought as well as supremely entertaining. Every time I see Beam perform one of his routines I run back to this set trying to find what I have somehow looked over. The guy brings a pack of card to life, period. There's nothing like hearing Lee Asher, Aaron fisher, Robbie Moreland, Joel Givens and the rest of the guys see Steve pick up a pack and hear them all say, "Uh oh, Beam's Getting started!" The guy is quite simply a legend already.

Steve's "Face Off" gets a quick nod as well, this is a powerful routine for real people that can be done in walk around, totally in the hands (something we all look for). I am definitely going to give this one a try.

Steve also has "The Queen Doesn't Know Jack" which is one of the biggest reasons that I watched the mail every friggin day for these book to get here. When he showed it to me it was very entertain and I have to say that it took me in.

Steve also has "Digging Deeper" a spelling effect that can only be described as k-i-c-k a-s-s. This is yet another fooler that is still GREAT for laymen.

What a coincidence, I have another of Steve's personal routines to mention that is killer. "Bon Voyage" is a pairing effect that happens with a large packet of cards that remain face up during the procedure. What a great routine! And with the "Noah's Ark" presentation that is supplied is bound to make this trick one of the most performed routines of these two books. This can be a kids routine or an adult routine, this one is strong, don't overlook it.

"Deflation" from Juan Tamariz is something that I wish I had gotten to see Juan perform, the idea is great and would beat a beat a laymen into submission for sure. Hey, it Tamariz people, did anyone expect a bad idea? Juan is the Vernon of now, anything he releases is gold in my book.

I'll end with Rafael Benatar's "Royal Liaisons", a technical reworking of Bro. John's "Twins." Honestly, I think this is the definitive work on this plot. I have never seen a more well thought out handling for this trick. Rafael is know for his smooth style and natural handling, this trick exemplifies this completely. The fluidity of the handling is nothing short of mesmerizing. This is the only version of the trick I use and I dare say it's the only one I'll ever use. I can't think of any routine that I do that gets any better reaction for real people. I know this type thing is said too much in magic, but I honestly believe that his work on this routine is worth the price of the book.

Unfortunately I'm out of time for now, but I hope this helps a little.

Best,
Clark

I here ya Clark,

I think back to when I saw Copperfield fly on his TV special. Granted I was much younger then, but I will never forget the feeling I had when David defied gravity. The last time I felt that feeling was the day that I saw Steve perform card magic for the first time.

I was attending the Winter Carnival of Magic in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Every nite after the convention closed the hosts rented a small cabin behind the Rocky Top Village Inn where all the conventioneer's would gather around 12AM. This was my favorite part of the convention bcause it was here that you saw the best magic at the convention. I witnessed a lot of great performances in this little corner of the world. It was here I saw Johnny Thompson, Tommy Wonder, Josh Jay, Joel Givans, Oscar Munoz, and a number of other great performers for the first time.

On the nite in question you would have a hard time finding a seat due to the fact that Johnny Thompson and Tommy Wonder were playing pass the deck at one table. I can't remember one thing that either Johnny or Tommy did. Steve had me and a slew of others mezmerized at the the table in the back of the room. It was just in time too cause I was starting to think cards were boring. Steve showed me that Vernon was Right "It is a poor artist who blames the Brushes". He hit us hard with one effect after another. No mercy. It was truly one of the performances I will never forget .

Get these books folks. You may just glaze through them and never perform one of the tricks. You never know when Steve is gonna be in your neck of the woods ,and if you see him perform, these books are going to be your salvation afterwards.

Later taters,

Robert Moreland