The Magic Cafe Forums - Flatland Fever by Tom Stone

Flatland Fever
Text & Illustrations: Tom Stone
18 pages (e-book format)
Copyright 2007 (Tom Stone)
http://shop.tomstone.se

Tom Stone has done it again. He has released yet another e-book filled with brilliant routines, thought provoking ideas, clever musings, and a few unfinished bits and pieces with which to challenge the reader’s creative side. The fact that this, or any other work by Mr. Stone, deserves serious attention should, by now, go without saying. Those in the know are already well aware of Tom’s firmly planted stature in the magic community. Those not already aware, are unfortunately lacking in the experience (or rather joy) of exploring the brilliance of his exceptionally fertile, creative mind. Flatland Fever is another solid contribution, consisting of seven items (8 if you count the multiple versions of King Castling), all cards, each of which is beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully explained.

•Max Milton’s One-handed Top Change
This is a terrific utility move with a rich, if not controversial, history surrounding its origin. This one will take some chops to master and pull off casually enough to exploit to its fullest potential, but don’t let that dissuade you from giving it the attention it deserves. Given the seemingly endless uses it may lend itself to, there’s certain power in its mastery.

•Hip Hip Hooray
Tom explains that this is one of a great number of his attempts to create a version of Bro. John Hamman’s “The Signed Card" that will play well to lay audiences. I’m not sure which I find more interesting; the actual trick or Tom’s thought process throughout the explanation. Both are equally impressive. To quote, “For a teleportation effect to become really convincing, the disappearance must be stronger and cleaner than the re-appearance." Hip Hip Hooray provides a fine example to support this statement while also providing an effective Hamman solution. Additionally, the trick employs the previously taught Milton One-handed Top Change, bringing the first portion of the book together quite nicely.

•113 Grams
This next item is credited to two of Stone’s friends; Tomas Blomberg and Axel Adlercreutz. This is, for all intents and purposes, an ungaffed version of Luke Dancy’s “Royale with Cheese," and is a beautifully constructed, two-phase sandwich routine which is totally impromptu and terribly clever.

•The Etude
This is a nice take on the memorized deck with virtually no mem-deck knowledge necessary. That statement may sound contradictory, but a single read-through of the method will disprove the contradiction. Based on an idea from Simon Aronson, with additional observations from Michael Weber, The Etude is a double revelation with plenty of muscle, and can be performed with an untouched, brand new deck fresh out of the case.

•King Castling (1 & 2)
Here Tom takes on "13 Grams" (see above...) and offers a couple of alternate methods for achieving the same effect.
- Version #1 is a “quickie" version which discards the second phase in favor of a more streamlined routine. The handling is slightly more cumbersome than that of the original, but still noteworthy since it offers a new path to the same destination (which I always find interesting).
- Version #2 is, for me, the stronger of the two offerings and perhaps even better than the original. It recaptures the impact of the initial two–phase routine and introduces the idea of incorporating other sandwich effects into it. Given such expansive possibilities it opens the sandwich routine up to the same potential for multi-phase development as is currently enjoyed by the best of the ambitious card routines.

•The Almoner
The opening statement in this trick’s description declares it to be the weakest piece in the book. Personally, I find it every bit as strong as the best material. This is a three card revelation with a kicker “I didn’t see that one coming" ending. As usual, it employs a good amount of audience participation and more than a touch of humor. I just wish I understood the relevance of the trick's name, given the meaning of the word. Smile

•Homer’s Case
Originally intended as a means to delay the vanish in the Rub-a-dub vanish, this is a very clever, easily constructed, utility gimmick which offers a wide variety of uses.

•Thoughts and Stuff
The book closes with an ode to Eric Mead’s “The Incredible Mystery of the 10th Card," from Paul Harris’s ‘Art of Astonishment, volume 2.' Tom proceeds to explain an idea for an updated, more richly choreographed climax to the trick which, in its simplicity, strengthens the entire routine.

In 18 short pages we are given a feast of creative gems. This is a work that has more to offer than many other books with ten times the number of pages, and is comprised of material that is as rich and inventive as any of Tom’s previous offerings. Peppered in between several of the effects are snippets of Tom’s thoughts, musings, and unfinished tidbits, each of which encourage (practically challenge) the reader to open his/her mind and fill in the blanks. Tom Stone is an abundantly prolific creator who deserves an audience as wide as his repertoire is vast. Each time I come to the end of another one of his books, I find myself already looking forward to the next.

TStone V.I.P. Stockholm, Sweden 766 Posts	Posted: Oct 2, 2007 04:52 pm 0 A new ebook, all cards, for those who enjoy such things. http://shop.tomstone.se WARG magic shop
Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts	Posted: Oct 5, 2007 08:34 pm 0 This PDF is excleent! For those of you "Royale WIith Cheese" fans, Tom offers some excellent ungaffed variations. There he also tips a gaff that is easily worth the $15 price of the booklet. So much potential with this. Wonderful stuff! MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
Erik J Elite user Sweden 417 Posts	Posted: Oct 6, 2007 09:18 am 0 You'd be a fool if you didn't purchase this e-book. The production quality is amazing, as always with Tom's work. You wouldn't believe it was only one guy putting all of this together. I am already modifying "113 grams" to fit me, and I can smell it'll become a classic. I happen to dislike e-books, because I usually want a physical copy. But when you see "Tom Stone" and "Cards only" in the same sentence, it's an inevitable purchase. Get it, now! -Erik This signature is approved by Erik.
Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5450 Posts	Posted: Oct 8, 2007 04:07 pm 0 Flatland Fever Text & Illustrations: Tom Stone 18 pages (e-book format) Copyright 2007 (Tom Stone) http://shop.tomstone.se Tom Stone has done it again. He has released yet another e-book filled with brilliant routines, thought provoking ideas, clever musings, and a few unfinished bits and pieces with which to challenge the reader’s creative side. The fact that this, or any other work by Mr. Stone, deserves serious attention should, by now, go without saying. Those in the know are already well aware of Tom’s firmly planted stature in the magic community. Those not already aware, are unfortunately lacking in the experience (or rather joy) of exploring the brilliance of his exceptionally fertile, creative mind. Flatland Fever is another solid contribution, consisting of seven items (8 if you count the multiple versions of King Castling), all cards, each of which is beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully explained. •Max Milton’s One-handed Top Change This is a terrific utility move with a rich, if not controversial, history surrounding its origin. This one will take some chops to master and pull off casually enough to exploit to its fullest potential, but don’t let that dissuade you from giving it the attention it deserves. Given the seemingly endless uses it may lend itself to, there’s certain power in its mastery. •Hip Hip Hooray Tom explains that this is one of a great number of his attempts to create a version of Bro. John Hamman’s “The Signed Card" that will play well to lay audiences. I’m not sure which I find more interesting; the actual trick or Tom’s thought process throughout the explanation. Both are equally impressive. To quote, “For a teleportation effect to become really convincing, the disappearance must be stronger and cleaner than the re-appearance." Hip Hip Hooray provides a fine example to support this statement while also providing an effective Hamman solution. Additionally, the trick employs the previously taught Milton One-handed Top Change, bringing the first portion of the book together quite nicely. •113 Grams This next item is credited to two of Stone’s friends; Tomas Blomberg and Axel Adlercreutz. This is, for all intents and purposes, an ungaffed version of Luke Dancy’s “Royale with Cheese," and is a beautifully constructed, two-phase sandwich routine which is totally impromptu and terribly clever. •The Etude This is a nice take on the memorized deck with virtually no mem-deck knowledge necessary. That statement may sound contradictory, but a single read-through of the method will disprove the contradiction. Based on an idea from Simon Aronson, with additional observations from Michael Weber, The Etude is a double revelation with plenty of muscle, and can be performed with an untouched, brand new deck fresh out of the case. •King Castling (1 & 2) Here Tom takes on "13 Grams" (see above...) and offers a couple of alternate methods for achieving the same effect. - Version #1 is a “quickie" version which discards the second phase in favor of a more streamlined routine. The handling is slightly more cumbersome than that of the original, but still noteworthy since it offers a new path to the same destination (which I always find interesting). - Version #2 is, for me, the stronger of the two offerings and perhaps even better than the original. It recaptures the impact of the initial two–phase routine and introduces the idea of incorporating other sandwich effects into it. Given such expansive possibilities it opens the sandwich routine up to the same potential for multi-phase development as is currently enjoyed by the best of the ambitious card routines. •The Almoner The opening statement in this trick’s description declares it to be the weakest piece in the book. Personally, I find it every bit as strong as the best material. This is a three card revelation with a kicker “I didn’t see that one coming" ending. As usual, it employs a good amount of audience participation and more than a touch of humor. I just wish I understood the relevance of the trick's name, given the meaning of the word. •Homer’s Case Originally intended as a means to delay the vanish in the Rub-a-dub vanish, this is a very clever, easily constructed, utility gimmick which offers a wide variety of uses. •Thoughts and Stuff The book closes with an ode to Eric Mead’s “The Incredible Mystery of the 10th Card," from Paul Harris’s ‘Art of Astonishment, volume 2.' Tom proceeds to explain an idea for an updated, more richly choreographed climax to the trick which, in its simplicity, strengthens the entire routine. In 18 short pages we are given a feast of creative gems. This is a work that has more to offer than many other books with ten times the number of pages, and is comprised of material that is as rich and inventive as any of Tom’s previous offerings. Peppered in between several of the effects are snippets of Tom’s thoughts, musings, and unfinished tidbits, each of which encourage (practically challenge) the reader to open his/her mind and fill in the blanks. Tom Stone is an abundantly prolific creator who deserves an audience as wide as his repertoire is vast. Each time I come to the end of another one of his books, I find myself already looking forward to the next.
Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5450 Posts	Posted: Oct 9, 2007 02:23 pm 0 Follow-up (from Tom), regarding my comment on the title of the trick "The Almoner" Quote: Re: the title Almoner. There's not a lot of thought in that choice of name. Just a spin on the title of the trick that inspired me. Almoner is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing charity. Max Maven's trick, the predecessor of mine, was called Hand-out. It seems likely that an Almoner and hand-outs would go well together. Now I get it.
Andy the cardician Inner circle A street named after my dad 3370 Posts	Posted: Oct 20, 2007 04:54 am 0 Sounds like a winner. Thanks Cards never lie
Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5450 Posts	Posted: Oct 20, 2007 08:33 pm 0 Seriously Andy... everything by Tom is a winner. Take my advice: Open your wallet and visit his site. I guarantee that you'll get much more than you pay for.
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