Hello everyone!

Following is my review of a newly published book by my friend Steve Duperre.. Before I start, I must admit that I am mentioned in that book and that Steve is a close friend of mine. I won’t thus hide that it is my sincere hope that my review will contribute in developing awareness for his work. That being said, I must also stress that this is a completely unsolicited review and that it represents my honest opinion.

The first thing people should know is that this book was not written overnight. Steve has been working on that book for the twelve years I have known him. In fact, every time he would mention that he would put a trick in his book, I couldn’t help myself from smirking wondering if this book would ever get created. However, knowing how Steve is relentless in his pursuit of success, I am not surprised he waited that long to ensure a high quality product.

When I heard that the book was spiral bound with soft cover, I was a bit disappointed as I tend to attach a higher value to hard cover books. However, upon opening the book, I totally changed my perception. The book screams quality. It’s printed on glossy paper and is filled with coloured photographs. The layout of the book is of a higher quality than most magic books I have in my library. For example, all references in the text to pictures are on the same page as the pictures. No flipping back and forth between pages of text and pictures. It is obvious that Steve has intended for the book to be a practical learning tool and as such, the spiral binding will ensure you can keep the book open flat.

Anyone thinking of publishing a book should definitely get this book to use as a template of what a practical book should be like.

I think that Steve’s strength lies in his ability to apply known methodology to improve and/or construct new effects.In fact, one of the most fascinating aspect of the book is to see the thought process that Steve applied to construct his routines. In fact, he has devoted one section of the book to describing how the construction of one of his routine evolved over time. Unfortunately this is one aspect that is very much underexplored in magic books. Most books describe the finished routine that a creator has come up with, only to see other magicians suggesting “improvements” in other publication not realizing that those were probably already explored by the creator.

Now a little bit about the effects themselves. Readers should know that Steve performs mostly for magicians. That being said, Steve regularly performs all of this material to lay audience. As mentioned, most of his effects are direct and visual. One note of warning, while the sleights involved are not excessively difficult, most of the effects are not for beginners. Also, all the gimmicks discussed in the book are provided with the book which is a big plus.

Pay Up.
In his foreword, Eric DeCamps describes this as the most commercial offering in the book and the easiest to perform. This describes a very interesting refinement of the Out-to-Lunch principle. Whether or not you’ll use the effect as is, the idea presented here will make you think of your own effect.

In-Your-Face
In fact, Bill Malone claims he was fooled by this one. He is not alone. Steve presented that at the 4F convention. Surprisingly, it didn’t get the reaction I thought it would get. It turns out most people thought it was stooged!

This is a card to wallet effect where the wallet stays on the table from beginning to end! This is strong. That being said, this is one effect that requires a table. One note : while I can perform all the sleights competently and as much as I like this, I can’t make it look natural the way Steve does it, at least when I perform it standing it up. I think the shorter you are, the better this will look. This is not for the feint of heart.

Get Out!
This is not easy but I personally think this is the best constructed routine in the book. There's a sense of completeness with this routine. Plus, it has an in-the-spectator’s-hands element. Again, it requires a table. A selected card ends up in the case held by the spectator…

The Quick and the Red.

This is essentially a combination of a colour changing deck with two selected cards. It has an interesting premise and is also easy… This is one that I will have to try to gauge the reaction.

Magnetic Attraction.

This is the first trick I ever saw Steve perform. He fooled me. It is not showcase material but it is quick and visual and not too difficult to do. This effect was marketed a while back. This uses a special something that you can easily do yourself. The best way to describe the effect is to say that it is an instant reset sandwich. You will end up trying and probably using this for sure!

Enigmatic Sandwich.

This is non gimmicked version of magnetic attraction contributed by yours truly. When Steve came out with magnetic attraction, I was in my “purist” phase and decided to create a similar effect using no gimmick. I am honoured that he included this in its own section.

WTF!?!

I haven’t played much with this… This requires a gimmick provided with the book. This is an instant reset sandwich effect with two selected cards. I will definitely play with this as soon as I get the chance!

Under the influence.

This is a prediction effect which looks very clean. Three cards are put aside. A card from a different coloured deck is selected. The four cards are turned over to reveal that they are four of a kind (eg. 4 aces).

Perfect Prediction

A card is placed face down on the table. A card is randomly (really) thought of and proves to match the prediction. I have seen Steve do it and it is very direct... almost too direct. You will fool them with this one but it is not for the feint of heart!.

Six-to-Nine

I often perform the first part of the routine which was published in the linking ring! I haven’t performed the second part yet because I didn’t have the gimmick. Now I do… This got gasps at the 4F convention. This is very well described in the book. The only caveat is that the first part is angle sensitive. This works well in a restaurant for a couple of people or in a one-to-one stand up environment.

There are two other routines in the book which I have yet to digest. One is a card to wallet/pocket routine and Steve’s adaptation to NFW and Henry Evans’ Jokers Strike!

Throughout the book, Steve also shares some of his thought on various aspects of magic. Beginners and advanced workers will find food for thought here.

This book is a labour of love and it shows! Steve will be selling this directly. If interested, contact me and I’ll give you his contact information.

Thanks,

Jean-Luc Dupont

Hello everyone!

Before leaving on vacation, Steve has put up a web site that describes the content of his book.

http://www.magicmusclebook.com/

Don't let the fact that Steve might not be a household name detract you from considering this. Look at the list of referrals : Pat Page, Bill Malone, Oscar Munoz, Steve Beam, Gene Anderson, Eric DeCamps and more...

Seriously, this far surpasses the quality of a large portion of material that gets produced.

J-L

You've been warned!

J-L

Thanks for review

Obie O’Brien from my local IBM Ring sent this quote:

“This Canadian magician is one of the best kept secrets in magic. He is a regular at 4F who always blows the 4Fers away with his magic.”

And I found all of these glowing endorsements on his website:

Steve Duperré is young, he is good looking, and he fooled me. I hate him!
— Pat Page

This is a great book. I wish I could keep it to myself. Steve fooled me badly with the card to wallet and the mid-air visual change. They are well worth the price of the book.
— Bill Malone

Steve’s book should be a lesson on how to write a magic book. It is extremely easy to read, there are tons of quality pictures, and the layout & design are superior to most books already out there. I’ve seen him perform much of this material and he fooled the pants off many magicians!
— Oscar Munoz

Many of Steve’s tricks are real foolers. He is very serious about his material, and his book reflects this. There are many great ideas here. If you are serious about your magic, you will definitely learn something.
— Joan Caesar

Under the Influence is so strong and easy, you'll use it too!
— Tom Craven

Steve’s book is awesome! It is extremely well written, the layout is outstanding, and his magic is really cool. I use some of his ideas all the time!
— Eric Leclerc

Steve’s idea of loading a card to a Kaps style wallet while the wallet sits on the table in full view during the whole performance is worth the price of the book. The method is very clever and fairly easy to master.
— Guy Camirand

Six-to-Nine has the nicest and most stunning visual changes I recall ever seeing in a card routine!
— Gene Anderson

I love the layout. My favorite is the color change from Six-to-Nine — it’s a jaw dropper. Awesome!
— Scott Robinson

I’ve seen Steve perform much of this material — and as good as it was — what I didn’t see was even better!
— Steve Beam

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this book.

I have this book and I think it is unlike any other card magic book I have in my collection. It is unique, fresh and it`s mighty tasty!! mmmmmmm

I have seen Steve perform some of this material at FFFF. I can tell you that what I saw was excellent. I'll be picking the book up from him this April at FFFF.

Mike Powers

I sleep next to it everynight

Still do............

Any video trailer with Steve out there?