Finally!!

Stephen Minch is accepting pre-publication orders for Tom Stone's new book.

Special Prepublication Price--$49, when ordered by June 10, 2010 (normally $55)
http://www.hermeticpress.com

This is the one I have been waiting for. Sure to be one of the best books of 2010.

In an e-mail from Hermetic Press:

A whirlwind of routines, tricks, ideas and opinions--
Inspired and inspiring.

Open this book and you enter the mind of Tom Stone, one of Sweden's finest professional magicians and one of the world's most wildly innovative magical thinkers. Within a few pages you will be swept up and carried away by the creative whirlwind that is constantly blowing in Stone's brain. As you are whipped from idea to idea you will be exposed to a level of professional thinking that leaves no area of magic untouched, from close-up to stage, from manipulation to psychology, routining to prop construction, presentation to stagecraft.

Challenging ideas demanding thought and development vie for attention with routines honed over years of performance. Vortex is a chronicle of a full-time performer's creative journey, with its fruits and challenges, presented with the intent that every reader will continue the adventure.

Vortex cuts a swath across the entire map of magic, from close-up to platform and stage. While doing so, Stone shows how these boundaries can be crossed, taking effects from one venue and adapting them to play successfully in another. The material in Vortex displays a unique melding of artistic ideals with realistic professionalism, guided by many years of performing experience.

Explained is everything from card tricks designed for three or four persons to sleek manipulation routines devised for hundreds in a theater. Among the more than 70 ideas explained in Vortex are signature pieces from Tom Stone's repertoire, such as

• Gold Wielder, a linking finger-ring handling that avoids all the usual weaknesses and difficulties

• Ambivalent Travelers and Mr. Fogg, two brilliant and practical approaches to the "Ambidextrous Travellers"

• A Toast for Charon, an elegant coin production finishing with the surprising appearance of a full bottle of wine

• Benson Burner, which transforms "Benson's Bowl" into a striking stage piece with a visually stunning final production

Vortex is a record of artistic and creative quests, frustrations, triumphs and introspection, made by one of the most articulate minds thinking in magic today.

270 pages, 504 illustrations, in hardcover.

Special Prepublication Price--$49, when ordered by June 10, 2010 (normally $55)

I ordered my copy yesterday from hermertic press. I'm sure it will be a very interresting book. Here is the table of content

Introduction—Peter Rosengren IX
Preface XV

In the Eye 1
Champagne 3
Catching Up 12
Princess Salome’s Drink 13
Prov. 31:6 15
Card, Deck & Case 17
Subliminal Persuasion 21
Camera Gag 22
Loading Display 22
Monty Walks Again 23
Protection Against Chameleons 26
Reality Glitch 27
Three Sizes 31
Calculated Aces 32
King Castling 33
Ringbound 39
Spoon Jumper 43
Stone-Age Wild Coin 44
Hoarders 45
Stripper Finesse 51
The Annoying Four 52
Among the Mad Men 53
Gap Drive 61
Killer Gap Launcher 64
Freedom Cuts 65
Problems with the Memorized Deck 68
The Etude 69
Hand Rothing 71
Victorious Mead 72
Matchbox Calculator 73
ElectroMatrix 75
Poltergeist 76

Up the Funnel 77
Tracking Mr. Fogg 79
Ambivalent Travelers 83
Mr. Fogg 95
Mr. Fogg’s Codicil 112
Concerto for Cutlery 113
Wooing Annette 115
Nullified! 117
The Momentum Color-Change 127
Shoe Loads 132
Rope Segments 133
Almost Restored 133
Sharp Fingers 136
Drop and Restored 138
Benson-Franson Combo 139
Whip Restoration 140
Conic Relief 141
Let Them Eat Cake 158

Into the Sky 159
The Monodexterous Brigand 161
An Addition to John Carney’s “Hot Slot” 164
Jardine Ellis Glass Production 168
Silk and Silver 169
Pocket Shots 171
Burning Things on Stage 172
A Toast for Charon 173
Light Stretching 188
Roomtone 189
No Parking 190
Salt-X-Change 191
Mental Sports 194
Benson Burner 195
Helena of the East 226
Gold Wielder 227
Hotel Psychometry 236

Among the Clouds 237
Resonance Theory 239
Too Perfect Imperfect 241
Rejection 247

Acknowledgements 253
Publishing History 253

If this is anywhere as near as good as the "electronic" tomes I have by Tom,then it'll be a winner.
Personally,I can't wait.
Ray.

Can't wait either...one month and a half left...

I'm really looking forward to this one.

Gold Wielder page 227 is a true winning concept.
Sure.

A magic friend bought Toms DVD recently, it was good.

Overseas shipping is $29.00
Laughable.
James

That's what I though too. A $6 discount is slightly less attractive when the shipping adds 60% to the price of the book! Looks like a great book but I'll certainly be waiting until British dealers have it in stock.

An alternative option, as Hermetic Press ship overseas for free for orders over $170, is to make a batch order together with a three friends.

Thanks Tom, but do you really think I'd be on the Magic Café if I had friends?

Good luck with the book!

Ah, that's a good point - I forgot who we are.
Thanks for your encouraging "Good Luck".

For those curious about the "Benson Burner" effect, there are two photos of the first of the two final loads in this newsletter:
http://shop.tomstone.se/mail/index.html

Caliban,

I'm trying to put together a group buy for us UK guys as per Tom's recommendation. PM me if you are genuinely interested.

Regards,

Martin.

Just got word from the printers that they are a few days before schedule. That kind of news is rare!
The prepublication offer is still valid until June 10 though.

-Tom

The books left the printer a few days ago, and will soon arrive at Hermetic Press, and the shipping will commence on June 10.

And that's also the date the prepublication offer will cease. 6 days left, if you want to save a few bucks.

Thank you Tom for this great update!

This morning, Stephen Minch got up at 4:30 and began packing and sending out the prepublication orders.

Tomorrow, the prepublication offer expires.
http://www.hermeticpress.com

I preordered this book from Hermetic Press. I note that several have complained about the shipping cost overseas on Vortex. In all fairness to Hermetic Press, let me see that I was delighted to discover that their shipping did not cost as much as they had expected, and they had refunded the difference (almost $17 off shipping). As usual, I give Hermetic Press a big thumbs up for customer service, and am eagerly looking forward to the arrival of Vortex here in Australia.

Am I the only one who thinks this is one of the most beautiful looking magic books to be released within the last couple of years?