John Gelasi has a new ebook coming out called Just Cards, which of course is all about card tricks. I don't know how guys his age can be so well versed in magic, or maybe I'm looking at it from the perspective of myself having been a beginner at that age, but this is another bunch of fun and magical effects. And none of them are very difficult at all, unless you consider top palming a card to be difficult.
Just Cards begins with Fine Fethered Finks, in which four jacks and a selected card go through some changes. There's also Estimation, which starts as a demonstration (of sorts) on estimation and ends with a very magical production of aces. I really liked And Another Thing, during which you lose the black kings only to produce them magically and proceed to find the other kings. I know that's a vague description but I don't want to give it away. And there's a good monte effect, with two black tens and a queen. I can't read my notes well enough to recall the title, but it's fun, and magical. Yes We Caan is a card at a number effect with direct involving a spectator cutting cards. Again, lots of fun. And Cameron Francis makes a guest apperance on that one.

I recently sat through an online lecture by a fairly well known magician and was surprised to hear he had only been into magic for 10 years. I was also surprised that I did not like anything in that lecture. I found most of the items to be long and convoluted and he continually said things like, "and that's what makes this such a powerful effect."

You don't get that kind of thing with John Gelasi's magic, and he's half this other guy's age. You get effects that are very clear and easy to follow and are presented in a very professional manner. And not only that, they don't cost fifty dollars or more. I guess my point about his age is that I'm glad to see a young'un as enthusiastic about magic as he and that other young fellow from merry old England.

Thanks so much for the review, Mike; glad you enjoyed it

I just got this and I will try and post my thoughts tomorrow. But, at first glance, it looks amazing like all of the others of Johns products.

Here are some thoughts:

I really liked this eBook . Not only is the magic well-constructed, the effects are top-notch. John's thinking is very clever and a refreshing approach to card magic. For example, fine feathered finks takes a situation which could use some cleaning up and turns it into another magical effect.

Sounds like a really nice solid collection. Keep up the good work young sir.

Best

John

Thanks for the review, Andrew, and thanks so much for the nice words, Mr. Carey!

"John is a fantastic young card magician with excellent ideas, and his new Ebook is no exception. The homing card trick in his Ebook is magnificent! Great job as always John." 
~Kyle MacNeill

"A really nice collection of fun, off beat effects. Your best yet!"
~ Cameron Francis

I received a free copy of John's new ebook, Just Cards Vol. 1 about three weeks ago. This is my review.

The evaluation scale that I use: Outstanding---Excellent---Very Good---Good---Fair---Poor---Very Poor

Overall [Excellent]: Overall, the ebook receives high marks. It is provided as a pdf file and is organized quite well. The font style (and size) makes the reading experience quite enjoyable. The syntax and grammar are fine. I did not notice any spelling errors.

John describes five effects (with one alternative handling contributed by Cameron Francis). Each description has five sections:
Effect (Brief description of the effect)
Demo (youtube video of the effect)
Setup
Method
Credits

My overall evaluations of the five sections:
Effect [Good]:
The descriptions of each effect are brief but adequate.
Demo [Excellent]:
The video demos are helpful, with a couple deviating slightly from the ebook text.
Setup [Very Good]:
The descriptions of the setups are clear.
Methods: [Excellent]:
The methods are clearly explained. For the most part the methods are sleight-light. The sleights used are basic and known by anyone who is an upper-level-beginner and above. John explains the workings of one sleight. For the rest he assumes prior knowledge of the sleights or ability to access sources describing them.
Credits [Good]:
Not exhaustive, but a good effort nonetheless.


The Five Effects:
Fine Feathered Finks
Yes We CAAN (with an alternative handling by Cameron Francis)
And Another Thing
J. G. Monte
Estimation


Fine Feathered Finks [Very Good]
"An off-beat, no-palm approach to the 'Homing Card" plot"

Setup: None.
I like it. A clear presentation which features some nice transpositions. My only problem was doing the E****se C***r Ch**ge due to a severely deformed right pinky (injury as a youngster). My guess is that most folks can do the required sleight and will enjoy this handling.



Yes We CAAN [John's version: Very Good; Cameron's version: Excellent]
"A spectator's freely selected card is located at a randlomly generated number under impossible conditions."

Setup: None.
I like it. John's video demo includes an additional touch using a number written on an index card for time misdirection.
I probably like Cameron's version a bit better. It seems more direct.



And Another Thing [Very Good]
"A variation on Richard Sanders' famous 'King Thing' effect. First the magician finds the two black kings, and then manages to produce all four from four different places: the top of the deck, reversed in the center, inside his pocket, and inside the card case!"

Setup: Setup the packet as you casually remove cards needed for the effect.
I like it. These sorts of "I'll find the card(s) here and then there" effects can be confusing and drag on too long. John's version is neither confusing nor too long. His methodology and "script" help the spec follow along and not despair of the trick ever ending. I expect that I will include this in my repertoire. Nice job. Note: a palm is required, but if done according to script, all the heat is off at that moment.



J. G. Monte [Fair]
"A queen placed in between two tens proves impossible to find, reappearing in unexpected places and switching places under impossible conditions."

Setup: None.
My least favorite of the five effects. Pretty easy to do, but can be a bit confusing to some specs. If an extra effort is made to emphasize where the queen actually appears versus where the spec expects the queen to appear, this probably works fairly well.



Estimation [Excellent]
"A demonstration of estimation with a deck of cards leads to producing the four aces in miraculous ways."

Setup: Yes.
I really like this. I do not usually "get into" card work that requires setup such as found in this effect, but IMHO, this is one sweet four-ace production. After the setup work has been done, this four-ace production almost works itself. Uses a force (which John explains) and one basic sleight which all magi must master early on in their careers. I may just have to change my mind about card magic that relies on a setup.

Concluding Statements: I give high marks to this collection of effects. There is some really good material here that does not require knuckle-busting sleights. The combination of clearly written text and competently performed video demos make this an ebook really worth having.

Great job John!


Angelo

Thanks so much for the detailed review, Angelo! I'm glad you enjoyed the material

You are welcome!
Good job. I wish I could have posted sooner.

Keep up the good work.

Angelo

"Just Cards: Volume 1" is now available for purchase over at Lybrary.com!

REVIEW: Just Cards

http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbt......st259195


Tom Frame

Thanks so much for the great review, Tom! I'm thrilled you found the material enjoyable

I really like "Yes we caan". To be more specific Cameron's version. It's going into my repertoire. I think its very clever.