Exactly, Alligator, it's an example of how we should tailor effects to make them our own. This is especially true of story based magic. If the premise doesn't ring true for us, we can't make it seem sincere to our audiences. Of course, making something sound sincere to a persona that we are adopting can be done, it's just a little harder and we call it acting. We all know brilliant actors who can embrace a character to sell a story completely different from the person we usually perceive them to be. It's an art. Unfortunately, there are a lot more macaroni artists out there than DaVincis

Thank you all for your kind comments, it was an enjoyable exercise. Mind Illusionist, drop me a line if you have something you want to work through.

That'sJustWrong!:
That's just right.

Good on you, Joe.

BC

As good as the original presentation is for WA, I completely reworked it and present it as the Tarot Book of Truths. It works better for me that way but few others would see it the same way. Have made my own presentation for Luna 1936 as well and will likely do the same with PG. In the case of Phantoms, I must admit that I have not been able to better the original.

I like the sound of Brother Cirrus

Hmm, yes it does have a nice ring to it

Just placed an order. very much looking forward to receiving this.

I received my copy of Pearly Gates yesterday and can assure one and all that this little gem lives up to every expectation and hope. Clean, well-crafted pages each display a respectful listing of the dead interred in the great cemetery. It all looks so ordinary, so authentic--macabre in the way all funerary arrangements always appear. In short, it is pitch perfect to the eye.

Pearly Gates features the cemetery plots inside the front and back covers--and the book itself boasts no fewer than 300 listings of the dead.

Here's the sweet part: Pearly Gates works on Vic's 'invisible force' principle that he invented for Lilli@n's Di@ry with a few very effective modifications.

You talk to your specs about the cemetery, the tragedy of the insane dying alone and forgotten to all but the undertaker. You hand out this small record of the otherwise-neglected dead of London and ask your spec to 'gain an affinity' with any name, any date they see there. It may be a name that reminds them of someone they know or a date that has some significance to them. They speak not a word, only look and are silently drawn to one special name or date--a completely free choice, or so it appears.

The performer then does that LUNA thing we all love: he takes the spec on an imagined, emotional walk into that cemetery. Wait, here is the headstone of the person you have selected. And then the mystery happens. Not only can you describe the atmosphere of the place, but you look to the left and right of the selected grave and can 'read' the names, dates of death, and so much more from the stones surrounding you. Where did he or she die? You know. How old was the unfortunate one at the time of death? Again, you know.

What can be better than transporting your audience into a graveyard in the middle of the night and telling them tales of the long dead? For me, that is the essence of bizarre magic.

And yet there is 'better' yet to come. Without giving away the extremely clever, simple method, you can (if you choose) have the spec pick up a nurse's registry from CHMH, select a room, look at that patient, and you move directly into your LUNA presentation . . . WITHOUT your spec ever having to say a word.

That's right, the adverts tell the truth. No force into LUNA. No 'ins'. You can go directly from cemetery to asylum without the spec doing anything more than picking up and silently reading another book.

Don't get me wrong, LUNA is genius both in method and force, and there are lots of clever ways in . . . but how much more effective will your LUNA presentation become when your spec simply opens the book and you already know where she is going? YES, you can still do your imagined walk down those spooky corridors with the spec. YES, you can stop before a ward door and have her picture it in her mind. All that makes LUNA so very strong is retained--BUT you no longer have to worry about an 'out' because you ABSOLUTELY KNOW which profile patient she is going to visit BEFORE she opens the LUNA book of her choice.

That's right, 1934, 1935, and 1936 work equally well in conjunction with Pearly Gates. Brilliant.

And, of course, if you have a full three-book LUNA performance already in your head, Pearly Gates is the ideal opening act. Go to the cemetery and visit the unfortunates who have already passed on. After a moment's silence, your spec(s) open their LUNA book(s) and you carry on with your full LUNA routine without the need to force a room number, use an 'in', or rely on an 'out'.

Pearly Gates does ALL the LUNA work for you while the spec believes she's watching a mysterious cemetery routine.

What's more, the manual includes an authentic map of the cemetery suitable for printing and aging that also works as A COMPLETE CHEAT SHEET for Pearly Gates AND all three LUNA books--and you are going to be utterly amazed at how Vic has managed the 'cheats' with so few words! The first time you look at it you'll say, "This can't possibly tell me anything at all." Once you learn its secret (devilishly simple it is, too!) you'll never go to any Pearly Gates-LUNA show without it. The map alone is worth having.

If you do LUNA, you need to have Pearly Gates. You'll learn the LUNA 'automatic in' within a minute, and the map keeps your performance moving right along even if you have the worst memory in bizarre magic.

Bottom line: it's time you entered the Pearly Gates yourself. It really is heaven.

BC

forgive me Prof, but didn't Rick make the force for Lillians Diary?

Oooo, sticky question, and I'm rather sorry you asked it, but in truth I have to say that the answer (for I was there) is no. LD was Vic's idea & development from start to finish. I had input and suggested some of the method's nuances (anchors &c.) (and I wrote the performance manual for it) & Rick had input, too (and gave enthusiastic moral support for Vic's work on it), but LD is Vic's baby A-to-Z, make no mistake. The method is Vic's invention with about 10-15% help with tweaking it coming from Rick and me. When I wrote the above, I had forgotten that Vic let Rick claim the credit for it. I don't know why he did that.

Rick did design the LD cover to suggest a gravestone (which is a great idea) and also suggested using a poem for part of the reveal, which we all three laboured over.

Ahh I see, my apoligies Prof, but curiosity got the better of me!

I do love the method used in LD, so I am sure I will also love using Pearly gates, as the seem to be quite similar (in method).

Is that a printed manual that ships with the book, or a pdf I should get via email? I'm waiting on my PG, would love to get a head start!

I think it should be a pdf bedford. email Rick, and he should send you one.

I appreciate the very kind review. Thank you. I must however set the record straight on LD. LD was a long painful creation process. By far the hardest book test I have ever mapped out. All three of us had a large amount of input which makes LD what she is today. It can never be all mine as we created her together. Rick had valuable input with LD and he deserves the credit he receives with the creation of the force. The three of us love LD because of the hard work that we put into her.

Now back to Pearly Gates...

I stand corrected by the one who knows.

Yes, back to Pearly Gates, Vic & Outlaw have another winner on their hands.

Just to add to my earlier review, Pearly Gates is a wonderful performance piece even if you do not own any of the LUNA books. By itself, Pearly Gates is a spooky mentalism piece that takes your spec into a 1930 cemetery. Very atmospheric.

I should also add that this is a good choice for a 'first' bizarre book test for those of you interested in trying one out for the first time. Easy method, easy memory work (especially with the map!) and superior, spooky effect.

The book is perfectly sized for walk around and complements the LUNA books perfectly (for those wishing to use them together).

A real winner.

BC

Great read above! An interesting presentation point for sure.

Has anyone else got theirs yet? Still waiting on mine!

We have a stack drying right now. They will be shipping thursday so hang in there!

BTW, the aging is wicked looking

Love the color,and can't wait to see with aging in hand!
PG in looks will compliment the luna too!

Anxiously waiting also. I too like the look of the book.

Waiting for mine as well!