Oh yes, I wouldn't dare reveal the brilliant secrets of the other routines

And thank you for the congratulations! Afterwards, I performed Looch's brilliant routine "Node to Pocket Watch." It revolves around the idea that all decisions can be influenced. I think your lie detector routine added a TON of credibility to that performance.

Absolutely - and 'Nod to Pocket Watch' is a great effect.

You hit the nail on the head when you described what you did. It sounds like your routining was spot on there and perfectly illustrates what I meant when I said that the decision needs to be weighed against the broader background of effects in the set.

Good job!

I just want to thank atlas for releasing "the real thing", the thinking and hard work that went into creating this piece of pure mentalism is outstanding!
I purchased this sometime last week and after reading it I knew that I would have to put in some effort to perfect this little gem as my memory isn't the greatest but as I said to atlas effects like this are worth putting the effort in.
So ive read the book over a number of times and have been practising the memory work a lot and last night I got the chance to perform the lie detector test, I swear to !@#$ I don't think I have ever performed a lie detector test as powerful, the crowd were just gobsmacked!!!
The booktest is the baby I'm really looking forward to learning!
I cannot recommend this enough, its my first purchase of atlas's work and it certainly won't be the last

Kieran

Kieran,

Thanks for your feedback - it means a lot to me as you are not one to mince words on the Café. If it was awful, you'd have said so!

I'm pleased that you are taking your time to work through the system and are putting the effort in. I very much suggest that people begin by learning the lie detector and work through the rest of the book in order. That was the progression I made when creating the material, and I think there is much to be gained by working on this one piece at a time.

As to the book test - you are smart to look forward to it. It looks and feels impossible to both the audience and the participants!

Best,

Atlas

I just saw this review by Paul Romhany in Vanish Magazine (available at http://www.vanishmagazine.com) and thought I'd share it here:

"Is it really possible to read minds? After reading this e-book I believe I can, at least that’s how I felt. Inspired by Jon Thomspons’ Naked Mentalism, Atlas has taken the method to another level. I have been doing this and it really works, so it’s not some pipe dream. It is very easy to understand and this book is well written so you don’t have to be afraid of psychological thinking. I couldn’t wait to try it out on friends after reading and it blew them away. The great thing is once you have learnt this you’ll have some incredibly powerful impromptu mentalism that will fool people badly.

The method can also be applied to a book test. There is a gimmick book involved which is described how to make, or you can order one online from the author. I would probably just order one because it’s not expensive and save yourself a lot of time and trouble. I would say it’s easily one of the strongest book tests I’ve seen in some time.

For close-up performances there is a great routine with business cards using the method. You can perform this on one person or several. There are a lot of variations explained in this e-book. It’s the method that really impressed me because I hadn’t come across it before, and my mind was alive with ideas on how to apply to other effects.

This is some of the best psychological thinking I’ve read, because it’s not hard to understand and even easier to put in to practice. If you could really read minds this might be the way to do it."

For anyone interested, I recently performed "The Real Thing Book Test" on a local radio show.

As I've received a lot of questions about this over the last few months, I've included a link for the clip below - though I should mention that it only represents the portion which relies on the "Real Thing" methodology.

Here is the link:

http://youtu.be/KyGsZvvQp-0

Best,

Atlas

I've just published my review of The Real Thing over at http://magicblog.org/the-real-thing-by-atlas-brookings/
I cannot recommend this highly enough. Atlas has really tipped his mitt on a great piece of mentalism.

Thanks very much for your feedback Steve! And I agree, the book test is excellent - it combines a lot of approaches with the "Real Thing" method and therefore gives you so much versatility. I also like that it can be scrutinized thoroughly by a skeptic and, because of the sectional layout, it will withstand their investigations.

But, to me, the best part is that when they change their word to one they've only thought of - and you name it. That moment is really nice because it is so impossible.

Anyway, thanks again for the review Steve. This is one of my efforts that's really flown under the radar and it is nice to see that the routine has found a home somewhere.

Best,

Atlas

HI Atlas,

Is the Real Thing, especially the book test, US specific. Or is suitable for a UK audience??

Hi Chris,

It is an effect strictly for english speakers and works in the UK - though one word needs to be handled differently.

I hope that helps.

Best,

Atlas