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takeachance Inner circle 3764 Posts |
Thanks stanz, appreciate your opinion and taking the time to answer my post. It sounds like something I'd like and you've pushed me closer to hitting the buy button. I was particularly interested in the Two Card Transposition which sounds like Houchins French Kiss on steroids.
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phase27 Loyal user Tx 228 Posts |
This book is incredible. I got it over the holidays and keep looking back over it. I would definitely pick it up.
"Life is only as good as the memories we make..." -K.Roe
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Nechto Special user UK 871 Posts |
I have now finished Clouds and Kingdoms. I wished it hadn’t ended, but I suppose all good things must come to an end.
Nate’s thinking resonates with me, his approach to magic and the depth of thought that he has plus the attention to detail is what sets this apart from your normal magic release. You can tell each effect has been thought out immaculately and then worked and worked to iron out any creases that may still be there. What you are left with is polished material that has had any fluff removed and only the gold remains. Nate’s approach is not for everyone, you have to be the type of performer who cares about your audience and their experience to the point where you will go to whatever length to gift that to them. As Nate says, if he can work 100% harder to achieve a routine that is only 1% better then he is going to do it, because the spectator’s are more important. As a result what you get is not only some extremely strong magic but also some extremely inspiring and thought provoking theory. I wish I had this book when I started out. There is a lot to learn from it, especially if you pay attention to the detail and really try to understand his motivation. Think Berglas, the reason he is a legend is because of his uncompromising nature and refusal to settle for mediocrity. if every magician put as much care and attention into their work as performers like Nate and Mr Berglas there would be no bad magician stereotypes, only awe at what we do and who we are. The effects are very strong, Dollar has such a great idea that instantly elevates it to miracle status. Phone Call has so many nice touches, the thought that has gone into how the reveal is executed made me smile from ear to ear, Nate must get a HUGE buzz performing this, I can only imagine what it would be like to be on stage moments from the reveal knowing what was about to happen, simply amazing. The Two Card Transposition, I saw Nate do this on a TV show in England, The Next Great Magician and I was stumped, nearly every card magician knows the two card transpo and Nate has managed to make it better, just like Wayne Houchin elevated it with French Kiss. Nate’s take on this effect really makes it the true two card transposition, two spectator’s signed cards (that’s right the two spectator’s each sign a card, not a spectator and the magician sign a card) and they still switch places without him going anywhere near them. If you see his version on You Tube where he is on stage with a punk looking dude and think that is it, you are wrong, the full version in Clouds and Kingdoms has such finesse it was a joy to read and have it unravel in my head. My favourite however was the effect I was least excited to read, Constellation. This could easily become my favourite go to method for revealing information like a name or place someone is thinking of. When I perform I am not a mind reader, I take care to give people a strong sense of magic but I do not profess to have magical powers, my attitude is that I know some cool things that can provoke people to experience a feeling, an emotion, that is magic, not me. Constellation will allow me to perform crazy strong reveals of hidden information without it contradicting my character, I simply LOVE it! I tried it out today and it worked a charm, I know I didn’t do it the justice that Nate would do it (I’ll get there!) but it worked amazingly well and it seemed like I did nothing, something beautiful and bizarre just happened. As you can probably tell I cannot recommend this book enough. Is it expensive? If I think how long it will be on my bookshelf and how it will help me in my career and life as a magician then it is a bargain. Please, if you are serious about performing strong, memorable and astonishing magic and want to be inspired by theory then pick this up. www.cloudsandkingdomsbook.com Thank you Nate, Ben Williams |
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shane New user 47 Posts |
After reading Ben’s review and the reading what Bro Gilbert said on Facebook I may have to take the leap.
Here is what Bro Gilbert had to say: “Over the last decade or more, I have been working literally in the trenches of magic land. Producing magic effects, magic downloads, manufacturing magic products, magic television. Some days, when you've been consuming idea after idea after idea for long enough, the lines begin to blur and you start to wonder what it's all about all over again. Nate Staniforth 's book Clouds and Kingdoms hit me like a quiet sunrise and a cup of the finest coffee. Calm, crisp, clear, thoughtful. No pipe dreams, just inventive, road tested, real world routines created by a human being whom I believe not only genuinely cares about what his audiences are experiencing but about this fine art of ours as well.” Sounds promising. Now I just have to save up some money. Shane |
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Bob_Hummer Special user 842 Posts |
The magic in this book is very strong. I am impressed. It is interesting reading a book by a magician who will stop at nothing to achieve the strongest possible effect. You don't see this dedication or approach to methods in most magic books.
Great book! Joe Mckay |
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mikepaldino New user 6 Posts |
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said by everyone on this thread regarding Clouds And Kingdoms. It’s a pretty amazing book.
I’ve known Nate for a few years (full disclosure, I am not being coerced into giving a positive review, but as he knew how I much I enjoyed it, he did ask me to leave my opinions on the forum), and never once have I been disappointed by his work. I was one of the lucky few who purchased the Lottery Illusion book, and one of the fewer who actually put the effort into the work. I built everything in that book. Literally everything. And then I went out and performed it successfully (long before everyone bought the marketed option from Spain that came later). Apart from his magic, Nate’s *thinking* is out of the stratosphere. He is able to look at the effect, strip out the excess, and build the piece into a work of pure imaginary art. He takes what some might consider pipe dreams, and births them into reality. But the reality they exist in isn’t ours. The strength of Nate’s magic is his complete faith in the effect. As I described it to one of my peers, Clouds And Kingdoms doesn’t give you the keys to the city, it gives you the blueprints to build your own. Apart from the philosophy he shares (and his thoughts are often unique and greatly detailed), the magic is simple and powerful. My own experiences with Constellation alone have been outstanding- it’s definitely the one most people will gravitate to first, but may also avoid at first glance. The catch when it comes to his work is this, and it’s the unfortunate thing for many- while simple-looking in theory, some of Nate’s routines require work. Like, lots. Whether it’s construction, preparation, execution, or just plain BALLS, the monsters between the covers of this book are not to be taken lightly. They’re well-thought out pieces and having seen 99% of them live, they absolutely kill. But much like the Lottery, many will scoff at some of the notions put forth, and simply disregard them. This is 100% fine by me. The less chance I have of running into performers in the world doing this material, the better it will be in terms of me doing it. It’s the proverbial “thanks for sharing this work, I really wish you hadn’t shared it with everyone else”. I’m lucky- I’ve seen the absolute chaos things like Dollar and Phone Book cause in the live setting. I can vouch for their effectiveness because I’ve seen them work. And work well. I do plan at some point to incorporate them into my show, but for now, Constellation is the absolute winner. I have been working it for weeks and it is great. But again, simplistic as it may read, it is an exercise is audience management and perception. It’s one of those things that shouldn’t be treated as a throw away- on the contrary, it’s a case where when you paint the mental picture of what’s happening, people will start to see what you show them. Properly presented, it’s astounding, and yet I can’t help but think that a reader will gloss over the finer points of it and waste what is essentially a small miracle, an unfortunate reality. Bottom line is, if you know Nate, and you know his previous work, you know how good this book is. Much like the recent Magic Rainbow by Tamariz, this book is not only a book of magic, it is a gift. And for those who have read Here Is Real Magic (Nate’s best selling memoir), you know about his love for language and the written word- at times, even in the description of a magic trick, you’re reading prose. Like I said, not everything here will be believed at first, some might not even be attempted. But it’s all gold. |
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Drtriage Elite user My garden fence has 463 Posts |
'Limited to 1000 copies' it states, but now sold by Vanishing Inc so not limited to 1000 any more? Shame for those who purchased it on the basis of a promised strictly limited release.
Also from the original advertising blurb: 'Clouds and Kingdoms is a one-time, limited edition release that will never be published again in any form.' |
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trickyat86 Special user Pittsburgh, PA 595 Posts |
Interesting. Maybe Nate sold the remaining copies to Vanishing Inc?
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Drtriage Elite user My garden fence has 463 Posts |
Perhaps ...
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Xcath1 Inner circle 3052 Posts |
At a $109 per book, 1000 is a lot to sell
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Drtriage Elite user My garden fence has 463 Posts |
In the Erudite Magic review, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVyTL1NG......iteMagic , he has a copy numbered 456 / 1000 and he reports he bought it a few years ago.
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