I was fortunate enough to be sent a sneak preview of Harpacrown 2. Incredibly, this isn’t even all of the contents of the book! In fact, this is probably only 2/3 of what will be the finished product. But I thought it would be a nice teaser for you guys to whet the appetite for what’s to come.

The descriptions of the effects below are in Mark’s own words from the pages of his new book. My thoughts follow each description when appropriate.

Poison Pin: The performer explains that he is often asked if he can guess people’s pin codes. As it would be unethical for the performer to reveal the participant’s real pin he asks them to generate a random pin. He then proceeds to reveal the pin and other information such as the participant’s star sign.

Mark adds some nice subtleties in this routine which give the spectator a genuine choice after creating a random number. This subtly makes the effect feel more fair and certainly adds a layer of deception. It’s nothing exciting/revolutionary in terms of method, but is a nice dressing up of a principle we all know and love. When you read it you will probably ask yourself why you didn’t think of that.

Routining and Scripting: A chapter devoted to why you should script your shows and includes discussions about Consistency, Timing, Confidence, Stage fright, and even the science behind what makes a deceptive script/routine.

I found the insight in this chapter to be very valuable. Mark shares a couple of examples of scripts and routining that takes some traditional effects and makes them 100% his. If you utilize the concepts and techniques discussed here, your show will be better because of it. It won’t be easy! It will take hard work and deep thought, but in the end, your performance will resonate with audiences on a different level. I was also really intrigued by the science he discusses and how it relates to magic. I totally agree with his statement. If you’ve seen Nate Staniforth’s “Making Tricks into Magic” then I think you will be fascinated by the science behind one of Nate’s key principles. This chapter alone could change your entire career if you take it to heart.

Chandaulopes: This section details how to make a two way out, four way out, or six way out envelope.

This is perhaps what Mark is most known for. Pros all over the world have been using and praising the chandaulopes since their conception. These additional ideas take it to the next level allowing for more outs without much more work to build.

What’s Mine is Mine: The entire audience play a game of which hand. The winner is invited to the stage where the performer displays two envelopes, one red, and one green. The performer explains that one of these envelopes is for the participant and it is their job to choose the right one. The envelope is chosen by the participant and opened. It appears that the participant selected the correct envelope. After some further business the contents of the other envelope are shown to be identical to the one selected by the participant. Finally in a surprising manner the performer proves that the participant really did pick the correct envelope.

This is the whimsical style you can expect from Mark. The routine is simple to do, but fun to be part of as you watch the shenanigans unfold. I would consider this Mark’s take on the sucker punch plot with some mentalism flair.

ESPecially for You: The performer displays four envelopes, each decorated with a different E.S.P. symbol. He explains that the contents of each of these envelopes could change the participant’s life, but one more than the others. The participant is asked to select one of the E.S.P. symbols. The envelope bearing this symbol is placed down in full view. Each of the other envelopes are opened and shown to include a reading related to the type of person that selects that symbol and some advice that might improve such a person’s life. The selected envelope is opened and found to contain a reading that simply states “The person that selects this sign is born lucky.” In addition to the reading, this envelope also contains a lottery ticket which the participant is given to keep.

As Mark says in the book, “I’ve always loved the idea of Bank Night effects but too many are based on the ‘I win – You lose’ premise. This really doesn’t fit with the experience I want to give to my audiences. The beauty of mentalism is it allows you to make the performance about the spectator rather than the performer. The ‘I’m clever – you are dumb’ or as I see it the ‘I’m a dick!’ undertone of many bank night presentations really pushed me to create my own. Another objective is that I wanted the unselected envelopes to have a little more meaning than simply ‘It’s not here.’”

I think he perfectly accomplished what he set out to do. Again, the method is easy. All of the value lies in the routining and structure.

Broken Heart Out: The broken heart out system isn’t an effect, it’s a tool that can be used to enhance an effect such as allowing you to get the first letter in a book test without any apparent fishing. For example, during a book test the participant selects a random word from a book. The performer asks the participant to think of the first letter of the word. The performer writes a letter on a business card and then changes his mind, tears the card in half and drops the torn pieces in his pocket. The performer then writes a new letter on a second card. As he tables the card, he asks the participant to reveal the letter they are thinking of. When the participant reveals the letter, the performer turns over the business card and boom, he is right!! Or more commonly the performer will respond that he should have stuck with his first instinct as he removes the torn pieces from his pocket revealing that the first letter that he wrote was indeed correct. This system is not limited to book tests.

This was inspired by Peter Turner’s idea, but Mark’s take eliminates the need for the special skill Pete’s method involves which makes this well within anyone’s grasp. The method is totally different, but the underlying effect is the same. The only downsides to this version is you are slightly limited to what you can reveal, and you can only do this when you’re prepared to do it—it’s not an impromptu piece. With some creativity, you can use this for a world of effects.

Gone Fishing: An envelope is displayed, and a member of the audience selects a hand of cards by eliminating cards in a very fair manner until only six remain. The participant is asked to select one card from this hand and discard the rest; this is a completely free choice. Before the participant reveals their card the performer removes a single card from the envelope that has been on display the entire time. The envelope is shown to be otherwise empty. The card matches the participant’s card.

This is a utility method to force six cards in an extremely fair manner. What you do from there depends on you. However, Mark explains three routines with a poker deck to get you started. Then Mark expounds on this and uses this method to demonstrate how changing the premise and props can create a myriad of effects, each one vastly different than the last (the next two chapters use the same method but create totally different effects.) I believe this is a core principle of this entire book. From these three back-to-back chapters, you can gain inspiration for creating your own routines using methods you already know. This entire book is a journey into this idea, and if you read between the lines in these chapters, you will see that even if you don’t perform a single effect from the book “as is,” you can use the underbelly of the method to create someone totally new that fits you and your style.

Countdown Booktest: The performer offers to demonstrate how an oracle can be used to predict the future. A participant is selected at random by throwing a paper ball into the audience. A set of alphabet cards is displayed and shown to be different. The performer explains that to use the oracle, cards must be selected at random. The participant selects a hand of cards by eliminating cards in a very fair manner until only six remain. The participant is invited on to the stage where he is asked to select a book to be used. He is then asked to select another participant by throwing out the paper ball. The second participant is invited to open the book to a page randomly selected by the first participant and note the first word on the page. The first participant is asked to make a word with the letter cards that he selected earlier. Both participants reveal their words and both have the word ‘BEFORE’. The performer reveals that the alphabet cards were not the oracle, the paper ball was the oracle. The performer opens up the paper ball to reveal it has the word ‘BEFORE’ printed on it.

As stated, this uses the same method from the previous trick disguised as a book test. There’s a lot going on in the routine, but I think seeing it performed wouldn’t feel like too much is happening. Essentially, randomly selected cards spell a randomly selected word from a book, and that word was predicted. The method is simple and solid, and reading this already begins to show you how much an effect can change just by varying the presentation, premise, and props.

Scrabbled: The performer offers to show how he uses his abilities in the real world. He explains that he sucks at Scrabble® but uses his abilities to give himself an advantage. He offers to demonstrate using the Scrabble® card game. The performer draws a grid showing all the possible scores, assuming no bonuses or or double word scores, from an initial Scrabble® hand. He explains that if he can intuit the score that his opponent will get, he can easily identify how many chances there are to beat that score and can select his own word accordingly. A participant is chosen by throwing out a paper ball into the audience. The person that catches this ball is asked to select a hand of Scrabble® letters at random and to form the best word possible with those letters. Once the participant has created a word the performer asks the participant to add up their score then close their eyes and repeat that score in their head. Once the participant’s eyes are closed the performer circles one of the numbers in the grid. The participant is asked to call out their score and it matches the circled number. The performer asks how many letters the participant has left over. They reply that there are none left over, all the letters were used. The performer states that this highlights the fatal flaw in his plan. If all the letters in a player’s hand are used, this is called a Scrabble® or a Bingo which scores an additional 50 points. Those points are added to the participant’s score. The participant is asked to call out their new total. The performer states that fortunately whilst he sucks at Scrabble® he is pretty good at math. He proceeds to reveal the grid as a magic square where every row, column, diagonal etc adds up to the participants total score. He asks the participant to return the paper ball and then asks for their word. The paper ball is opened to reveal their word printed on the inside.

This is our last look at the forcing method. This time it uses scrabble cards and an added magic square. I think there are some nice twists throughout the routine. Again, it’s a lot happening, but for a confident performer who can direct the focus, this routine is sure to be an entertaining hit. Obviously, you would never use the last three chapters together in the same show, and that’s not the point. The point is to show the wide range a single method can have. So often we see a method used with a certain presentation, and then we only use that method with that presentation. This is a really inspiring look at breaking the method from the presentation. Free yourself of how “most” people do the trick, and find a way to make it your own.

Ophiuchus: After testing the participant’s intuition using the Astrological Research Society Intuition Cards the performer gives the participant a reading and correctly guesses their star sign and exact birthday.

This was a stand alone release which garnered a lot of attention in the community. The basic method is a system of ascertaining the spectators star sign through a series of intuition tests. The birthdate reveal was the thing that fooled everyone who saw it (me included!) It’s very clever indeed, and the explanation is incredibly in depth showing you every possible outcome. There are three versions of the effect taught. Basic: you reveal their star sign intermediate: you reveal their star sign and birthdate advanced: you reveal their star sign and the star sign of two other people

Name and Space: The performer explains that it is difficult to be a mind reader in the modern world because so much information is available online. For example, if the performer were to ask someone to think of their best friends name it would be too easy for them to have researched it online. However if the performer had no idea of what type of information a person was thinking of he would be unable to research it in advance. The performer introduces some cards with many topics that a person could think of such as names, dates places. He invites two participants to select a random card and asks each to think of the topic written on that card. The performer is able to divine the type of information that each participant is thinking of and the specific thoughts they each have in their minds.

This is a very clever reveal of two thoughts. Mark has done some really clever things with this method which allow you some incredible freedom and extra deceptiveness. The combination of principles is really great; the combination Mark uses cancels out the method the audience may be assuming. This is one of the standouts to me. I think a lot of people will love this direct mind reading with clever methods AND it’s easy to do!? What’s not to love?

The Present: The performer explains that he wanted to buy a present but because he is terrible at making decisions, he created a book of choices. He explains that it started as a book of gift ideas but it was so helpful that he now uses it to make all of his decisions. He displays a pad and shows that the pages contain choices of gifts, budgets, holiday destinations, restaurants etc. After the pages are shown to be all different, a member of the audience is asked to select a budget and a gift. The performer ask’s the participant if they are happy with both choices but the participant is not completely happy with the budget. The performer allows the participant to choose another budget and this time the participant is happy. The selected budget is revealed as £25 and the present is a scented candle. The performer opens the gift box that has been in view the whole time and removes a scented candle. The candle has a large price tag showing £20 rather than the £25 selected by the participant. The performer turns the candle around to show a label that say’s “Reduced from £25”. The performer then reaches into the gift box and removes his £5 change.

This is a lovely way to present a gift to a spectator. I think it would work nicely for a stage performer after using a spectator in a routine with DR or any kind of Instant Stooging. It will keep them on stage a bit longer, give them a gift, and involve them in a final magical moment. I think this would significantly increase the chances of them keeping their mouth shut The method is what you assume it is, however, Mark again adds a subtle rouse that allows for a double force. The clever thing here is the routining which makes it seem like the spectator is the one who decides she wants to change the budget (which she really is.) It seems spur of the moment and totally unpredictable. A truly great moment and lovely routine.

Eskimos: *This the only description I am intentionally leaving blank*

Essentially, this is Mark’s method of forcing a number. The reason for not including Mark’s description here is because the description gives away the routining, and I genuinely think this is one of the best routines in the book, and giving away his routine would be a shame because it is hilarious, entertaining, and very fooling. If you can’t tell, I absolutely love the structure of this. I love that Mark doesn’t just reveal the number, instead, there’s some great comedy gold as it goes from an incorrect prediction, to a sad attempt at salvaging the situation, to a really surprising finish that the original prediction was correct in the first place. This is going to be the one everyone is doing before long. Plus, the method Mark uses of forcing the number is incredibly clever and fooling. He teaches three methods, the final of which is his baby. It is a combination of two very old forcing techniques, but used in combination, the technique becomes virtually impossible to backtrack. It also uses a LOT of people. At least 12 people take part in naming numbers. These numbers are added by the entire audience on their cellphones, and yet you’ve sneakily forced the total. It’s great, it’s fooling, it’s simple, it’s the thing people will start using immediately. And even though there were three chapters devoted to making a routine your own, I think the routine Mark provides is such an entertaining premise, many people will perform it verbatim.

Berglas and the Medallion: The performer hands out a large envelope and a small envelope at the start of the show. At the appropriate moment in the show, the audience are asked to all think of a playing card. The performer asks six spectators to call out the card they are thinking of. These are noted down on a clipboard. The performer has the person holding the large envelope bring it to the stage. He asks the audience if they would be impressed if the envelope contains those six cards. The envelope is opened, and a jumbo deck of cards is removed. The performer points out that those six cards indeed are somewhere in there. The audience are not impressed.
The performer explains that the chances of him getting one of those cards right would be 52-1, the chances of getting two correct, would be 52-1 times 51-1. He states that he would have more chance of winning the lottery than predicting all six cards. He tells the audience that he bought a lottery ticket which is currently in the small envelope being held by the spectator. The performer retrieves the envelope from the spectator whilst handing him the clipboard. The performer points out that each of the playing cards has a number from 1-52 written on the back so the order of the cards is set in stone. Likewise, the numbers on the lottery ticket were set in stone when the ticket was purchased. The participant is asked to deal down to the card at the position of the first number on the lottery ticket and place it to one side. This is repeated for the other five numbers on the ticket. The participant is asked to hold the six cards he dealt to in a fan as if playing poker. The performer asks for the first card listed on the clipboard to be called out. One by one the cards in the participant’s hand are shown to be the named cards.

This is a strange combination of ACAAN and the Lottery Prediction. I have no doubt many performers would be fooled badly if they saw this. Audiences don’t stand a chance. The method is wonderful and simple to execute, and layered to the point of leaving the audience with no where to turn to explain it. It creates a nice intrigue with the two envelopes and using the jumbo deck ensures everyone can see the ending. You may ask, “why not just do a lottery prediction?” In the book, Mark explains that he used to do just that, but because of the popularity of lottery predictions on street magic specials, AGT, BGT, Fool Us, etc, audiences grew bored of the lottery prediction by itself. They knew that you would be successful as soon as they start naming numbers. So, many years ago, Mark set out to find a solution. He came up with a way to disguise the lottery effect so that people wouldn’t see it coming. The only problem was that he was using an expensive piece of technology, and sometimes, it would fail. He could never come up with a good solution for when the technology failed, so instead, he scraped the technology and built it from the ground up. This is what is provided here. It hides the lottery effect from the audience. They don’t expect it, and because they don’t expect it, it hits them much harder than a traditional Lottery Prediction on its own.


Wrapping up, I think Mark has provided solid routines that have clearly been worked. The structure of the routines are always sound, and the methods are always simple and deceptive. Mark clearly has an eye for adding twists and subtleties that enhance every piece of mentalism. This is a great look into his mind. His essays and philosophy on making your tricks/presentations original to you will inspire you to take a deep dive into your own performances. If you have Harpacrown, you will know what to expect from this book. Mark’s writing style is very casual and there’s humor thrown in throughout. There are many times I’ll read a line or two that Mark has written and I can’t help but smile at his wit and charm. As for the material, this is one of the rare occasions where the material in this second book is just as strong (maybe even stronger) than the material in the first book. I certainly found myself attracted to more of the routines in this book than Harpacrown, and I think buyers will feel the same way. And remember... this isn’t even all of the material that will be in the book! You could buy it as is, and you would be happy with your purchase. The fact that there’s loads more on the way is exciting, and even more of a reason to get your wallet ready for when this is finally released.

Madison

Thanks for your review! What’s is the estimated release date?

I am aiming for end of June. I am a little behind as I was very ill with covid 19 for a few weeks and recovery has been a little slower than I would like but I am back to writing now.

Mark

I'm sorry to hear that Mark. Glad you're feeling better.

Glad to hear you’re on the mend Mark.

Have a good recovery, Mark! Best wishes from Amsterdam!

Thanks for the well wishes guys and please stay safe. I can say from experience that this thing is not just another flu. However I don’t want my brush with my own mortality to take away from discussion about the book and it’s contents.

In addition to the chapters mentioned by Madison there are a couple more essays, one on building and act which should compliment the scripting chapter. One on the importance of friendships formed through this art and how they are far more valuable than money, fame or reputation. My take on Pegasus Page, Mental logs, Fourth dimensional telepathy. A major effect where the entire audience attempt to guess your pin and a theatrical variant on Marc Paul’s Human deck of cards. There is also an essay called brain farts. Rather than untested material these are stories of when my brain let me down in performance with amusing results. Although they were not necessarily amusing at the time. There is a foreword by Marc Paul, and afterword by Marc Salem and contributions from Steve Drury, Mark Elsdon, John Carey and a few others to be announced. There is also a chapter entitled bits and pieces that has items too small for their own chapter such as some alternative presentations for my Numbers effect, a one ahead subtlety, a card peek for lefties like me. How to protect yourself from people lying about their phone unlock code which is applicable to 99% of phone unlock methods and a few other bits and pieces.

I think that pretty much covers it.

Oh the Ophiuchus cards will be included. Whilst this was a commercial release I wanted to include it for completeness because the bare bones appears in the making sense of it chapter in Harpacrown. Also whilst this will be formatted in the same way as the Harpacrown Collectors Edition there may not be a softback standard edition. This is because the collectors was far more popular than the standard eedition to the point where they are all gone. I still have around 75 standards left. Sticking to a single edition keeps costs down which could lead to Harpacrown 2 being cheaper than the first one.

Mark

Oh I forgot to say thank you to Madison for such an in-depth preview.

Mark

I was a big fan of Harpacrown so I'm eager to pick up "Son of Harpacrown". Thanks Mark!!!!

Sorry to hear you have had Covid Mark and am glad you are now much better. Like many, looking forward to Harpacrown 2. The contents as described promise something special and with many treats in store.

Neil

Yes agreed Marks work is always great and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the next chapter in the brilliant Harpacrown series .
Mark puts everything into his books and I know this will be another one that is so worth waiting for .
I met Mark through having similar interests in the art , we then became great buddy’s but his passion , knowledge and dam right helpfulness I will never forget .
He is one guy who does this for the absolute love of our art and I respect that above all over Gaz 🙂

I've been very lucky as Mark has been sending me chapters as he writes them. All I can say is that if you liked Harpacrown (and who didn't!) you'll love Harpacrown Too. It's simply more of the same. More strong, powerful, commercially tested practical material which Mark has actually used and continues to use. In a time when almost everyone who calls themselves a mentalist is also publishing material left right and centre, Mark’s material stands out for the very simple reason that it works. By that I don’t mean the methods (of course they work!) what I mean is that these are routines that work for real people. Routines that not only entertain and amaze, but engage. Engaging mentalism is what it all about, we all get tied up, and sometimes even obsessed by methods and forget the overall effect. Mark doesn’t do that, his focus is always on the experience of his audiences and they love him for it. Mark charms his audiences and I think he'll charm you too.

Just to add a little more detail. Harpacrown places a heavy focus on the why, Harpacrown Too shifts the focus to the how. Not how as in methods although of course methods are included but rather how to present. As such it includes very little in new methods but quite a lot in new twists on old methods and repurposing methods by shifting the props and premise. Ophiuchus is included for completeness as the concept was originally explored in the making sense of it all chapter in Harpacrown. The Ophiuchus cards will be included and there is likely to be an additional crib card included which I don’t use myself but some may benefit from.

Whilst the effects in both books are strong, practical, workable audience tested routines they are designed to illustrate the underlying principles that are discussed in the essays across both volumes. It is my intention that the two books will compliment each other to give the readers a solid set of tools to enhance their own performances and create their own material and presentations.

Mark

Sorry to hear that, I hope you are well now.

I expect you recover totally and good.

Cristóbal

Best wishes from Chile!!!

Glad to hear you’re on the mend Mark. Really interested in a few bits mentioned above, the lotto plot has always interested me so would be interesting to see how you have disguised it!

Hi Jack,
Thanks for your interest. In this particular case it is essentially a lottery prediction via the back door. Mind you I also have a few different takes on my Numbers lottery prediction from Harpacrown in volume 2 as well. Progress is moving along and I am currently working on the building an act chapter of the book which is probably the hardest chapter to write.

Mark

Thanks for the update. Really looking forward to this!!

I have just completed the most difficult chapter of the book to write ... Building an Act. I would like a few people to review this chapter and the Routining and scripting chapter. In my opinion these will be two of the stand out chapters in the book for people planning on putting together a platform or stage show. These are fairly large and comprehensive essays and combined are close to 15000 words, some of which are funny. It is my intention that these essays are entertaining to read whilst still being informative. I am looking for people willing to give a reasonably detailed review rather than simply “I read the chapters and they were good”.

Let me know if you are interested and I will select a few people to review the chapters.

Mark

I’d be willing to give it a read and provide some feedback if you want.