The great thing about Prop Dog they tell it like it is

If you want to pay a high price for a book with a lot of filler and blank pages
then this is for you

If you want to spend less for something much better they also offer plenty of alternatives

https://youtu.be/tsUFQbJWzjs

Sounds like the prop dog team doesn’t appreciate design.

I for one am a big fan of the full page photos and drawings. I think it makes the book very pleasing visibly

Madison

Well they design and build great props so that's not fair.
I have seen this book and I think your review is way over the top.
Even without the fancy pictures the content is just not that good.
I was hoping the cross cut force addition would be new but I saw Max Maven use the beginning ruse in his effect 'Predixion'.

To each his own! I respect your opinion. It’s not for everyone.

The biggest compliment I can ever give a book is that I’ll be using material from it. I will be using almost everything in this book. It’s not for everyone, but it’s for me.

Madison

I don't think full page photos are an issue per se, more they should aid the explanations. A lot of the ones in this book are just pointless. Hence the accusation that they are filler.

Since when did page count become the yardstick for how good a book is? If half the book is drawings and photos, but the other half is good material, does it matter? Surely we pay for the material? What the author does, design wise, is up to him.

Yes, but that isn't the case here.
I found it all highly derivative.

And why not include helpful photos? Hence they are fillet.

Perhaps padding the book out is necessary because the material isn't that strong.

If the small parts of the book about magic were genuinely original and worth the price this could have been a 20 page booklet.

I watched the PropDog review and accepted a lot of it. There's innovative book design and interesting artwork.... and there's visual material that will make a lot of people feel like the book is padded out as a physical edition. From the pages I saw, it definitely feels like the latter, and the illustrations are kind of atrocious. And the intro that was read from the Triumph routine is particularly dire. I really enjoy when John Bannon does tricks in a narrative style, as he does from time to time, and this intro about the delightful summer barbecue is cloying. I wish, though, that they had talked about some of the effects themselves. I have some of Ben's other work, and I know the direction he is going on, and would have been curious just to know their opinion about what he has brought to -- or perhaps taken away -- from all of these plots.

Despite the above, I might pick this up out of curiosity.

On the first couple of pages of the book, you learn exactly why the book is designed the way it is.

“My material has become even more direct and much more philosophical over the past few years, something you’ll see reflected in each effect. Of course I care about how my material affects spectators, but I also care how this book affects you, the reader. Therefore, there are many layers of subtlety running through the design choices, photography and writing style in order to create a different type of reading experience—one which I hope is a magical one.”

I found it to be very effective in that pursuit. As for the intro to triumph, that isn’t the intro of the presentation. The presentation has nothing to do with being at a barbecue. That is just a story telling device Ben uses to give the performance recount a context.

Madison

The point Propdog was making the material is nothing new and if you watch the review
They have given examples of why many alternatives are available that includes everything this has a a lot more

I did understand that, which is why I referenced the Bannon write-ups (although maybe that wasn't clear.) I like the storytelling flourishes he gave to a couple of the chapters in "Dear Mr. Fantasy." My criticism is that that the storytelling device Earl is using in the writeup is awfully cloying and not well written. But, to each his own!

Hey guys,

I also bought the book.

I have gone through it once.

It is good.

My number one Ben Earl trick that fools people is actually the easiest to execute, and is all psychological and depending on how you present it.

If you have F is for Fiction it is the one where he turns back time. It just requires one slight that we card handlers all know. But I have done it hundreds of time, and whenever I am with people that have seen it, they tell me to perform for someone new, and they always mention this trick.

"Do the one where you turn back time"

Go figure.

This book, Inside Out reminds me of that trick from F is for Fiction.

Easy method, but depends on how you present it, and the psychology involved.

My two cents

Alex Alejandro

My simple go-to card trick is Steve Freeman's "Time Machine," which uses that premise. People love the little spinning card flourish as the card goes "back in time." There's also Sankey's Triumph "Back in Time" and Earl's own "Pocket Time Machine" coin vanish. I guess I'm just wondering if there's more than these simple presentational devices we all know already in the book.

Joel Dickinson's 'voyage ?, Kenton Knepper based, 'Back in Time Routines' if presented RIGHT, then Boom,minds blown, with this one, I do add other subtleties to make it, but old methods , well I am happy with.

I had a chance to go through this book last night. From what I can see, it's excellent. I totally understand why the people who don't like it feel that way. For others though, this will be a book you want to carefully study and think about.

If your criteria for a good magic book is how many tricks and methods it has per square inch of paper, this probably isn't for you.

If you're looking for "new" methods this also isn't for you. Most of the method descriptions don't go very far beyond "control it to the top". That said, if you move away from method, there's plenty that is "new" here.

This book is a fascinating look at how Ben re-frames standard plots. If you think that's your bag, it probably is.

Thanks for your review, Madison. I just finished this book, and I found it really inspiring. I’ve never heard of PropDog, but I sure don’t trust their judgment after reading about their review on this book. I felt more excited and inspired while reading this book than I have in a while, and I want to perform nearly every effect inside (it even persuaded me to work on a new sleight I’ve felt I’ve been able to get by without until now).

If you’re on the fence about this book, read Madison’s review, or watch David’s review on MagicOrthodoxy. If you know what this book is about and understand what it’s trying to accomplish, and that seems appealing, I bet you’ll love it!

Ben Earl's writing style reminds me of J. Stewart Smith.

Joe Mckay

I think you are right there. Imagine if Ben Earl could write those interesting personal stories and also provide a 'hook' question as well!
In the manner of Tommy Wonder or Eugene Burger.Both of whose book are cheaper then this.Now that would make 'Inside Out' worth it to me.

Madison I read the review and you did a bang up job on this. Very thorough and a real service to your peers. Bravo!

Hey guys

I will also be reviewing this, this week

Stay tuned.

Alex.