Unlike most of our reviews, The Approach isn’t brand new – it was published last year – but as I have written elsewhere I feel that it deserves a wider audience since it is such a unique and practical book. It styles itself “a complete guide to becoming a working magician” and it fulfils that brief very well.

The book is divided into 102 chapters – but don’t think chapters in a novel – think entries on a blog – since most are only a couple of pages long. It is incredibly practical covering nitty-gritty details from what tricks to use, how to structure a set, what to wear, what to charge (some real wisdom here), how to prepare, how to get gigs, how to respond to enquiries, how to ‘work the room’ – the list could go on and on. It includes questions that you feel too obvious that you could never ask anyone, and others that I would never have thought about – until you hit them yourself – for example there is a chapter on one-handed spectators!

Much of the information is anecdotal – in other words – you’re learning from Jamie’s mistakes (and successes). The book is also interactive – in the sense that there are practical exercises for you to fill out – which makes sure you are engaging with the material and taking it on board.

There is so much I liked about this book. But for balance I need to record a couple of downs. I may be too shy and retiring and British (actually, I’m not that shy and retiring!) – but some of the ideas and techniques feel that they fit Jamie’s incredibly positive personality, but might not fit everyone’s. That may just be the reality of needing to sell yourself – but you will have to evaluate this to see what it looks like for your particular personality. And on a similar note, bear in mind he is writing from a Canadian context. Whilst we share much cultural heritage with Canada, some things may not transpose directly.

That being said, these are in no way deal breakers – if you are worth your salt you are always going to evaluate this kind of content in the light of your own personality and context. So I have no hesitation in unreservedly recommending this book. Jamie seems to have a knack for putting out quality magic items (see our review of his Industrial Revelation for more evidence of this).

You can get your copy direct from Jamie (who kindly supplied my review copy) for $75 complete with free shipping (as I write).

If you’d prefer to buy from the UK, then you can buy it from Merchant of Magic.

The post The Approach – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

From the moment you open the package the trick screams ‘class’. It comes in an elegant presentation box, sealed with a real coin – in our case an ‘old’ five pence piece. Open up the box, and you are presented with a Bicycle Card box and a small black envelope sealed with a stylish clip. Although these things are irrelevant to the trick itself, they are signs of the great care that has gone into the production of this effect – in our experience a relatively rare feature in modern magic marketing.

The instructions are a simple A4 sheet with 8 stylish illustrations and clear text underneath. In addition to explaining the mechanics of the effect, there are some tips on keeping it working well, and each one appears to be individually signed and approved by Jamie. He also supplies extra thoughts and tips by email to any purchasers.

Jamie is clearly someone who loves his art (back in 2009 we raved about his wonderful Bicycle Cards in a glass bottle – which are still available) and he has taken great care to produce a wonderful product. It is based on the old (though still great) matchbox penetration – but is bigger and better and made of steel not brass.

What do we think?

For a non-smoker, using a card case rather than a matchbox makes much more sense for me. And it makes the whole thing more visual – you could use it at a table and folk across the table would be able to appreciate the effect.

It is beautifully made, and is certainly going to withstand reasonable inspection. The mechanism is already good – and I suspect will improve with use.

We struggled to use it with a coin, which feels a little wide for the working. But we like the idea (and it seems kind of logical) that we saw on the World Magic Shop review of this trick – using a folded playing card to push through the box.

Minor quibbles for the walkaround context which is my domain:

But all in all it is a lovely effect. If you switched in the box you could use it as a SPECTACULAR finale to any card routine. It comes highly recommended and is available direct from Jamie at http://www.sendwonder.com/ for $125 + shipping.

The post Industrial Revelation – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.