If you’re looking for a magic set for a new magician then you could do a lot worse than the new Dynamo Magicians Kit. It contains a much more interesting selection of effects than the standard children’s magic set – with a more professional and contemporary feel – cut and restored headphones, self-tying shoe laces – a street magic feel. And good value at only £29.99

Another alternative, if you want to spend a little more, is the Marvin’s Magic iMagic Interactive Tin of Tricks.  Marvins have been producing decent set of magic for years, but this one goes interactive with a special app for your smart phone.  I love the idea of this, but fear that the execution slightly misses its target – by combining cool tech with slightly naff looking card designs and boxes.  But it may be right up your child’s street – have a watch of the video and see what you think. £44.50

When I was a young magician – 30 years ago – I was always excited to get hold of the new Tenyo Magic products. These tend to be easy to do yet baffling wonders. The 2016 range – which is already available – has some interesting items. For me, the one that grabs my attention is the Future Puzzle – a clever piece of mental magic where a jigsaw puzzle predicts the spectator’s chosen card. £12.99

For a child, Mystery Doghouse might be a good bet – a very clever prop does the work for you – but probably not suitable for professional use (£16.99). I also understand that the Magical Plunger (£19.99) is well made (and cheaper than the ‘original’ Tiny Plunger). If you’re a Tenyo fan and want to get the whole set, our friends at Merlins are doing a deal on all four for only £60 (though out of stock when we last checked).

If you’re looking for more of a stocking filler for the magician who has everything, you can never go wrong with a deck of cards. The Blood Kings Playing Cards are not only a festive red colour, they look the part with a foil embellished tuck case and handle beautifully. Only £7.99.

In a similar, accessory, vein, respected magician Paul Romhany has put out a close up mat – designed to be rolled up for transport and unrolled for performance.  These are getting some positive reviews and come in the classic black design (pictured) or a more contemporary looking red design. £24.99

I can’t leave this particular issue without mentioning a magic book – since there’s nothing I like more than grabbing some time at Christmas to sit back with a classic magic book from my library.  One I recently bought and am enjoying – both for the originality of thought and the production values of the book – is Tom Stone’s Vortex.  It is mainly orientated towards stage work but some of the essays will really make you think in ways which will affect all your magic.  Well worth a read.  £40.99.

Whatever Christmas magic you get – may you have a wonderful time this year.

And if you haven’t yet seen our Christmas Giveaway – you’re missing out on the chance to win some great prizes.  Giveaway closes on 12th December!

The post Trick of the Month – December 2015 – the Christmas magic issue appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

I’ll start with a DVD – even though you know I prefer books! Terry LaGerould, as well as having an almost un-spellable surname, creates some brilliant magic. He is best known for his fabulous presentations – and when I discovered there is a new DVD out with some of his routines on I had to share it with you. This Session with Terry LaGerould DVD is clearly his second release. I haven’t seen it yet, but I suspect it would be a really beneficial watch if you want to learn from a master. £21.50

I much prefer taking a book away on holiday with me, and if I hadn’t just read this, it would certainly be in my bags. In fact, it is so good, I might take it and read it again anyway! If you’ve not heard of Maximum Entertainment, where have you been? This very readable book is jam-packed full of amazing practical advice to take your magic to the next level. The focus is not on the mechanics of tricks, but how to do them and routine them better. You are guaranteed to learn something. A great investment. Only £29.99

I know some people are a bit sniffy about close up mats. But we notice that Paul Romhany has just released a couple of new ones. The designs look quite elegant (pictured is the Regal Mat in Black), the size is sensible (10″x15″) and they are designed to be rolled up which makes them good for travelling with. Could be worth a look. £25.99

Here are a couple of new decks which have caught our eye. Although the NOC decks have been very popular and are now onto their third edition, if I’m honest I haven’t much liked the idea of some of the bright colours. But the new and understated Noc V3 Limited Edition White release looks good to me – and I rather like the sideways loading tuck case too. £11.99

You may recall we were rather covetous of the gorgeous prohibition playing card set – and it is good to see that many of the decks are now being released individually for those that couldn’t afford the whole presentation set. We rather like the Absinthe v2 deck recently released by Ellusionist – beautiful attention to detail makes this a very tasteful deck. £7.99

And finally, here’s a bit of fun. Remember the old ‘hot rod’ trick? Someone has thought of a brilliant way to make the prop seem much less like a prop – for a really impromptu seeming little effect. The search engine pen uses the logo of a well known search engine – you know who we mean – which changes colour to match a letter chosen by the spectator. Why didn’t we think of that? A great little pocket trick you can always have with you. Only £8.50

Have a great summer. We hope to be publishing a load of new reviews to keep you going over August – as ever – if there are things you would like us to review, comment below or contact us on Facebook.

The post Trick of the Month – August 2015 – holiday magic appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Merge is a close up presentation for the classic (Himber) linking finger ring effect.  Yes, you did read that correctly, it is a close up presentation.  If you’ve been around in magic any time you’ll know that is unusual – since almost every other version of the routine put out (and there is a comprehensive history/bibliography of the effect included) has been designed for stage use.

What’s included?

A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated 46 page instruction booklet (with a link and password for an online video tutorial), a gimmicked and a matching regular Himber Ring (wedding band style). I was so pleased to receive an instruction booklet to learn from – though was surprised by a few typos which suggested it could have done with a better proof-read.

The ring is well made and works well.  I’m going to take a punt on the it being a P ½ (in English money) – since it is an almost perfect fit for my (relatively small) ring finger.  It seems that the equivalent finger on my right hand is a little chubbier hence my earlier comments.

If the ring doesn’t fit you, or you have your own Himber Ring already, there is nothing (in principle) about the routine which would stop you using that – though there is a feature of this particular style ring (can’t say more without risking exposure) which does make the routine easier.

The Routine

I like this a lot.  It has been really well thought out and there is excellent cover/motivation for all the moves.  The routine only uses two borrowed rings – plus your own ring (a deviation from most of the stage versions, for obvious reasons).  Whilst this might seem less than satisfactory from the pure magic point of view, Paul has an excellent justification built in to his routine for doing this.

On that note, a very slight negative.  The justification does tie in with the use of a ring on/off rope routine beforehand – and it would have been nice to have included at least a basic one of these, or some references to where you might find one.  I’m sure many reading this will already have their own routine they use – but for the sake of completeness this would have been a nice touch.

The linking and unlinking of the rings does feel to be very magical and the handling (which is not too difficult) allows the normal ring to be switched in and out of play almost indetectably.  Another bonus is that you can perform this more or less surrounded.

In conclusion

This is an excellent contribution to the many Himber Ring routines out there and to my mind is a practical solution for how to perform this powerful effect in a close-up context. It takes hardly any space in your pocket, is instantly re-set, and involves your audience on an emotional level by the use of their rings.  What’s not to like?

Available direct from MagicShop.co.uk for £42.99 (at the time of writing)

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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The first thing we spotted is called HeartBeat by Mark Mason. This has been out for a while but we hadn’t seen it before and it looks to be a lovely ending to your ambitious card routine as the card with the sticker visibly jumps to the top of the deck. The heart-shaped sticker makes this a no-brainer for Valentine’s performances (though you could use any kind of sticker at other times of the year). Only £12.50

For a non-card-based routine Paul Romhany’s beautiful Linking Hearts routine is well worth a look – a close up linking rings routine utilising hearts – which again, could work at any time of year. £26.99

As the new year gets underway lots of new decks are arriving. The Les Melies deck is a nice tribute to the film pioneer George Melies and the quirky artwork makes for an attractive deck.

You might also enjoy the stylish Madison Deck which comes in Orange and Teal variations – I would put these on my wall! £4.99

And the gorgeous Red Imperial Playing Cards have just arrived with our friends at MoM – you really must look at the design on these.  £9.99

This is not going to appeal to everyone and is a bit pricey, but we know a number of our readers are collectors of playing cards and this 60 Deck Acrylic Display Box is a beautiful way to do just what it says… £112.50

(And if you want a bargain to fill it with – this week only MagicNevin are offering the lovely Aristocrat 727 Deck at half price – for only £2.49!)

We’re sorry for a reduced number of posts last month – BC Towers was without internet for most of it which has made updates very challenging…

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