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OOPS - Magic and Mentalism - Paul Hallas The Hype: A fun collection of over fifty magic and mentalism effects and ideas, shared in an easy-to-read style. Some you will be performing these almost instantly, others may require easily obtainable props or props you may already have or can create. Some of the non-card items previously appeared in Paul's "OOPS" eBook series, now together under one cover to make your bookshelf look nicer! Effects in this collection demonstrate time travel, remote viewing, causing thought-of cards to travel inside a spectator's wallet, the hypnotic qualities of rare berries, and demonstrating that love conquers all with a few alphabet cards. And there's a lot more! It's Paul's most diverse collection since Magic From The Overground. My Take: I have been a fan of Paul's work for a long time. Years ago, I saw a writeup on his book, Small But Deadly, a wonderful treatise on packet tricks. I definitely wanted it but it was only available through Mr. Hallas and he lived in England. Eventually H&R put it out and I purchased a copy. It is one of the few magic books that I own that I have read cover to cover multiple times. So, of course, I was anxious to see his latest work. O.O.P.S. stands for "On Other Peoples' Shoulders" as most of the routines in the book were built on a foundation of an older effect or move. He has definitely stepped it up when updating these items. There are 53 items it the book and they are all written in a very user-friendly style. There are also numerous illustrations showing how special cards or props should look. Most of the effects do use cards (although he does teach a Dai Vernon card routine with balls). However a lot of the cards used are not the standard deck. A number of them require you to create your own cards. When this is necessary, he will normally print an illustration of what they should looks like and you are invited to scan the book and use his illustrations. The downside to this is that the book is in black and white and most of the tricks scream to be colored. I am sure you could find a nice color illustration that fits on the net. With so many routines, it would be impossible to cover them all so I will just mention a few I found interesting. Stacked is a routine involving stacking dice. But this is a packet trick and the dice are on cards. This is very clever and one that I plan on making up and carrying. Joking Around Assembly - a nice card assembly using Jokers instead of Aces. Wolf at the Door -This was marketed as a separate effect in 2014. We all know young children are just not into card tricks but this should grab their attention. It is a packet trick telling the story of the Three Little Pigs. Illustrations are provided but, like I said, they are not in color. If you do kids' shows, this would be a nice addition to your set. I would suggest making it up in jumbo size so long as you can accomplish an Elmsley with the larger cards. The basic plot is similar to the six card repeat. Pig cards are removed singly then return to the packet. Whodunnit? is another trick requiring cards to be made up but these are easy.If you are a fan of the old game, Clue, this is a smaller packet version. If you enjoyed the tricks Max Maven used to do on the TV specials where he had the folks at home put their fingers on the screen and follow a set of instructions to arrive at a particular square, you will like The Monster Hunt. Paul teaches his Still in Rhythm Cut, a very nice false cut, and his Fortune force. The book concludes with a cute routine involving silk worms that was created by Juan Vinas. Conclusion: Like I said, I have always liked Paul's releases and this one fits right in. At around 30 bucks for over 50 routines it is a tremendous bargain. Get this one (and find a copy of Small but Deadly if you can.) |
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