Minimalistica by John Carey
Hello Friends!
Wow! it has been quite a while since I posted any reviews. I have been very busy and have not been spending as much time with magic because of it. Things are starting to get back to normal so I want to share with you my thoughts about a book that has been on my list for a while.
In late 2015 John Carey released Minimalistica. I put it off for a while for money reasons, before getting an eBook version. The collector in me wishes I had purchased a hard copy of this, but I’m happy I have the material.
There are 62 items in the book, and each has been streamlined down to an extremely simple handling. 51 of the effects are from John Carey himself, and 11 are from guest contributors. There is one effect with coins and everything else is card work.
The explanations are very clear, and very easy to understand. Mr. Carey assumes a working knowledge of card magic, and has chosen to explain only a few techniques. All the moves referenced are simple enough to find should you not be familiar with one. All the moves are well within the range of an intermediate skill level. Many of the effects use a spectator shuffled deck, and some require simple setup, but all are easy to do.
At one point while reading I started to feel like the effects were too simple. I started believing that these effects were not going to fly, and I was going to get busted. Everyone raves about John Carey so what was I missing? I picked out a few effects from the book and tried them with some friends. I was amazed at how strong the reactions were. One friend has asked about the effect called Telekinetic 4 times since I shared it with him it weeks ago. After that I have been trying out as many of the effects as I can remember. With over 60 effects there is a lot to remember, and something for everyone included.
The effects have a lay audience in mind. I don’t think these have been designed to fool magicians, but don’t hesitate to give it a shot. The simplicity of everything may just take them by surprise.
Some of my favorite effects are:
Dream a Li’l Dream
Easy Open or Closed
Free as a Bird
Slow Motion Triumph
Stranger in the Crowd
Telekinetic
Whispering Ambitions
Y.A.F.A.P!
Hypnosis: Shaun McCree
Burying The Aces: Paul Gordon
On a scale of 1-5, 1 being I hate it, 5 being I absolutely love it, I give Minimalistica by John Carey a 5.
I am really enjoying the magic in this book, and I think you will too. Give these effects a try and see for yourself. I know I have missed out on a few John Carey products lately as he is currently taking the magic world by storm. As I write this John’s new book Me My Cards, and I is available for pre-order, and he has just released 2 downloads on Vanishing Inc. I have already picked up Spotlight on Coins, so I’ll share my thoughts on that soon. I enjoyed this book so much, that I will be seeking out all of John Carey’s products.
Title: Minimalistica
Format: Book/eBook
Creator: John Carey
Cost: $35.00
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate
Run Time : N/A
Page Count: 275
www.vanishingincmagic.com
Magician’s Choice Rating: 5
Contents:*Welcome to minimalistica *Foreword: Mick Wilson *£1.25 *All Four One *Bluff Lie Detector *Clipped! *C.T.B *Cutting for Larry *Daley Might Have Liked This! *Deal and Decide *Dream a Li’l Dream *Easy Open or Closed *Finessed Hofzinser Force *Free as a Bird *Hands Off Divination *Hof Stabber! *Homage to Bannon *Homage to Fechter *Homage To Vernon *The In Transit Force *It’s all in the cards... *Just Say When *Lazy Man’s Mystery *Lies All the Way *Lies Damn Lies! *My Cards Are Your Cards! *No Further Than That! *One, Two, Three! *Open All Day!*Sense *Sleightless Cull *Slow Motion Triumph *The Stepping Stone Force *Stranger in the Crowd *Telekinetic *The Attitude Force... *The Gypsy Card *Think & Synch Reloaded... *Think As I Think *Three Chances *Timely Transposition *Topping It Off! *Translocaan *Travelling Light *Triumphant Dream *Twin Thoughts *Two Card Transpo *When Thoughts Combine *Whispering Ambitions *Y.A.F.A.P! *Your Thoughts Are Mine... *Featured Artists *Away We Go: Tom Dobrowolski *Poppycock: Patrick G. Redford *Open Prediction Deck: David Gemmell *Hypnosis: Shaun McCree *Midsection Force: J.K.Hartman *Burying The Aces: Paul Gordon *Annoying Thought: Pablo Amira *The Jackal: Ben Blau *Featured Artist: Shannon Clark *Collective Thoughts: Shannon Clark *Forced Coincidence: Shannon Clark *Got a light?: Shannon Clark *Just Between Us: Shannon Clark *Poker with Dai: Shannon Clark
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