“Stars of Magic” is a classic in the world of close-up sleight-of-hand magic. Sure it’s old, but that doesn’t mean it’s behind the times. Ironically, in fact, this is the kind of book that should be read by more young magicians. Why?
Because in every forum I visit people are constantly asking the question, “Where can I find some magic that is impactful and yet doesn’t require gimmicks, gaffs and other related props and that can be done impromptu?” ANSWER: right here in the pages of “Stars of Magic.”
All of the stuff in this book is gimmick-free, high impact and uses everyday materials like cards, dice, cups, paper, borrowed rings, etc.
Yes it will take more work than the cool “EASY-TO-DO” miracle that is sitting in the bottom of your magic drawer right now. But once you learn this material you will be able to perform any time, any where, with whatever objects you can find at hand. And that is a great feeling.
The first video is a classic coins through table routine. No gimmicks, no gaffs. Nothing under the table except the chair and I. A truly beautiful and impromptu piece of magic. This is the first video I recorded and the sound is a bit muffled. You may need to turn your speakers up just a bit for this one. The rest of the videos should be fine.
This is one of the greatest tricks that you can do with 2 decks of cards. After repeatedly shuffling and exchanging cards, they are all found to match. No gimmicks, no gaffs. Just sleight of hand goodness. You will have to pardon the presentation here. We had been drinking a bit and were a bit buzzed. Though not an excuse, it does explain the lackluster presentation and the deadened reaction. Don’t let that put you off this effect. It is an absolute killer.
As a magician that doesn’t have a formal show, I will probably never buy a set of cups and balls. However, I really like the effect. Thanks to this book I now have an anytime, anywhere cups and balls routine that I can do when the situation presents itself. Oh, and I apologize for the slovenly appearance. I promise to dress up next time.
Ace assemblies are often considered “magic for magicians.” Instead of engaging in that whole pointless debate I’ll just offer you my take on the progressive ace assembly. This handling is my own (which has elements from a number of different routines) but is included here because the effect is the same. Aces travelling one at a time to join to the leader Ace in the center packet. The best part for me is that it is gaff-free. Just a deck of cards and you can do this one.
Finally is a classic that has been “improved” by so many. As you might have guessed, I still prefer the original handling over others that I’ve seen.
If you don’t have this book, don’t wait. Go to your favorite brick-and-mortar or online magic shop and order it. Alternatively, you can click the link below. No matter how you get the book, just get it.
Wow, great site and great review! I especially like the fact that you show some of the rountines from the book to demonstrate how effective this stuff can be. I think it’s especially potent since you can read an effect and not be impressed with the way it reads, but can be far more impressed after witnessing an actual performance. Way to motivate people to get into this book. If nothing else, you have encouraged me to go back to my copy and dig in to some of the great effects in there! Thanks for the review. Keep it up, and looking forward to seeing more books in the near future.
Jeff, thanks for the comment! That’s often true for me as well. Things that I’ve flipped right by in books are the same effects that blow me away when someone else performs it. Vernon, Slydini, etc. were great magicians–both in performance (from what little I’ve seen) and as creators. This book is a real testament to that.
I hope this site lasts as long as there are books.
Great job.
Love the Ace assembly.
Thanks, Sly. The Ace Assembly is one of my favorites as well. As David Penn from Wizard Product Review would say, “It’s a great routine for that pipe and slippers moment”.
I really enjoyed the coins through table, nice review!
Court, that routine is the one I actually perform most often from this book. It’s just too easy to get 4 coins when you’re sitting in a bar or restaurant. I absolutely love it. Thanks for the comment.
Hi – really enjoyed your review of Stars of Magic. It really is one of the best books out there, isn’t it! The video performances are a nice touch & well done. I enjoyed being fooled by your handling of the progressive ace assembly. Looking forward to your next review.
thanks,
TJ
Enjoyed the review. The combo of review plus demoing tricks is great! If magic store demonstrators would do the same, they would sell a lot more books. Now excuse me while I go read my copy of Stars of Magic to learn Coincidence (x3)! How could I miss that!
Jake
Great reviews, nice demos, keep it up.
Glad the reviews are being watched at all, let alone enjoyed. Many thanks, everybody.
The kind of website, blog i was waiting for! Would you mind if I plugged you at my blog? Just want to give you a huge compliment for this website!! Thanks in advance (and… Stars of Magic is great indeed, i also liked the Scarne balltrick, the Jarrow cigarette effect and chink-a-chink) for this great site!
I would welcome any exposure I could get! Thanks very much. I certainly agree about the number of effects in that book that are excellent. There were so many more that would have been nice to demo. In addition to the ones you mention (I love the chink-a-chink routine a lot as well. In fact, I almost did that one instead of the cups and balls) some of my favorites are Scarne’s copper/silver transpo, Slydini’s paper balls routine and of course, Carlyle’s Homing Card.
For such a thin book there is so much great magic in its pages.
Hello, Steve,
i will make an article about your blog this week.! It is really unfair how many good effects there are in that book indeed. The copper/silver transpo is another good one. I once showed it to a student of mine and he mentioned that even when i explain the effect, he was still misdirected by it. Very powerful stuff (the opening of the left hand while your hand hovers above his right hand in passing mentioning him to close his right hand , then immediately take left coin to put on his closed fist is VERY powerful!)!
I would love if you would do a review of my favorite magic books, the Tarbell course. In fact, im planning on making a Tarbell weekly, using a number generator to select a trick at random, then to record it (after i practiced it enough ofcourse).
ps. what i also love is your own take on the effects (for example your version of intuition is very strong, same goes for the ace assembly!).
Sincerely , Erd
Erd,
Tarbell is definitely something that deserves a review here. I’ve got a couple of books that I want to get done first but I think your idea is an excellent one. That being said, it’s only a question of when it will get done.
I’ve also added a link to your blog. Very nice site, by the way.
And thanks again for your thoughts on Intuition and the Ace Assembly! They are a lot of fun to do.
http://tarbellforthewin.blogspot.com/
😉
Magic has been a casual hobby of mine for a while, but I’m just starting to get more serious about it. Your review of Stars of Magic and your great performances inspired me to pick up a copy. I was not disappointed. There’s some truly brilliant routining in here, and I’ve already put in my order for The Card Magic of Nick Trost. Thanks for this great site and I’ll be eagerly anticipating the next review.
(By the way, I really liked your presentation for what you call “A Classic Effect”. The standard “Once an angry spectator of mine shuffled the cards the wrong way” patter really starts to grate the 800th time you hear it, and I appreciated the creativity.)
Jordan,
Thanks a lot! As you’ve already found, Stars of Magic contains some fantastic material.
It’s funny, when I first bought this book (years back) and read it, I thought there was no way I’d ever be able to take this on and it ended up sitting on my shelf until I sold it. Years later I bought the reprint and went through it again and to my surprise I found that I actually could work through this stuff.
And I appreciate your thoughts on the “Classic Effect” presentation. No matter which handling I use, that is always my presentation. And it’s easy for me to remember since it’s 90% true, which is really the backbone of any great story–that it’s mostly true.
Hey buddy….amazing website! Please keep on with that marvellous work!
Cheers from Italy
When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
Dillon,
The name/email signup at the bottom of these pages is only for me to send out announcements when new reviews go online. I’ve never actually sent out any announcements yet. Can you forward me a copy of one of the emails you’re receiving? Aside from the signup which I haven’t used yet I don’t have anything else on the site that would auto-generate emails.
Send a copy of one of these emails to stevenkeyl@magicbookreport.com and I’ll try to get this sorted. Sorry for the inconvenience and I’ll get this fixed ASAP.
Great review! Great book! I especially enjoyed your handling of Scarne’s Triple Coincidence (as this was one of the first effects I worked on when I purchased The Star’s of Magic way back when). Thank you so much for the time, energy, and passion that you put into this site.
Thanks, Frankie! It’s been one of my favorite books for a long time.