HEARTLESS - The pips from a selected card appear in a burst of flames, leaving the spectators card heartless.
This is a first class ebook with lots of variety. Heartless and your card-my mouth are my favourites. Well done Ben.
Repertoire Vol 1 is, in light of every instant download book on the net, one of the best I have come across. Never before in my experience of books have I ever not wanted it to end like I did with Repertoire. As I approached the end of the book, I had that sinking feeling and literally said out load, wow. The ideas in this book are just simple, direct and clever. An effect for pretty much every person for any occasion and for those of you that are "Flash Paper Lovers", you'll get a special kick out of this one. Ben's an incredibly clever guy and this has got to be the best examples of a man who lives and breaths magic. I absolutely can't wait until Vol 2 comes out and can say that I feel like a crack addict, I just - Want - MORE! Stunning job Ben! - Jamie Daws - Creator of S.C.A.R.E.D. and Gathering
This is a WICKED book. I can't wait to start playing with the effects in the real world, where they were designed for. You can tell that this really is a collection of routines that Ben uses day in, day out and not some pipe dream collection of nothings. Fantabulous tings!! Awesome job! - Dee Christopher - Creator of Anate and Pieces at 3AM
This ebook is filled with well thought out effects and I'm impressed with how well it is all put together. Everyone has their own taste and based on my own, there are several effects that got my attention. Heartless is the first effect and it is something that can be done in such a fair and open manner and if presented well can be a show peice in anyones set. Steal is the fifth effect and is my personal favorite and as far as the card case idea goes, it has been around a very long time, but what impressed me, was the subtle touches and how Steal is put together from the selection, spectator truly shuffling the deck that does have their signed selection within and the fact, nothing else is used, but the deck and case, which is un-gimmicked and the logical and very simple display of the cased deck, which naturally drives home how open and fair everything is to the spectator. I see the spectator coming to one conclusion on this...IMPOSSIBLE! Two other effects that stand out to me is I Dub Thee and Your Card and anyone with a fair amount of knowledge can see how well thought out they are.
This is my first introduction to Ben's work and I found it to be very well thought out and his comments and tips on the effects make this a well put together e-book and I was consistantly impressed with the thinking.
- BERNARDO RODRIGUEZ’ REVIEW I want to first start off by saying thank you for the book... I was one of the lucky winners and after reading it and trying out a couple I must say I have received a lot of great reactions from some of this stuff. HEARTLESS I performed this recently and it has given a huge impact on people. I was very impressed with the simplicity of the effect and I like tricks that involve fire so this one was a winner. 10/10 D.B.I.D This one is great I performed this and the reactions were endless especially for the people who thought I had a trick deck. IMITATE I performed this one yesterday and it got a good reaction. It's not my favourite but it still has some unique aspects. 8/10 YOUR CARD - MY MOUTH I have not performed this but its definitely one of the best takes on a card to mouth plot that I have come across. I will have to try this one out soon. 9/10 THE STEAL I know this wasn’t a trick, but the move I have to say I love!! I have not seen a move that allows you to palm a card so impossibly. 9/10 I DUB THEE This one is probably the strongest effect in the book. It gets a killer reaction! I think I'm going to have to use that one in my repertoire. 10/10 WATCH MY PREDICTION I have not performed this mainly because I do not wear watches, but it’s a pretty nice effect. Not my favourite but it was nice. CHAIN This is my favourite trick from the book. I performed this and it left everyone speechless. 11/10 yes 11 This is an amazing e-book and it is definitely worth the price he is asking for. With that said "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" I also want to say I am looking forward TO REPERTOIRE VOL. 2 & 3!Thanks Again, - Bernardo Rodriguez
First of all I have not met Ben Williams although it could be cool one day to meet him so he could show me more of his stuff!! I promised to give a sincere and honest review so here it is, before anything I want to say that I have not performed these effects this is just an over-view of the e-book in it self. When I perform these effects, hopefully soon, I will tell you guys how it all goes out. Initial Review:
So Repertoire Volume 1 is a collection of 10 effects of Mr. Williams. The title page looks great, especially if you are into graffiti and stuff like that. There are 33 pages and 49 pictures although I’m almost sure I skipped one! Everything in here is considered for the intermediate magician. The author assumes you know forces and things like that which probably a good thing is because we don’t have to be skipping instructions etc. Everything is easily understandable and easy to follow along. Get some popcorn, get a drink, sit down where your computer is at and read along. I want to give you some advice, I want you to know that reading this review will be like reading a book in the bible, long, very very long. I suggest, if you have to, take breaks when reading this review! Now onto the effects: Heartless - It’s a cleverly structured routine. What’s so clever about this is that the spectator clearly sees the three of hearts will the pips intact and normal they see it go into the deck and all of a sudden after the paper is burned the pips appear there. The deck is looked back and the ONLY three of hearts is looked at in the deck without the three pips. There is some set-up and there is an optional sleight to be able to give the deck out for examination. I don’t think I would use this effect because of the flash paper involved and I don’t really like to use flash paper but magicians that like their routine with a little bit of fire will like this! D.B.I.D. - Nice routine, it has more of a brainwave rather then invisible deck feel to it. I believe to have seen something similar in the Gafftastic by Liam Montier DVD produced by Big Blind Media although I can’t quite remember and I don’t have the dvd with me, but I will look into it. Anyway this uses a gaff which most magicians should have and if not, very easy to make/get. I like how this effect is just not limited to this. Ben gives the reader different ideas which could be used with a little thought. At the end the card is not examinable but Ben gives a really good idea to convince the spectator that it is one card. Not really much set-up as long as you have your gaff with you. Very easy to do and you will have this down in no-time. There is again an optional sleight to have the deck examined but it is done totally in the off-beat. I will definitely be doing this. IMITATE 1.0 - 1.2 - 1.3 (One effect and two handlings) Imitate 1.0 -This is very similar to Heartless in the way the effect is accomplished. The set-up is not really hard. I suggest you buy a “Compass cutter” to cut the hole so it looks more professional. There are two major moves in this effect and they are not hard. Deck is examinable. This is something that I definitely see myself doing. Although the only problem…. I don’t know if later the spectator is going to ask about the coin because the coin is not seen again, this is where handling 1.2 comes into play! Imitate 1.1 -Same thing except obviously the coin goes somewhere… to the card where the center piece is taken off! This sounds good but the set-up will be a little tricky and you have to make the card almost perfect so the final revelation looks good. Again it has the same moves as in the first variation. Deck is examinable at the end. This is the best handling in my opinion. Imitate 1.2 -This variation is something I will not bother with. The deck in the end is examinable in the other variations so I don’t see the point in having the card signed. Plus the set-up is a little more time consuming. However the reader should give credit to Ben for being able to come up with a handling of a signed card for those magicians that just need for a person to sign everything. Your Card-My mouth - That is essentially what happens. Looks like a very good routine. It is impromptu. There are some moves used to accomplish this effect that require some practice to get down. The loading of the card in the mouth is really simple and casual, the spectator won’t notice a thing (if performed right!). The signature at the end appearing on the first card in my opinion is very nice. Nice routine but a little too sleight heavy for me. If you already do a card to mouth this one will probably not make you want to change your existing one. Steal -This is a really cool concept that has been used before I’m almost sure of it but thankfully Ben has explained it on here. There are tons of different ways to use it and Ben gives us some other ideas on how to use it. This is impromptu and any box works. Now the move it-self is not hard at all but there is a knack to it, a bit like learning a colour change. Your angles are not bad at all but you don’t want people right behind you, that would ruin the effect!I DUB THEE – Wow this is a very strong routine. You obviously need a way of obtaining the information from the spectator, Ben says that he will teach a simple centre tear but I did not find it. He points out to some other sources that you can learn better ways to do it. There is a sleight set-up but you can get into it at any point in your routine. You need a special wallet if you want to perform the routine as stated in the description but thankfully Ben gives other ideas so you don’t need to use a wallet. Something I might use.
I Dub thee Mental - I will not bother with this one. This is more for the mentalist than magician. There is a lot more set-up than the original routine. It’s a good routine I guess for a mentalist but I’m just not into it so I don’t know if a mentalist would like it or not. Watch my Predictions - First, very clever name! This is a very nice routine. What is said is what happens word-by-word. A little set-up but once you do it you are set to go again for some time. It is examinable at the end. You obviously need a watch for this effect. I will definitely be performing this one! Your Card (With one extra handling) - Cameron Francis has a similar effect. I think I saw it on Omega Mutation. Cameron’s plays out a little differently, A piece of paper with your card written on it is smashed onto the deck and when the paper is opened the words your card are not on the paper anymore and are at the back of the playing card selected. This one I consider it to be a step up to Cameron’s. (Sorry, Cameron if you are reading this) I like this one a lot. The author gives different ways of presenting it. There is a little set-up but no biggie and you can get into it at any point in your routine. I plan on using this. Extra handling for: Your Card
It is sort of like a Chicago opener type of effect with two climaxes. You start out as in the normal Chicago opener and then ends with the Your Card routine. This uses some flash paper to make the paper burn faster but you can probably use just any paper to burn. I like this one also! CHAIN 1.1 - It’s true. Both cards can be freely chosen but it is actually easier if it is not. As in almost every examinable card link there is a gaff involved. It is super simple to make and just requires two household items which you should having lying around. The moves are not hard really and it is very convincing and it looks great. The angles are not to bad, again you don’t want people behind you. I plan on making the gaff later today and start practicing now. Chain 1.2 CHAIN 1.2 -The author claims that this is where Chain 1.1 left off but I really prefer the first handling. You will need to force one of the cards but there’s nothing wrong with that. You can only use some cards from a deck which is a weakness to the first routine but the cards can be signed so that is a plus. It looks really good if you want to cement the fact on your spectators mind that the cards were signed.
Well guys that’s pretty much it. I really congratulate you guys if you were able to read all that. That has probably been one of my longest reviews. Again guys I have not performed these effects before but I plan on doing it. After I perform I will get back to you guys and tell you how it all went and what got the most reactions etc. The tricks in here I really like and I plan on performing at least half of them. Trust me guys you will not regret your decision when buying these set of tricks. Plus they are being sold for a low price! You cannot possibly go wrong. Can’t wait for Repertoire Volumes 2 and 3!
- Rpascual - The Magic Cafe
Having now performed some of the effects this is all I have to say:
Wow were they amazed. I tried out the extra handling for your card,watch my predictions, I dub thee, Imitate 1.1 and DBID. I was all week practicing this and did it pay off! Watch my predictions was really exciting and everyone liked it. Imitate 1.1 (the gaff is a little hard to make!)had a WTF!! Reaction, it has been my pleasure reviewing this.- Rpascual - The Magic Cafe
