Contributions by Colin McLeod
Review by David Lees
I have recently purchased a copy of this book and thought I would share my views with you.
First of all the book itself is very well produced. Nice cover and neatly laid out. There is no great preamble to the effects. Colin has written the effects in a very straight forward manner and gets to the point quickly. Having said that I would suggest that you actually read the book and not just skim over the text, as there is a lot of sound advice in regard to delivery of technique and presentational concept.
There are a number of effects within the book, all of which are powerful and workable effects for a performing mentalist. I believe it would be of tremendous advantage to have a good knowledge of mentalism in order to receive the best possible value from the book.
Effect #1 The Psychological Word Force.
This is very interesting thinking. A book test without a book. The spectator merely thinks of a word and the mentalist knows what it is. A very nice effect indeed and Colin breaks everything down for you into stages. He covers everything from setting the mood, to the script and outs (if necessary).
A very detailed description indeed. In fact it is safe to say that all the bases are covered in this effect. I particularly like his thinking in what he calls the “Psychological Corner”. A very interesting strategy that can indeed be applied to many different scenario’s
EFFECT#2 MIND TRIP
This item went straight into my wallet. I tried this effect almost as soon as I read it, and it hit right away. Interesting premise as the spectator CAN be perceived as reading your mind. It all depends how you choose to present it. Equally I suppose you could present it as influencing their mind. The basic idea is that someone takes an imaginary journey, and you describe (predict) the scenes that flash through their mind. In my opinion this is sensational. I am aware that there is a similar item commercially produced, and no disrespect to the dealer, but I really do prefer this variation.
EFFECT#3 KO(LI)N-TROL
This effect plays in such a way that you apparently influence a person’s thoughts/actions Physically, consciously and subconsciously. What follows is a lovely handling of a technique that most mentalists THINK they know. However it is often handled VERY BADLY. In this scenario there is no excuse for doing a bad job as every nuance is covered in great detail.
It is again one of those effects that can be performed just about anywhere and at anytime. As long as you have a piece of paper (or business card) and a pen/pencil.
Once again I would stress that many mentalist think they know the technique, I would suggest that they have heard of the handling, but do not fully understand it. Colin donates seven pages to explaining everything. Any mentalist worth their salt should take the time to study this piece if text completely. Absorb, everything, understand the application, and use it EXACTLY as given. It will pay you dividends.
EFFECT #4 CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Now, I would love to see him work this effect in person. It is a stunning premise. A spectator selects one coin from a bundle of coins taken from their own pocket. No one else is allowed to see what that coin is. The coin is hidden in their hand, even behind their back and yet audience members read their mind and not only tell them the value of the coin, but also the date on the coin! Need I say more.
Here is a little bit of what Colin states in the book (not a direct quote)
This is a routine he can use at a moment’s notice. It uses nothing on his part. He has used it with as few as five people in close up work, but also in front of an audience of about 100. It utilises psychology and a little dual reality.
Ok, I would say that you would need to be very good to do this well, and quite simply have balls of steel. However, I would think that would be a necessity for a good effective presentation of just about anything in mentalism.
Again, I suggest that you read the handling carefully, the effect sounds simple enough, but please do this justice, and rehearse the ‘process’ carefully. The thinking in this effect is such that, even if you consider yourself a master mentalist, you would still have much to learn from the careful study, of the performance and handling of this one effect.
In the book Colin takes about 12 pages to describe this fully. However, everything is covered very well, from the presentation, the handling to the audience management. Well worth careful study.
EFFECT#5 SERIAL PREVARICATOR
Now this is a beautiful piece. This is based on an effect used before by Patrick Redford and also by Banachek. However from memory I believe Banachek also credited an old friend Charles Cameron for a similar effect.
However the whole effect is taken to a completely different level. Basically you have two spectators assist you. One of them removes paper money from their wallet, any value. This is folded up into a small bundle, and they decide which one will hide the note in their closed hand. Once this is decided, both participants extend both their hands forward, both fists clenched. The mentalist not only tells them who is holding the note, but which hand it is in AND the serial number. ALL WITH A BORROWED BANK NOTE. Now try to figure that one out. This effect alone is worth the price of the book. Absolutely stunning.
EFEFCT#6 THOUGHT TRANSMITTED
Ok, strictly speaking this is not an effect. It is a handling for a specific piece of equipment. This uses a well known (among mentalists) peek wallet. However the little nuance in the handling will, I suspect make a big difference to gaining the peek without ‘signalling’ anything untoward to the audience. Something where many mentalists can and often do fall short. Gaining the peek is one thing, gaining it without being obvious is quite another.
Effect#7 WISH YOU WERE HERE.
Ah! Now this is my very favourite item. I first found this effect in another book titled “THE DROOBY BOOK” another item well worth tracking down. In that book it was titled “The Name Strip” This time a participant writes down the name of someone close to them. (This actually would be very nice combined with Carl Herron’s Puppy Love presentation) on a piece of paper. They also write a collection of other random names. They are torn out, rolled up into little balls, and mixed around. You not only know when they pick up the piece with the loved one’s name, you then reveal the name. Now this is gold dust.
Effect# 8 perfect(ish) serial revelation.
Once again a member of the audience is selected; a second is also brought onto the stage, to act as the eyes and ears of the audience to help unsure fair play. Both are selected from the audience by throwing out a paper ball (or whatever) to the audience in order to unsure a random selection.
One of the participants removes a note from his wallet. The mentalist reads his mind and reveals the number. Clean, simple and straight forward as that. Very cheeky method.
EFFECT#9 TIME FOR A DATE
Now this is a lovely adaptation of a mentalists classic effect. This once again utilises a piece of equipment already owned by many mentalists. The mentalist is able to predict a participant’s month and date of birth. Very clean effect. Again from the audience perspective, simple, direct and to the point. In truth, the mentalist does not have a lot to worry about with this one.
EFFECT#10 FINAL CABARET
I first became aware of this effect at a Marc Paul lecture. It is based on a well known effect by Stephen Tucker. Now piece though adds a lovely kicker to the ending. A nice little touch. Well worth applying to your presentation.
EFFECT#10 THE BOOK TEST
Now, the thinking here is devilish. Imagine someone taking any book., and I do mean any book, they open it to any page and look at a word. By the time they turn around you have gone. However their mobile phone rings, it is you, you can be calling from your car, or wherever, and you tell them the word they are thinking of. A nice cheeky presentation. One this is surely going to be remembered for a very long time.
EFFECT #11 STOP
This is a classic plot in mentalism. Any deck is shuffled. You name a card. Spectator deals the cards face up, and they can stop whenever they wish. The card they stop on is the very one named. A nice presentation is given wherein the spectator subconsciously remembers the entire deck.
A nice item, a classic plot but with a borrowed and shuffled deck of cards.
In my opinion this is a great book detailing some very fine material for the working mentalist. Throughout the book Colin details nice little handling ‘touches’ and gives credit where credit is due.
I hope that you have found the review to be of interest, and that it helps you make up your mind as to whether or not you want to purchase the book.
My last word is that in my opinion the material is excellent, and if you are a mentalist at all, you would be making a mistake not considering this book. All of the material will pack small, play big and play well.
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