I first want to sincerely thank you for a GREAT review of COSMOS. I totally agree with you about the lack of written documentation. That’s why I am currently putting together a PDF documentation of COSMOS. In this PDF addendum I will also show a method of performing COSMOS to ONE person which IMO is even better then performing it to TWO people. I am also going to be releasing a DVD of COSMOS within the next month that will include some new insight from other famous magicians, AND a few more surprises . . . so stay tuned.
Harrie’s of Sweden make some very nice mid-range magic. This piece is no exception, made very well and really quite a fooler!
You show a large die from all sides, place it in a clearly empty perspex box, that sits on a small stand – which can also be shown. Then you cover the whole thing with a "silk". In a second you remove the silk and now filling the perpex box is pretty much any load you fancy – a rabbit, doves, candy, etc.
Very easy to do, very well made, and perfect if you are trying to produce a large load.
Review by Andy Martin for Atomic Ball by Nick de Palma
5 out of 5
One of Nick’s Best!
Ok so I’ve had some pretty bad experiences with the work of Nick de Palma. However, this one is pretty much perfect. It looks good, is made well, without any tell tale signs of glue or pencil, and is nice and clever!
In effect, you show a box with two dice, two brass rings and a small silver "atomic" ball in the middle. You take each of these out and clearly show the box is empty. Then you close the box and place the rings and dice on top of the box – with the ball in the middle. When the top die is placed over the ball the first time the die sticks up a bit because of the ball. But with a magical incantation, the die is replaced a second time and this time it moves right down flush with the rings. The atomic ball has vanished. You cleanly take away the rings and show the dice, and then when the box is opened the atomic ball is found to have returned to its rightful place.
For some reason there has been a flurry of Out of This World like effects recently. I am still a 30+ year performer of the classic by Paul Curry, and have looked at some of the new offerings. I was unimpressed with "A New World", since it uses a gimmicked deck and to me part of the beauty of the original was that you could do it anytime and anywhere with a borrowed deck.
So along comes Greg Rostami with his version called Cosmos. He offers a non-gimmicked version and a simple gimmicked version. There are times when you might want to perform the gimmicked version, but for the most part you should have no problems performing the impromptu version. What I like about Greg’s version is that it maintains the simiplicity of the original and at the same time enhances the fairness – with multiple shuffles, the ability to stop anywhere instead of going through the whole deck, and no pause in the middle to switch color cards. It does involve two people not one and is presented as a competition between them seeing who can get the most reds and blacks correct. This presentation works very well. There are no real moves, and just one simple piece of misdirection is required so mechanically it is almost as easy as the original. It does require a bit more nerve than the original – but if you follow Greg’s directions you’ll find it all very easy.
I am the first to admit that I have been happily performing Out of This World for so long that I am reluctant to change, but if I were to change this would be the version I would change too. I would like to see real printed instructions come with this effect, rather than just a video explanation – in fact one of the things that A New World does superbly is the instruction booklet that comes with the effect. But apart from the lack of printed directions this is a wonderful effect to have in your repotoire.
Review by Andy Martin for Instant Pro (Thought of Card in Wallet) by John Cornelius
5 out of 5
I just really like this version.
There are so many card to wallet effects, why am I rebuying one I sold a few years ago? I just really like it. You can perform it precisely as described or streamline the handling a bit and make this a real miracle: where the spectator’s chosen and signed card appears insde the wallet attached to the back of a prediction.
It requires no sleights or palming and has some fun in their too which detracts from the work, but adds to the entertainment!
Review by Andy Martin for Eight Card Brainwave by Nick Trost
5 out of 5
This even amazes yourself when you perform it!
Nick Trost really has created some incredible card effects – this is one of my favorites.
Even when you practice it, it just looks so convincing! You show 8 or 10 cards – I found 10 a good number – and ask the spectator to name any card (no force). You place their card on the table and proceed to show the backs and fronts of each card. This uses Marlo’s wonderful "sleight": the Olram Subtlety. This is so easy to do it is a shame to call it a sleight – but I guess it is! Anyway, it looks like a miracle as when you have finished showing all the remaining cards you find that their chosen card is the only card that has a different color back.
I am honing in on my top 25 card miracles – and this would be one of them!
Review by Andy Martin for Quintuplicate Coincidence by Scotty York
5 out of 5
Wow – so easy and yet so Powerful!
This is one of those effects that is really very startling to watch, and yet is almost embarrassingly easy!
In effect, you have a special deck that is made up of different cards from various casinos shuffled by the spectator. You then take the deck back and procceed to choose two cards from the deck as your predictions. You then hand the deck back to them and they are free to deal as many cards as they want (no force) in front of the first prediction card. Whey they are done the prediction is marked and the cards are dealt again into another pile for the second prediction card. Once the predictions have been laid on the table, the magician does not need to touch the cards.
Amazingly enough the first prediction is found in the deck and it is next to a card with the same colored back. The other prediction is found and it too has the same colored back. When each prediction is turned over it is found that the card predicted not only has the same back but the value is the mate: e.g. four of hearts and four of diamonds. Finally, when the rest of the deck is turned over all of the cards are the opposite color to the prediction cards!
This effect looks visiually stunning and is inredibly easy to do with everything examinable and freely shuffled.
Review by Doug Gorman for Red Chinese Puzzle by Alan Warner
5 out of 5
Peiking Puzzler
I just picked this piece up in an estate sale. Boy, was I lucky! This is typically beautifully crafted and marvelously conceived. What I like about almost all of Alan’s effects are the clever methods, and Red Chinese Puzzle is no exception. It is a steal at the current retail price. Get one!
Review by Andy Martin for Run Rabbit Run – Metal Copy by Unknown
2 out of 5
Looks can be deceptive!
Run Rabbit Run and all of its copies is still one of the finest kids tricks around. This version looks almost the same as a metal one that I purchased from Ron MacMillan at International Magic in the UK back in the 70’s. I loved that version. It was the perfect size for kids parties. Most of the ones that I see today are much bigger which is great for larger audiences, but they are harder to manipulate.
Unfortunately, this version is so cheaply made that you have to really work with it to ensure the doors don’t jam, open unexpectedly, or the rabbit doesn’t get stuck.
This really looks fine on the web, but I would not recommend this particular version at all. Just too flimsy and frustrating!
Review by Andy Martin for Magic Dice Set by LabcoMagic
5 out of 5
Great Idea, that looks good and Works!
This is a very clean way to force any of the 6 spots on a die, but unlike loaded dice the result is much more predictable. If you have ever used loaded dice, they quite frequently do not land on the number you hope.
Labco have produced a very nice package with dice that are beautifully and indetectably gimmicked to allow you to force any one of the 6 spots.
There are no electronics and thus far I have always forced the number I was expecting. The only downside is that you do need to use the cup and roll the die on the small board, but both look very innocent. The cup is in fact innocent, whilst the board is gimmicked.
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