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Building Blocks
by Luke Jermay
Published by Alakazam Magic
Reviewed
by Tom Lauten
Alakazam
have broken into publishing with the release of Luke’s new book,
"Building Blocks".
They say:
Luke has tipped the real work on using Suggestion Techniques. Luke covers the
Definition = Creation theory along with several other techniques and teachings.
This, coupled with his groundbreaking applications of the four Convincers, is
enough to transform and amplify your performances right away. But that’s just
for starters! Wait until you see some of the effects
he teaches. Imagine yourself performing these routines:
A plucked rose visibly wilts and dies as you talk about the fragility of life…
An aura reading routine, which climaxes with the spectator genuinely seeing your
aura - and you can provide proof!
You cause the spectator’s sense of time to physically slow down (we don’t just
mean their watch, although of course that happens as well!). They are almost
unable to physically move as they are stuck in a single moment of time.
You perform a version of Out Of This World, with a borrowed deck, with no
set-up, no sleights or switches. In fact the spectator’s intuition can even be
shown as correct for each individual card as it is dealt! This is the real work
on the verbal control of a spectator.
Despite being blindfolded, you can read a selected sentence chosen at random
from a borrowed book, with your fingertips! You can even scan through the whole
book with your fingertips and comment on the story and characters. Did we
mention that the blindfold is real and that you genuinely can’t see a thing and
you can do this anywhere anytime?!
Imagine having your spectator actually feel their thought leave their mind and
enter yours - imagine no more! With the Burst Bubble suggestion, your spectator
will believe they felt the moment of magic happen inside their own mind!
These are just a few of the incredible routines that Luke teaches in this new
book. Every routine is accompanied by his suggestion techniques as applied to
that specific piece, as well as his full performance script, plus many
additional touches and ideas.
His sensational Out of This World is taken to an even more impossible level with
just five un-gimmicked ESP cards. He has shared his personal Book Test, his
acclaimed work on PK Touches, his thinking on playing cards in mentalism and so
much more. He teaches the techniques of Anchoring and specifically how to apply
them to magic performances.
By blending up-to-the-minute psychological techniques with some classic
conjuring methodology, Luke has created cutting-edge Mentalism and Magick
effects that will have your audiences believing that you can do anything! Going
far beyond the material in his first release, 7 Deceptions, this new book really
does teach you the “Building Blocks” of becoming an expert at previously
jealously guarded techniques of suggestion and mind control.
Difficulty: Well, it’s a matter of where you are at and where you want to
go.
Review: Personally… I have found this
inspirational!!! The routines are fantastic, no doubt there… but the real
gold is the no-nonsense approach to the hard-hitting psychological use of
suggestion in magic / mentalism tricks and routines. Luke breaks down the
precepts of goose bump inducing performance into “Building Blocks”... the basic
yet powerful elements that mess with the minds of those who will be on the
receiving end of your work. What’s more, he even uses these concepts and
psychological tools as routines in and of themselves! He also gives you routines
that mix these with traditional methods. That’s what the book is all about.
With a forward by Steve Banachek and an essay by Kenton Knepper, this is a
fearsome arsenal of mind warping insight. It seems sparse at times but only
because it’s power and principles are simple, Luke cuts to the chase. This is
not a “tricks book” (although it has a wide range of fantastic routines in it
that are worth twice the price), this is a performance-changing bible, you won’t
think the same way about tricks again. It works for me…no doubt!
Overall: Killer work in a beautiful, elegant, cloth covered, deep
blue hardback. A bit pricey but hell…it’s worth it! Well done Luke and Peter
Nardi. Thanks for a classic!
10/10
© Tom Lauten, December 2003
To order a copy from Alakazam Magic Click Here