I have no idea how to rate or review this book. It's a joke book and a magic book printed back-to-back. On one side is a collection of one-liners that feel like they were written for a by-gone era and when you turn it over its a collection of magic that falls in the beginners category. I can’t figure out who the audience is for this tome which is the reason for my dilemma.

Perhaps if we look at each half separately, it may help....

“Jokes That Work” is a collection of one-liners and old school jokes. They range from insensitive to insulting to just plain bad. Let me give you an example: a woman assistant completes a task correctly and the response is “You're very smart. I hate that in a woman.” Another is a response to a cell phone going off, the suggestion is to point and yell “Booty Call!” Classy stuff.

“Magic That Works” is about a dozen tricks that all fall in the beginners category. The explanations are well written and adequately credited. Nothing is earth-shaking but that's not a beginner’s book’s intention.

If the magic section was reviewed alone, I would give it a positive review as a nice collection of beginners’ material. However combined with the jokes, I cannot recommend this at all.

This isn't the best book on the market, but for the low price of $14.95, you might find something worth it to you.

It's two books in one . . . you have to turn the book over and flip it upside down to read the second half. One half is 10 tricks that range from kind of ok to pretty darn good.

The second half is full of (in my opinion) pretty weak jokes with a handful of "ok" jokes here and there. Many of them are just groaners, but humor, of course, is very relative, so I'm going to withold the majority of my commentary on the humor. But let me give you a sample of the so called "humor":

if your volunteer has a piercing in her nose, [say] "You have something on your nose. Right here. Oh, it's jewelry. Sorry."

A real side-splitter, eh? Remember, this stuff was written by Moses Silbermintz who also wrote for Jay Leno . . . I'll let you write your own joke for that one.

However, since this site is about MAGIC, let's focus on the magic portion of the book.

iPHONE TXT CRD TRK 2 Stars

Basically this is the old call a friend (or he calls you) and tells you that the spectator's chosen card is the ten of spades and it's 42 cards from the top of the deck. Instead of a phone call, it's a text message. Nothing really revolutionary here. It's an ok trick, but not really that revolutionary.

SLIEGHT OF PENCIL 1 star

An application of the cut deeper force that requires you to carry around too much junk for such a small effect . . . not a fan

PREDICTO-BILL 3 Stars

This one has potential. A stack of 5 one dollar bills are placed on the table. A spectator thinks of a number (does some math on it - yuck) and ends up with a "final" number. The one dollar bills are looked at more closely and one of the 5 is shown to have three digits of the serial number circled - it matches the number the spectator came up with.

I'm not a fan of the math forces. However, the usage of the dollar bill for the prediction has some potential worth exploring.

COFFEE ZOMBIE 2.5 stars

The effect is probably just what you think . . . a floating (empty) coffee cup. The method is probably just what you think . . . the zombie ball method, sort of. Something like this might make for a quickie cute effect while hanging with some friends. It's impromptu, but just doesn't look that great. Do it quick and drop it . . . don't make a presentation out of it, and you may have something. Ironically (or maybe paradoxically) Silbermintz has a pretty good presentational angle that justifies the effect. But the problem is that using a "presentation (i.e., look at this thing I'm about to do)" you risk having less of an effect.

TEARABLE DECK FINALE 2.5 stars

Nothing revolutionary or even original here, plus you destroy an entire deck of cards for an ok effect. It has some presentational potential and could be played up pretty big making the destroyed deck worthwhile. Basic effect: Card is selected and "lost" in the deck. The deck is then ripped in half. Deal from one torn half until spectator says stop (put that half card aside). Then deal from the other half until she says stop, and put that half card aside . . . surprise, surprise, the two halves match.

The potential in this effect is found in the by play and bits o' business before the above effect. You have a tear-the-deck-in-half contest with your female spectator (she wins). That's where the comedy and potential comes in. But keep in mind that a lot of the bits o' business are more like hackneyed crap that every magician already does, but should stop!

SWEET MEMORY 5 Stars

Best trick in the book. This is a very organic presentation using sugar packets to tell a beatiful story of how you became a magician. It's poetic, very magical, and has an excellent kicker at the end. I'd almost feel comfortable recommending this book just for this one effect alone. My above review doesn't come close to doing it justice. Just trust me on this one folks. This effect is SOLID.

BIG SHARPIE FROM TINY PURSE 1 Star

Um . . . I'll bet you can't guess what the effect is. Um . . . I'll be it's the exact same method as wand from purse that you learned when you were a zygote. Nothing new here folks.

THE X CARD 2.5 Stars

A decent effect with some "play to a larger crowd" potential. Basically, two decks are shuffled (you truly don't handle them). The two spectators deal their deck face up until they both turn up the exact same card in both decks at the same time. You've predicted this card in advance. It has some pretty good potential, and I've already thought of a presentational angle that centers around the classic card game "war." Worth considering.

THE DIAMOND-TO-HEART PICK-UP TRICK 4.5 Stars

Second best effect in the book. Though I wouldn't necissarily use the presentation from the book, the effect is very visual and pretty. Short version: you clearly cut a diamond shape out of a folded piece of paper, yet when you open the paper the cut out is the shape of a heart. Lot's of presentational potential, particularly during Valentine's Day or at receptions, anniversary parties, etc.

ISNTANT REPLAY - LIVE! 1 Star

I don't know what to say here. This is kind of a ridiculous juvenile gag with a pair of scissors.

Final Thoughts

Juvenile . . . that's a good word for this book. Maybe that's my problem. I'm looking at it from a maturity level higher than the level it was meant for. Much of the book, and many of the "lines," gags, and so-called jokes, are just immature to the point that they're just not professional or even usable in some cases.

Another thing that annoys me about this book is that he is constantly referring the reader to "Google" to learn more information about a certain move or plot or trick. Google! Really!? How 'bout referring people to Royal Road To Card Magic or some of the original texts. This one thing alone makes me almost want to completely "unrecommend" it due to the potential damage that can be done to newbie magicians by using Google as their magic education.

The average trick rating is 2.5. There's one trick that is probably worth the price of the book alone. Yet there's one "thing" in the book that makes the book hard to recommend. Considering that book is well made and good quality, yet the majority of the content is poor to average quality . . . yet there are two really good effects and some decent ideas sprinkled throughout, I'll have to go with . . .

Final Verdict:
2.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Grubble (Little bit of gem, but mostly rubble)