Price$45.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedMar 16, 2003
Son of Simon Says - More Close-Up Magic of Simon Lovell
Simon Lovell
L & L Publishing
(Based on 1 review)
Contents include: More Thoughts of Chairman Lovell - So What Do You Need to Learn Sleightwise to be a Magician?; The Mob and the Magi.; Pocket Management; Logic and Thinking; A Quick Word About Bar Magic; The Magic Moment.
Card Stuff - Lovey Dovey Sandwich; Star Trick; The Namer; Two Cards and a Glass; The Murder Mystery; Super Play It Straight.; Imagination; Collectors 21.; Sidney the Hamster; The Flipster; Granama; Five-and-a-Half.; The Angle of the Dangle; Bermudarama; One Way to Bermuda; Blind Man's Buff; Mousehunt by David Acer; Ace-O-Rama. by Shaun Robison; The Wyoming Wobble; The Bucket Cull; Waiting for God; Harry's Catnip Principle
Not Card Stuff - Matchbox Betcha; Matchbox Betcha Number Two; Don't Touch by David Acer; Two Pieces of Silliness; The Texas Chainthumb Massacre or Grand Guignol Revisited; Business Card Flash.; Coins, Dice and Grandfather's Beer.; Imagiro; A Hair of the Dog by Bob Neale; Twisted Roses; Chop Wallet
For Advanced Maniacs Only - Fantasy in Salt and Vinegar by Ash Lee; The Incredible Card in Dove Number Two.; Lobster Watch.; Ring in Rat
Extra Bit - The Frisk of the Risk.
Hardcover, 216 pages, beautifully illustrated, full-color dust jacket.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Let's face it - magic books can sometimes be pretty dry reads, so it's nice to see one that captures a little of the author's personality (although an argument could be made that boring books have also captured a little of the author's personality). Take Son of Simon Says - every page bubbles over with Simon's playful style, and, much like Woody Allen's books, if you read the material in Simon's voice, it's very entertaining. On the other hand, if you've never heard Simon's voice, his rambling prose may strike you as a tad unfocused.
Having said that, this book, a 39-trick, 200-page follow-up to his best-selling Simon Says, is essentially divided into four sections. The first, "More Thoughts of Chairman Lovell," contains an extended essay on pocket management, presentational motivation, creating wonder, working in bars, and other issues that are of interest to anyone who wants to take tricks from the printed page and use them in the real world. (This is a process I liken to a scene in The Abyss wherein a rat is dropped into a bowl of liquid oxygen, struggles fiercely for awhile, then finally adapts to its new environment).
Section Two, "Card Stuff," contains the type of material that Simon excels at creating - simple card tricks framed by quirky presentations. Highlights (for me) include "Star Trick" (a fun, easy production of a selected card, then its three mates), "Two Cards and a Glass" (a devious two-card transposition), "Granama" (a cleverly motivated torn-and-restored card), "The Murder Mystery" (a terrific prediction effect that gets tons of mileage from simple means), and "Waiting for God" (a surprising card trick using your cell phone).
Section Three, "Not Card Stuff," features, among other things, a handful of obscure bar bets and stunts that Simon has picked up, varied and adapted over the years. "Matchbox Betcha" is in that rare category of bar bet that will fool as well as entertain, while "Matchbox Betcha Number 2," "Teethy" and "Cancan" could all help you create a reputation for being a fun guy to hang around. Conversely, "The Texas Chainthumb Massacre" could help you create a reputation for being a disturbing guy to hang around, and actually requires a small degree of self-mutilation in order to achieve the effect. The rest of the chapter contains more performance-oriented bits, like an interesting business-card printing effect by Pat Page, a fun origami gag, and a nice way to construct a rose from a cocktail napkin, plus three feature routines.
Finally, the title of the last section, "For Advanced Maniacs Only," doesn't actually refer to the skill required to execute the routines therein, but rather the level of madness necessary to perform them. A look at the trick titles should clarify: "The Incredible Card in Dove Number Two," "Ring in Rat," "Lobster Watch"... need I say more? These items are very much tailored to Simon's character, and although entertaining to read, I doubt anyone else could do them as he can.
So what we have here is a big book from a very creative, real-world performer, and it quickly becomes clear as you read through his tricks that every last one would be fun to watch. Moreover, Simon has peppered the book with entertaining anecdotes from 30 years in the business.
In terms of negatives, there isn't much to point out. Some of the card tricks are variations of standard plots (sandwich effects, Do As I Do, Collectors, etc), so you might already have versions of these in your repertoire. And no credit is given to Ed Marlo for originating the "Ring in Rat" plot. But these minor gripes aren't enough to overshadow the fact that, if you buy this book, you'll find lots of material you can use, and quite a few laughs to boot.
David Acer
Having said that, this book, a 39-trick, 200-page follow-up to his best-selling Simon Says, is essentially divided into four sections. The first, "More Thoughts of Chairman Lovell," contains an extended essay on pocket management, presentational motivation, creating wonder, working in bars, and other issues that are of interest to anyone who wants to take tricks from the printed page and use them in the real world. (This is a process I liken to a scene in The Abyss wherein a rat is dropped into a bowl of liquid oxygen, struggles fiercely for awhile, then finally adapts to its new environment).
Section Two, "Card Stuff," contains the type of material that Simon excels at creating - simple card tricks framed by quirky presentations. Highlights (for me) include "Star Trick" (a fun, easy production of a selected card, then its three mates), "Two Cards and a Glass" (a devious two-card transposition), "Granama" (a cleverly motivated torn-and-restored card), "The Murder Mystery" (a terrific prediction effect that gets tons of mileage from simple means), and "Waiting for God" (a surprising card trick using your cell phone).
Section Three, "Not Card Stuff," features, among other things, a handful of obscure bar bets and stunts that Simon has picked up, varied and adapted over the years. "Matchbox Betcha" is in that rare category of bar bet that will fool as well as entertain, while "Matchbox Betcha Number 2," "Teethy" and "Cancan" could all help you create a reputation for being a fun guy to hang around. Conversely, "The Texas Chainthumb Massacre" could help you create a reputation for being a disturbing guy to hang around, and actually requires a small degree of self-mutilation in order to achieve the effect. The rest of the chapter contains more performance-oriented bits, like an interesting business-card printing effect by Pat Page, a fun origami gag, and a nice way to construct a rose from a cocktail napkin, plus three feature routines.
Finally, the title of the last section, "For Advanced Maniacs Only," doesn't actually refer to the skill required to execute the routines therein, but rather the level of madness necessary to perform them. A look at the trick titles should clarify: "The Incredible Card in Dove Number Two," "Ring in Rat," "Lobster Watch"... need I say more? These items are very much tailored to Simon's character, and although entertaining to read, I doubt anyone else could do them as he can.
So what we have here is a big book from a very creative, real-world performer, and it quickly becomes clear as you read through his tricks that every last one would be fun to watch. Moreover, Simon has peppered the book with entertaining anecdotes from 30 years in the business.
In terms of negatives, there isn't much to point out. Some of the card tricks are variations of standard plots (sandwich effects, Do As I Do, Collectors, etc), so you might already have versions of these in your repertoire. And no credit is given to Ed Marlo for originating the "Ring in Rat" plot. But these minor gripes aren't enough to overshadow the fact that, if you buy this book, you'll find lots of material you can use, and quite a few laughs to boot.
David Acer