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Forged By Fire

By Christoph Borer
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Forged By Fire

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Book or download by Christoph Borer ($49.95 or download for $37.50)

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Forged By Fire - magic
Forged By Fire Forged By Fire Forged By Fire Forged By Fire Forged By Fire Forged By Fire Forged By Fire

An essential collection of magic from one of magic’s most creative and prolific magicians.

Christoph Borer is a name that might not be immediately familiar to those who don’t live in Switzerland or those who didn’t buy his revolutionary trick “Get Sharky”. However, in his home country, Christoph Borer is an absolute legend. He’s published five magic books in German, each of which have been universally praised and are highly sought after to this day.

At Vanishing Inc., one of our core missions is to introduce the magic community to extremely talented magicians who may have flown under your radar because their works have only ever been available in their native language. By expertly translating these works into English, a broader audience is able to enjoy the genius that lies within them. There’s no better example of this than Forged by Fire by Christoph Borer.

Forged by Fire contains the best of the best material from Christoph Borer’s impressive repertoire. You’ll learn more than 40+ professional routines spanning everything from cards and general close-up material, to mentalism, and parlor and stage magic. Christoph even does a deep dive into magical storytelling.

Put simply, it would be nearly impossible for any magician to pick up this book and not walk away with at least one or two new favorite routines. Forged by Fire is a masterclass in creativity. Christoph pushes the boundaries, exploring new possibilities with unique and captivating plots.

A small sampling of what you can expect…

There’s an effect where words written in black ink by a person suddenly appear in different colors, as well as a mind-blowing routine where you and a participant each find each other’s thought-of cards.

In another routine, the corner of a card is torn off. With a wave of your hand, it is then revealed that all of the cards in the deck are now missing a corner; except for their chosen card, which is now perfectly restored.

In "My Magical Friend", an address generated by the audience appears printed a package that's been in plain view.

One of our favorites is “Firebrand”, where an antique coin is wrapped in tissue paper before being placed on top of an old book and ignited. After the burst of flames subsides, it is shown that the coin has melted through the book and landed on a page that was selected earlier. This powerful reimagining of a trick that’s usually done with cards plays to audiences of any size and leaves a much larger impact.

The latter is a perfect example of how Christoph’s refreshing twists and use of unusual props can make classic effects feel like brand new routines. He also isn’t the type of magician that will add in four different variations of the same trick just to boost the size of the table of contents. There is no filler in Forged by Fire. Just a breadth of usable, workable professional material for all performers and all performance situations.

We take great pride in the fact that many of you consider Vanishing Inc. to be the leading producer of the world’s finest magic books. So the book itself is also absolutely stunning. Working with Maxwell Pritchard, we ensured that no stone was left unturned as the routines were meticulously translated into English. Every important detail is explained and accompanied by more than 220 illustrations across the 260+ pages of this stunning, linen hardback.

Forged by Fire is the type of book that will not only be popular now, but will be revisited and debated long into the future. Get a copy today and immerse yourself in the legacy of one of magic’s brightest and most creative stars.

Contents of Forged by Fire: The Magic of Christoph Borer

Cards

  • Tear Off
  • Only the Half of It
  • Oh, So Close…
  • Double Thought

Close-up

  • Year-Round Positivity
  • The Technicolor Pencil
  • My Magical Friend
  • Symbolosis
  • The Firebrand
  • Colorful Backstories
  • Travel Brochures
  • Messages for Catha

Parlor and Stage

  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Anagram
  • Undercover Rose
  • Impossibile
  • The Free Gift
  • Arse`ne Lupin
  • Count Dracula
  • Appearing Deck
  • Razored Deck
  • Heaven—Hell—Earth
  • Digital Cocktail
  • Fifty Shades of Grey
  • Bank Night
  • Bibliopolis

Mentalism

  • Fournominal
  • The Runes of the Goddess Freyja
  • Written All Over Your Face
  • The Tray Force
  • Super Memory
  • Pendulums Aplenty
  • Astropendulum
  • Pendulum
  • The Dowsing Rod
  • A Mathematical Birthday
  • Three-Card Miracle
  • Runic Revelation
  • Rune Memory

Storytelling

  • Lea
  • The Contract
  • Death by Chocolate

268 Pages | Hardback | 6in by 9in | Ribbon Bookmark| 40 Routines | 220+ Illustrations |

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Customer reviews for Forged By Fire

Reviewer

Joshua

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed going through this book! The effects contained are diverse in theme, if not somewhat niche - meaning the premise of the routine may fit the authors style, but it probably will take some creativity to fit to you. There’s definitely two or three things I’ve marked during my initial read through that I either intend on making and trying out, or want to explore further to see how I could change the presentation to fit future show themes. I think that makes it more than worth grabbing!

 
Reviewer

Francesco

This book is pure gold! some of the effects contained in it alone are worth the cost of the entire book! the author's explanations, the result of years of refinement, are invaluable!!! we want more and more products like this!!! thank you for translating and making this jewel available to everyone!!!

 
Reviewer

Travis

I really liked this! A wide range of material, from fun card tricks to capital 'M' Mentalism and even that rarest of birds: Bizarre magic an audience might actually like.

Very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, and flagged a couple of things to work on. The material has a theatricality to it that I really connected with.

Probably my favourite Vanishing Inc book since The Darkest Corners (which is still my favourite by some margin, but Forged by Fire was a pleasant surprise!).

 
Reviewer

Cory

Amazing book, very diverse and creative effects. Some effects require some arts and crafts, some not so practical but very strong items. I will be working on some of the items from this book.

 
Reviewer

Gerhard

This book may not be for everyone. The first trick is great barring an annoying typo. Did not instill much confidence in the editing. The rest of the tricks are so, so but a bit niche for my liking. Full marks for great production values. You might want to watch some reviews on YouTube before buying this.

 
Reviewer
VI Monthly
Member

Richard

The performance of much of the material of this book takes extensive, sometimes expensive, and occasionally highly skilled, specialized and fussy preparation. For me, the interest of Forged By Fire is almost entirely as documentation of the thinking and style of the author. The one trick I found valuable was the first trick in the book, during the learning of which I had to overcome a disorienting typo. (For those who purchase the book, save yourself some aggravation and change the "Ten" on the third line of page six to "Seven.")
There's no question that Borer's quirky approach to magic takes the art to places it hasn't been before, but as for me, I will look on in admiration from a safe distance.

 
Reviewer

Sean

Aesthetically, this book was not for me. The cultural humor and quirks simply do not translate well at all, and I was more than a little perplexed at the sheer abstractness of effects. The presentations and effects felt tortured with several effects begging the question, “Why?”

Obviously, it is on the performer to craft a reason for the material, but the effects are so niche and so quirky ala Gaeton Bloom, that one would expect the methods to be innovative enough to warrant creative investment.

Objectively, on a technical level, I did not see innovative methodology, but rather in some cases a regressive approach more akin to “brute force.” Perhaps I am missing something, but I would consider crafty modifications to household objects at least a step forward methodologically, whereas preshow and stooging for the sake of a card trick a step backward.

Ultimately, this book read like someone who is unfamiliar with historically-tested and improved-upon methods, and in lieu of that knowledge, imagined methods based on how a layperson might think. In fact, I’ll hang my review on that: this is a magic book that reads as if written by a layperson rather than a magician.

Please excuse any overt harshness—I’m just extremely perplexed by this release.

 

Community questions about Forged By Fire

Have a question about this product? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.

  • Hendrik asks: Did the routines inside have been published in Christoph's former books or is this completely new material?

    • 1. John answers: Is there a reference guide for tricks on YouTube or??
    • 2. Hendrik answers: Thanks, Eliyahu!
    • 3. Eliyahu answers: It's basically a best of from his five German books.
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  • Joseph asks: How complicated are the sleights that are necessary to perform any of Christoph's routines? Joe Finkler

    • 1. Christoph answers: Most of them are technically very easy to do.
    • 2. Joseph answers: Thanks Christoph. That information is helpful and I have just purchased your book! Joe Finkler, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
    Post an answer to this question
  • Craig asks: How many illustrations does this book have?

    • 1. Craig answers: It has 229. I counted now that I have the book.
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