Imagine a book filled with HUNDREDS of pages talking about the method, script, psychology and thinking behind some amazing routines.
A borrowed crushed water bottle which contains an unseen word that has been written by a spectator VISIBLY uncrushes itself, and the spectators breaths their thoughts into the bottle and the performer inhales those thoughts and reads their mind!
A spectator tries to crush an aluminum can with strength by pressing on the ends of the can (Nearly impossible if you ever tried) and it proves futile. The performer without touching the can or the spectator's hands, concentrates and causes the can to begin to crush in the spectator's hands. The feel and hear the can moving and twisting all the way!
During a mind reading routine, a pen that the spectators has held and used to write with, and which became a mental link between performer and spectator is shown to have exploded inside the clear barrel do to an overload of thought! In the meanwhile, the performer reads the spectator's mind regarding a symbol and a word! A triple effect with a visual kick!
Another bottle effect where the bottle visibly crushes itself and restores itself as well!
A metal bending effect where a paper clip bends and unfolds itself and THEN bends into the shape of a spectator's thought!
A wad of cotton (Theoretically borrowed) reveals the initial a spectator is thinking of!
A serial number reading effect where the performer is able to divine the number on a borrowed folded bill, and then cause the bill to unfold by itself.
Here is the Publisher's Fwd, which I think sums up what the book is about very well!
Publisher's Foreword
What is the number one, fundamental thing lacking in mentalism but which traditional magic has going for it? The Visual Element.
One of the biggest challenges within mentalist and psychic entertainment is to give the spectator something to look at. We are a very visual people. With the infiltration of television and the internet on every facet of our lives this is even more true today than during Annemann's years- and even HE spoke of the lack of a visual element as being a short coming.
Then along came Uri Geller. Aside from thrusting what we do into a level of public interest that has not been matched except (Maybe arguably) by John Edward in recent years, weather intentionally or not, Uri gave the mentalism community at large a whole new thing to do besides reading minds- and best of all it was VISUAL. Better still, Uri had big TV behind him and so the concept of bending spooks and keys via psychic ability went from novel oddity to almost an EXPECTATION in the minds of the lay public. BUT- that is also as far as it went.
You could not perform "WonderBar" as a psychic piece. Occasionally items came along wherein a small object might move or stand up but seldom did we see these things being used as serious mentalism. And more to the point- they did not catch on. "That's Incredible" featured a few people who, under various theoretical frameworks, flipped pages of telephone books, walked on eggs, made pens and pencils move. But again, these effects did not catch on like the bending of spoons and keys.
As a publisher, I have learned that I have no clue what will catch on and what people will LOVE vs what they will only like. The book you hold is, to me, a milestone in mentalism both in practical performance AND in mentalism theory. The items herein were created by Nefesch.
You may know Nefesch from some of his earlier magic and mentalism releases through my company and his 3 DVD set released by our mutual friend Titanas of Greece. If you KNOW of Nefesch and you like his material then you know a few things: Nefesch will do whatever it takes to make an effect work. His methods are sometimes complex involving a LOT of preparation but they deliver and often they deliver test condition miracles. You know that he documents things in extreme detail. You know that he spends agonizing time on telling you not only what he DOES, but what he says and WHY- the psychology behind it. You know that his other methodology of choice is pure, direct, bold Chutzpah! If you know Nefesch and like his methods- these are the reasons why. If you Know Nefesch and typically do NOT like his methods- it is probably for these SAME REASONS.
What you may or may not know about him is this- Nefesch is both talented AND a kind, caring person. He has been through the mill the last few years and continues to share his ideas- not half baked things- but things he has thought about and worked on in pain staking detail and which he has performed. And Nefesch knows about sacrificing for his art. As you might gather from his use of English, Nefesch is not a native of any English speaking land but hails from El Salvador. Several years ago he was on the verge of becoming a national phenomena having his own full evening theatre show, a network TV show and more. But, for those of us who live in naive isolation let us remember that he did this in a country still filled with many superstitions. It was not long before an influential person at the TV station decided he was in league with the devil and began a smear campaign. In a short period of time Nefesch lost his show, professional career, relationship and more. There is much more drama to it than I am sharing here, but he can tell you as much as he wishes should you have a chance to speak to him yourself. But basically, his life- personal and professional- changed in almost every way for the worse because people believed he was REAL!
Please- don't fool yourself by saying "Oh well- it's not a technologically up to date country." Or the like! They have Television, Cars, Computers, power, plumbing and all the other modern conveniences. Yet there, in a modern society, someone with the potential to be their version of Americas Chris Angel was basically a victim of a witch hunt. Sad but WOW!
The collection of items in this book share a common bond. They are mentalism (If you do these as tricks you will be laughed at) and typically have an APPARENT main effect. But within them is another experience, an experience where something HAPPENS- something visual. Most of these items have within them a secondary effect in which something moves, bends, explodes, transforms or otherwise changes in a visually perceivable way. Sometimes this is the main point, but in many other occasions it happens as a result of thoughts, emotions or other intangibles passing through something and leaving their mark. For that reason, I really consider this work to be ground breaking and I HOPE it will get people thinking and working in similar fashion.
As a performer myself- some of these things are items I would look at and shudder for they are so complicated. BUT, when you take the time to explore, they are often much easier than they seem- Nefesch just covers ALL the detail and thinking behind them. There are other items, just as with his DVD set, that I LOVED the effect and portions of a method, but I might simplify it for my skill level. But no matter what, it is material that gets me thinking and is useable- THAT is what matters to me.
So, I hope you enjoy these offerings. This book has been the most work of anything we have put together to date. It required very heavy editing, but done with care so as to maintain the flavor of Nefesch's writing. Also, we decided to create the Spanish edition and include it within a single volume. This kept production costs down on EACH half and also was a conscious decision for the collectors out there. When the time comes to sell your extra copy- you will not lose out because someone wanted the Spanish Edition and all you had was the English.
Now, may I suggest you take this in small chunks as it is much to digest and savor it like a fine wine.
Pages: 384 - Softbound