"Fire Flight" by Peter Loughran
Suggested Retail USD$29.99
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

"Fire Light", an effect by Peter Loughran, is a visually pleasing piece of magic that shows just how much theater can be built into a routine based on a few simple sleights.

The effect, with all its bits and pieces, takes a while to describe and is very honestly detailed in the dealer ads (you can also take a look at the demo video here). In short, though, the effect is simply that a spectator's borrowed ring is vanished in a burst of fire only to reappear a few seconds later in another burst of fire at either the performer's fingertips or around the candle the performer's been using.

That reads much drier than how "Fire Flight" actually looks. By carefully crafting things, Loughran has built a lot of logic and a lot of drama into this. Sure, using fire unexpectedly will always be dramatic -- as will using a very personal object from a spectator -- but the staging Loughran uses here is incredibly well done, making "Fire Flight" more a theatrical performance piece than a magic trick. Just so you know, that's almost always a good thing.

On to the particulars, now, which are plentiful.

Virtually everything in the ads is right on the money. Only one ring is used (and with proper handling it's very safe -- with improper handling it could be damaged, but so will your fingers, since fire is like that). There are no pulls, threads, reels, or anything else to fuss with -- this is a sleight-based routine with only the very minimal amount of gaffing is use (and then only in the "alternate ending" Loughran provides). The angles are great, there's no set-up and no reset, and it can be done sitting or standing. Almost any ring can be used, with size being the only real consideration. Yep, this one is packed with a lot of reasons to like it.

The only downsides? The extras you need to pull this off are limiting. You'll need your own flash paper, of course, but you'll also need a suitable plate (Loughran recommends ceramic here), a specific type of candle (one is included, but the taper you need is not impossible to find, just a little hard depending on where you live and shop), and a candle holder. There's also a little something extra that is very minor and quite common that you'll likely not fool with much unless that second ending, with the ring appearing on the candle, turns out to be your preference.

With those requirements, it would appear "Fire Flight" is more at home in restaurants, bars, and more formal settings than anywhere else. Just be aware that if you plan on doing this in restaurant work, not all restaurants will use the candles you need. Tea candles won't do it; you need the longer tapers here. Formally, none of those requirements is a problem and you should be perfectly content with "Fire Flight".

Unless you're looking for the latest and greatest gadgetry. If that's the case, "Fire Flight" is going to disappoint you greatly. I said it before and I'll say it again: this is a sleight-based routine. Do not think you're getting some whiz-bang, techno-bauble to play with. What you pay for, ultimately, is a very good, very well structured sleight-of-hand working for a vanish and a reproduction of a spectator's finger ring. For some folks, that's worth the money all by its lonesome. If you're not one of them, "Fire Flight" isn't going to be your cup of tea.

If you're looking for, as the packaging states, the "Ultimate Ring Flight Illusion", you should probably look elsewhere. With the props that must be available, and the lack of a solid "impossible location", "Fire Flight" is not that close to the classic "Ring Flight" plot in effect. Oh, it could be argued a teleportation is a teleportation, but finding a spectator's ring in a sealed container is much different thematically than suddenly having it appear at your fingertips. And having the ring disappear in a burst of flames to reappear in similar flames is different than find it inside a key case.

Much different.

At the end of the day, "Fire Flight" is a beautiful, effective, and magical piece of entertainment worth every penny and more and will find its way in the performance repertoire of many a performer... rightfully so.

"Fire Flight" by Peter Loughran
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

Practicality: 7
This was made for restaurant work and, possibly, bar work, someplace where the necessary articles (a plate and a taper with a candle holder) are readily available. There's also the practical issues associated with the use of fire that have to be dealt with. On the plus side, you have none of the usual gimmicks to worry about (no gimmicks to worry about at all if you choose not to do the "alternate ending), really good angles, and no set-up or reset. The ring (which can be any ring at all) is always perfectly safe, to boot.

Workmanship: 5
It is what it is -- a tapered candle and a little extra something that is quite common. A trip to a superstore will probably yield replacements for both.

Documentation: 9
Loughran did a great job here, going into all the details of the sleight-work involved. Black and white photos round out the documentation nicely (though there are one or two photos that are a little hard to make out).

Effect: 10
This plays very, very well for audiences (the use of fire can be held accountable for a lot of that reaction -- it's hard to imagine this playing half as well without that component). Throw in the use of a very personal object and it's hard for this one not to hit them between the eyes.

Presentation: 8
It's all about the theatrically of things, and "Fire Flight" has that in abundance. It would have been nicer to see it live up to the "ring to impossible location" theme it attempts ("The Ultimate Ring Flight Illusion", it says on the package), but it's a visually satisfying routine.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.