"Proximity Effects" book by Dee Christopher
Suggested Retail BPS£14.99
Available from Merchant of Magic
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

If you're like me and appreciate prose well written, this work immediately stands out. I know we're supposed to be interested in the message not the medium, but recently I've come across some poorly proofed books and ebooks, which despite being technically very good were a pain to plough through.

The manuscript is part effects, part essays and thoughts from the performer. The first effect is “Cold - The Telesthesia Cards”, in which the deck is shuffled, and five cards are dealt off into a pile on the table or into the spectator's hands. The spectator merely thinks of one of these. The card is never touched, selected physically, written down or spoken to anyone. The magician eerily reveals the spectators thought of card, the first time the card's value is spoken is from the magician's lips.

This effect is presented with its own basic script, and makes use of some principles from cold reading, but in a very subtle way. There's an impromptu version included, along with performance notes.

Next is a short essay entitled“The Barnum Effect - How To Enhance Reactions Through Cold Reading Technique”. This covers how to use what Christopher calls the Barnum Effect (I think he means the Forer Effect, in fact) to enhance your effects by supplying reasons why the spec chose a particular thought. This is good stuff, and something mental performers will benefit from.

“Words That Go Unspoken – Impromptu Book Test” is the next effect. This is an interesting test in which you describe a “substantial” word on the chosen page. The problem I find with this is that for the reader, he or she is left with a force to incorporate. I'd have liked to see Christopher's full working for this rather than a list of suggestions, because I was left with the feeling that, which this is perfectly useable if the reader develops it in his own style, this is very much an idea presented in sketch from rather than seeming to be part of his repertoire.

Anyway, onwards to the “Synthetic Arc Bend – The Non Bending Spoon Bend“. This is a spoon bend based on a move taught in Erick Gallerian's DVD, with Christopher's own subtleties. He employs linguistic techniques to suggest to the spectator that she can see the cutlery beginning to deform.

The next effect is the Solitary Confederate. In this effect, the spectator selects the only card from a deck, spread face down on the table, that isn't blank. The effect uses a well-known gaffed deck and is a good, short baffler.

Deviance, the next effect, is a break from the usual card-through-window convention in that only one pip makes the journey. I think the description of the effect says it all: “A spectator selects a card and signs the face - the card they select is fully examinable and has no gaffs. Taking the spectator's signed card, the magician draws attention to a glass door/window/pane of glass and asks the audience to watch carefully. The card is slapped against the window and one of the pips flies visually straight through the glass into the magician's waiting hand.“

As you may expect, there is a small amount of preparation required. There's also a sleight to be learned, but Christopher this time describes several possibilities that are all quite easy to master. There's also a bonus presentation to this effect in the form of “Sauvignon Deviance”, which revolves around the pip penetrating a wine glass.

An impossible transposition called Shift follows next. Basically, the spectator selects and signs the back of a card and loses it in the deck. The performer immediately removes the card using empty hands from his top pocket or wherever gets the biggest reaction. The effect and the moves involved are all explained fully.

Overall, I like this work. Mentalism purists will turn away in disgust that it's a collection of card effects, but fro the rest of us, there's plenty to get our teeth into, and the important visual parts are illustrated with colour photographs.

"Proximity Effects" book by Dee Christopher
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

Material: 9
While a couple of effects are less worked through than the others, but the overall quality of the material doesn't suffer because of it. Though all use cards, the effects are varied and have a distinctly mental feel to them. You will need to learn several sleights and card forces to get the best out of this material, but who says you're limited to performing it as is?

Quality: 8
I was pleased with the overall quality of the work, but that book test, which looks so promising from the description, left me wishing the author had taken the time to produce a complete work through of his method, including the “hidden” work.

Illustrations: 10
There are plenty of colour photographs illustrating relevant points rather than involving wordy descriptions, which is really nice to see and makes the manuscript a lot clearer.

Presentation: 8
As I said in the introduction, it's nice to see a magic manuscript upon which time has been spent on the English. The descriptions are clear and the language is to the point.

Jon Thompson