"Random Thoughts" by Devin Knight
Suggested Retail USD$19.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Random Thoughts", the latest release by Devin Knight, is not so much a take on a classic work as it is a re-imagining, a redefining whose result is staggering in more ways than one and is simply a must-have for any mentalist, hands down.

There is so much I could say about this one, but it would require me tipping a lot of the method and I am not going to go there though there's a part of me that would dearly love to just to show you have blastedly clever and creative Devin Knight is. So, listening to my little internal editor, this review is probably going to be a short one.

Let's get to the effect first:

It all begins with a prior prediction made by the performer which has been placed in an envelope. The performer brings out the envelope and places it in full view. A spectator is shown a newspaper and asked to choose a single sheet from it. They do and the performer tears it into pieces. While this is going on, the spectator has rolled a pair of dice to arrive at a random number. This number is counted down in the resulting stack of newspaper pieces by the spectator and the piece at that number removed. The spectator is now asked to choose one side of the piece or the other to read from. Once done, the envelope is opened and a single index card is removed, the envelope empty otherwise. The spectator turns over the prediction and it matches the words read by the spectator.

That's good stuff. And, from the performer's viewpoint, it gets better: there are no stooges (instant or otherwise), the dice are ungimmicked (you can even just have them pick a number rolled on "imaginary dice" if you are so inclined), there's no pre-show work, the newspaper is ungimmicked, there are no switches, there is no "secret writing" of any kind... This is as clean and slick as it gets.

Now, if you've been around the block, you know pretty much what's going on. This is based on Koran's tear and I dearly loved it. It's clean. It's impossible to backtrack. It's open.

And it's also so blasted hard that, after a few performances, I never did it again.

I'm a simple kinda guy. I like simple methods. I like something that is so easy I can concentrate on my presentation and my theatrical work. Remembering mathematical formulas that, though simple in reading, come close to rivaling quantum physics when also having to remember lines and handle live performance conditions, is not easy. It's tough. Way too tough to do this more than a handful of times before deciding the stress and strain wasn't worth it.

So here's Knight's "Random Thoughts". There's still a formula to it, and a bit of memorization to help things along, but it is so much simpler than the original that it can be worked out by the time I've taken the sheet of newspaper out of the spectator's hands. After just ten practice sessions, it was ingrained in my memory. After twenty rehearsals, I could do it in my sleep. During performance, it was so easy I was afraid I had screwed it up.

I hadn't. Knight just made it such an effortless work of simplicity it fooled me as I was doing it. And judging from the reactions, I wasn't the only one.

"Random Thoughts" is a great piece of work. I'll be honest here and cop to using this one even when I don't plan on it. With Knight's method in my noggin, all I need is a newspaper and something to scribble on and I'm ready to make an impression. I don't recommend doing it that way, impromptu and all, but sometimes it's the perfect way of doing this and it is so powerful it's a natural closer.

This one gets my highest recommendation. It's just that good.

"Random Thoughts" by Devin Knight
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Practicality: 10
For parlor/platform or stage work, this one can't be beat. It packs extremely small, the set-up is miniscule, and suffers from no blocking or staging drawbacks whatsoever. This is one that is as practical as it gets for the venue.

Workmanship: n/a
While Knight does provide envelopes and dice, they are store-bought and not modified so this is inconsequential.

Documentation: 10
Knight does it again with some of the absolute best directions ever, covering his method and his presentational subtleties masterfully. More, Knight explains so much about why he made certain decisions that it's an education in routine construction.

Effect: 10
This plays and plays big. Period. Think "closer" here.

Presentation: 10
It's as open as you can get, appears to be as free of trickery or coercion as you could ask for, and it's so simple to follow a child can understand it. Put all of that together and you get Knight's most powerful work to date.

Shane

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