"Card Magic USA" Book by Peter Duffie
Suggested Retail USD$29.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

"Card Magic USA", a softcover collection of card magic, is a ollection of card magic from some fantastic contributors that is as wonderful a collection as the book is pathetic. No, that's not a paradox; it's the simple truth.

First, the material. You're getting a treasure trove here. Forty-nine contributors, names with which to conjure, make their appearance on these pages. We're talking material from Mike Skinner,John Bannon, Lee Asher, Cameron Francis, Steve Dusheck... The list of contributors is a Who's Who of major league card workers. And the effects! Man, the effects cover the whole range of effects from fresh takes on the classics to some new and twisted stuff that make for off-beat, original magic.

And if you think I'm going to go down the list of effects on these some 280+ pages, you're been inhaling way too much pasteboard glue. Let's just say the material here ranges from merely interesting to strikingly gorgeous and, even if I gave you my opinion, you'd end up coming up with your own list anyway. So I won't mention a packet trick by Max Maven that is worth the price of the book (to my knowledge, it's the first and only fully-modular packet trick and uses only the most basic of sleights), or Tom Frame's effect that takes "Follow the Leader" into the realm of free will, or Caleb Wiles great little prediction based on movie stars, or...

Getting the idea yet? Yeah, I thought you might. There's just a ton of good stuff here. Even the less that stellar pieces -- and there are a few -- still are good enough to play with, work with, and maybe improve. And the strong stuff? Powerhouses, each and every one.

Based on the material alone, this book is a bargain.

Ah, but I did say it was pathetic, did I not? Now let me prove that.

You see, "Card Magic USA" started off as an ebook, and a right successful one it was, too. Critics raved, fans swooned, and all was right with the world for one shining moment. It really was something else.

Then, apparently to reach a larger audience (translation: "to make more money"), Duffie turns the ebook into a book. Nothing wrong with that at all, or for the motivations behind it; it's a common practice and a good one.

But...

No one told Vanishing Inc to actually make the ebook into a for-real, actual, printed-page book. The result is a misshapen mess. Since this is just the printing of the PDF to book form, some of the niceties we've come to expect from the printed page are gone.

There is no table of contents, just a list of contributors (with, apparently, links to their effects. Note that PDF links don't work too well when you print the PDF instead of leaving it as an ebook).

Not that a table of contents would be too helpful. You see, there are no page numbers, either.

And there are no names of effects listed anywhere. So if you want to pull a trick out of this thing easily, you'll need to remember the contributor and hope you luck into him as you're searching for that one trick.

Quality pictures are rare here. Oh, there are plenty of pictures, but someone might want to have actually looked at them after they were printed; some of them are so dark they're completely worthless, others will simply ruin your eyesight.

And so it goes.

With all of that lacking, it makes even more glaring the fact that there are any number of sleights which are not explained at all, merely referenced. So you had better be on top of your game sleight-wise or possess one extensive library because some of these things are going to be a little esoteric for someone who hasn't spent a great deal of time and money becoming a card worker.

All told, it's just shoddy work. Period. Worse, an afternoon with the original document would have fixed most of this but apparently it was more important to get this out and "reach more readers" than to take the time to do it right.

If it sounds like I'm laying all of this on Duffie, you're mistaken. This all rests with his editors, which would be Vanishing Inc. If anyone understands how an editor can make a train wreck out of a perfectly good book, it's yours truly. More than anything I feel sorry for Duffie; this is a tremendous work and it's been degraded greatly for the sake of a quick buck.

So where does that leave "Card Magic USA"? It's still a fantastic collection and, if you're seriously into card magic (remember? "Extensive library"? "Top of your game"?) this you will absolutely love this collection. It's a definite must-have and a solid keeper.

But understand you have to deal with some major headaches first.

All told, this is one I can only recommend to the most dedicated card enthusiasts, but for them it's highly recommended.

"Card Magic USA" by Peter Duffie
In a Blink: 6 Out of 10

Material: 10
This is one seriously hefty volume of card magic, covering all stripes and flavors. In this tome you'll find great routines by a ton of magic's brand names, ranging from interesting takes on the usual to some absolutely weird pieces that re-define the term "off-beat". This is a great collection of work.

Practicality: 9
With so many routines from so many creators, practicality goes all over the place. Suffice to say that most of these are very practical, with just a few that may be pushing it a little.

Quality: 1
This is, without a doubt, one of the most poorly-assembled books I've ever seen. It's simply a bound print-out of the PDF as this was originally sold. Therefore there is no table of contents, the pictures are often too dark to be helpful, and even page numbers are missing. Pitiful. Simple pitiful.

Presentation: 7
The presentations here go all over the place, as one can expect. However, it's safe to say that even the weakest pieces are still pretty good and the strongest pieces are powerhouses. All told, these are simply good, quality pieces.

Shane

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