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$35 dollars, 29 pages and 4 gimmicks . . . what does it all mean?

Effect

Ah, ye old magazine test. Thank you U.F. Grant. This is essentially U.F. Grant's Tru Test. A magazine page is "chosen" and torn from the magazine and given to the spectator. You then have the option of revealing a thought of word from the page, the name of celebrities, images, countries and other things found on the page.

Method

As I mentioned, this is very much like Tru Test so if you're familiar with that, or Ted Karmilovich's Mother of All Book Tests or Nate Kranzo's version of Tru Test and others, you'll likely be familiar with the method for revealing the thought of word. The other reveals use various different techniques that are found in most mentalism repertoires.

These techniques are very popular and common in the field of mind reading, etc. So there's nothing unrealistic about the method. The 3 gimmicks you get are three identical magazine pages that can be slipped into most modern magazines. They're well made and will pass muster when handled by the spectator. The fourth "gimmick" you get is a cleverly disguised cheat sheet in the form of a magazine card insert . . . you know, those things that fall out of the magazine when you open it.

All in all, the gimmick is well made, and the methods are pretty standard. I see no issues here. Just keep in mind that this is a performance piece. It's not a prop that has a secret compartment. It's a piece of paper that you have to bring to live with your personality and performance style. It's not really a close up magic thing. It's more of a parlor/small stage mentalism piece.

One concern I do have with the method is the fact that when asking the spectator to think of a "long word" - something needed for the thought of word reveal - there is a good possibility that they'll choose a "wrong" word. Some of the non-force words are comparable in length. Zust does a decent job of giving tips on how to minimize this and most of the non-force words aren't an issue, but there are a couple.

Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is pretty solid. Usually when I point out something specific in an ad, it's negative, but in this case it's positive. The positive is the claim that this is funny even if you're not. Very much so. There is built in humor and the instructions come with several pointers, tips, ideas, etc. to increase the humor potential. There are some very good tips for those who are humor impaired. There is one negative, however. The ad copy mentions using the page for a page force, but it never explains how in the instructions. They do mention (in the instructions) Hoy's fabulous book test, and briefly mention that it could be used in conjunction with this, but again, it doesn't explain.

Product Quality

The product quality is excellent. You may recall a review I did a while back for Nate Krazon's magazine test Tru Test. I gave it zero stars . . . an "honor" reserved for the very few. I'm not trying to dig up negative press for Kranzo or resurface any of the heat I took for that review, but it's bound to come up due to the fact that I'll be giving this product a much better rating.

Most of what caused the poor rating for Kranzo's was found right here in "product quality." Long story short, the magazine sheets were terribly produced. Tons of typos and missing pieces. Stuff claimed to be there, wasn't. It was riddled with errors. If you want a detail of all the errors, feel free to read the FaceBook thread where I laid it all out.

Anyway, this product's quality is tons better. It looks better. It has the stuff it claims to have. Plus, it came with 29 pages of instructions that were detailed and thoughtful (unlike Kranzo's less-than-two-full-pages). All this for $35 bucks (not $100, like Kranzo's), and I'd say I have a sound case for giving this one a good rating and Kranzo's a poor rating.

Anyway, back to Magnum's product quality . . .

There are two things for this product to take into consideration. One is that some of the celebrity references are a bit dated. The other thing is that, although the booklet has a lot of thoughtful and useful information, it seems to be a bit scattered or even haphazard.

There were some things that were out of order, and a couple other things that made no sense whatsoever. Here's an example. On page 14 of the instructions, there are 4 "techniques" for getting the audience to tell you the first letter of the word they're thinking of. He says,

Gaze in their eyes. Ok, too much - that's just creepy. But a little gazing is quite compelling and will often elicit a smile, laugh or even a comment ("get out of my head, you devil!") that adds to the experience for everybody. Remember that your helper represents the entire audience, and everyone is looking to her to decide how to fell about you, so use your volunteers wisely.

That was supposed to be a tip on how to get the audience to give you the first letter . . . so . . . what . . . if I stare at them they'll just blurt it out!?

There were a couple of things like that here and there. Due to the lack of organization of the information, it's a little confusing at times, but it's "get through-able." Also, there are some listed resources for sources of jokes/topics/comedy that are related to the subjects found on the magazine pages. Further, there's a good bibliography of a handful of must read books listed at the back.

Final Thoughts

I really am sorry to bring up the old review, but history tells me that every time I review two products that are similar, giving one a good rating and one a bad rating results in hate mail. I'm trying to cut 'em off at the pass. This product is pretty solid. It does, however, assume a certain level of knowledge and experience. I wouldn't say this is for beginners. This is something for those who have some mentalism and general performance experience. Taking the good with the bad . . .

Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.