Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Close My Eyes Forever by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne

The Collection by Luca Volpe and Kenton Knepper Review:

One book, Luca Volpe, Kenton Knepper, 4 "things" and $60 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect

The effects in the book are simple, but hard they're hard to put into words. You're basically taking somewhat standard effects (e.g., headline prediction) and adding a layer of "stuff" that makes them seem way more impossible than the versions of these plots than you're used to.

Method

I've been reading a lot of writings lately from students of Kenton Knepper, and I'm seeing a theme amongst all of his work and his students' works. The theme is simplicity and subtlety. Don't be turned away by this. These methods are extremely bold and extremely powerful. It's the kind of stuff that takes your mentalism to a new realm. This stuff feels real. As far as skill level, anyone can physically do it, but you've got to have confidence for it to be most effective. It's all about "selling" it and believing it. This is not stuff that can just be given to a performer is doesn't have confidence so in that regard it's definitely next level stuff for people who are a bit more seasoned.

Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is pretty solid, but there are a couple of things that I need to point out. The ad copy for the effect, Headline Prediction says that a sealed envelope that was signed by the spectator a week ago is brought on stage by the person who signed it. The ad copy continues to say that it is NEVER touched by the performer and that it contains several predictions.

While it's true that the performer does not touch the envelope while the spectator is on stage with it, saying that the performer "NEVER" touches it is not true. The rest of the ad copy is solid.

Product Quality

The book is small, but well produced. I did, however, find a bit of Luca Volpe's ramblings a bit annoying. He often took too long to get to a point, and would spend (literally) pages and pages "bragging" about how awesome "what he's about to show you" is. Other than that, I'm happy with the production quality of the book and the writing.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind a couple of things if you're looking to buy this book. First, this stuff feels real. You are truly "messing" with people's emotions on a very serious level. They will believe that you predicted their future. It's a very dangerous power to wield. When releasing my Tarot Card Book, I dealt with similar issues, and was torn about whether or not this kind of thing should be in the public where it can be abused. As powerful as I think my Tarot stuff is, this (The Collection) is double or triple the impact (or more) than my stuff. It has serious ethical responsibilities with it.

Second, this stuff is as close to real mind reading, predictions, etc. as you can get without really doing it, and in some cases, you kind of are "really doing it." Be careful. If you're looking to taking your performance to a very real place, then you've found what you're looking for. It's a bit steep at $60, but this kind of stuff has serious potential, and when done correctly will give you clients for life.

Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem