Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Open Arms By Journey

For $40 you get 6 extremely powerful effects, a well produced (yet pricey) book that has a bit of a misleading subtitle.

The subtitle is "6 Deadly New Mentalism Weapons." The word "new" is the one that I take issue with. Throughout the book Osterlind mentions (in several cases) that essentially all he's done is added one minor touch here, or combined two or three things there, etc. In my mind that's not new weapons. It's a new arrangement of existing weapons. So if you're looking for new methods or even new plots, you won't find them here. However, all that aside, all six effects in this book are excellent. They already start with excellent foundations from their original creators.

Osterlind added some of his own touches, modified handling ideas, subtle convincers, and combinations that create some very very powerful mentalism. Let's look at each effect individually. Before we do, make sure you read the effect descriptions in the ad copy. I'll be commenting and rating on their accuracy.

Hands Off (4.5 stars)

Read the ad copy. This effect is exactly what it claims to be. This is a perfect example of what I mentioned a moment ago. There is nothing new in this effect, routine or method. It's merely the combination of a bunch of "old" ideas put together in a way that is new. It's very powerful. It uses a special deck, but one that the spectator can handle. The method is solid and the ad copy is accurate.

3SP (4 stars)

Another powerful combination or composition of existing concepts. Very powerful and very convincing. Again, the ad copy is accurate, and the method is solid . . . with one exception. The third phase of the effect has an element of risk that you can't quite control. This element is not addressed or explained at all. However, it's relatively minimal, and the first 2 phases are sure fire.

Wanted: Dead or Alive (4 stars)

Osterlind resurrects the Living and Dead test. His thinking and handling on this are very clever and very much worthy of your attention. The effects is as clean as the ad copy reads, and the method is very clever . . . again, an old principle is in play here, but it all comes together nicely. The only "issue" with this is that the of the five names written down, there is drama and an effect with only four of them. The last one just ends with you handing the card back and saying, "here's your card back." The instructions regarding this part were not very clearly written. It took me a few reads to get what was happening at the end of the effect. But once I "got it" I was fine . . . just a bit disappointed that there wasn't much more of an ending.

Poor Man's Book Test (4 stars)

More combinations that work well together. This is truly any book any time as long as you have one simple small thing secretly on your person . . . it's a something that almost everyone (even non-magicians) always has on them. It's something you must already have with you. You can't borrow it because nobody every knows that it comes into play. But don't let that scare you away. I promise you have this. The only other thing is that the handling was a bit hard to follow and a little confusing, but a couple of reads through it, and you're good. The ad copy is accurate and the method is totally solid.

Almost Real Prediction (4.5 stars)

If you've got a pen and paper (and 4 spectators with credit cards) you can do this anytime anywhere. Basically you have a prediction written down in plain site (no switches). The specators each call off various digits from their credit cards in random order. They are added up (legitimately). The total matches the prediction. The method is a bit of a mental feat that will take some work on your part (mentally), but other than that, this is a very good way to accomplish this type of effect, particularly when you have no props and you need a solid effect.

Perfected Add-a-Number (5 stars)

Off all the effects in the book, this one strikes me as being the closest to living up to the subtitle of the book . . . this is, from what I can tell, the only truly new "weapon." This method is brilliant, and is original with Richard Osterlind. It's an add-a-no with no switches. The actual numbers (all 100% free choices) that are called out by the audience are the ones that are added up (legitimately). Yet the total is found to be inside of an envelope that's been on the table in full view the whole time. This method, in my opinion, almost fully justifies the pricey nature of the book.

Final Thoughts:

The average effect rating alone is 4.3 stars. The effects and methods are all very good. If it weren't for the pricey nature and the misleading subtitle, I'd be rounding up instead of down.

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