Got it in today. I'm a slow reader but will post my thoughts when finished.

Ok. I'm only read up to page 28, four tricks in, and I would already recommend getting it. Don't even know why I needed a review.

I also ordered this book

I know I just started reading this but John's incredible thinking really shows. It's not just, here's the trick , on to the next. You can tell he has really put a lot of work in this book and as with all of his books you will get tons of good material.

Lots of good stuff in this book and I read the darn thing in one read my favorites for now seem to be:

Petal to the metal, the thirty second sense, cross purposes and ak 47 but I will read the book a second time with cards in hand. Loads of good thinking in this book!

I think I've become a mentalist because I've developed the uncanny ability to predict the future. Here's what's going to happen to some of you. You'll say to yourself, "Most self-working tricks are either stupid or mathematical. I think I'll take a pass on this one." Others will say, "I'm skeptical, but Bannon's stuff can be interesting. Still, I'll wait for a few online demos before I decide." And then you'll get caught up in something else, some time will pass, and you'll forget about this book.

Then, a couple of years later some magician will absolutely FRY YOU with one (or more) of the items from this book. (My money is on Petal to the Metal and/or AK47, but who knows?) And with any luck, the magician WON'T let you know where this material can be found. You'll wander around perplexed and confused. Then, a week later, one of your friends will casually mention that the trick was self-working. And your head will explode.

Don't let your head explode. Just buy the darned book, but don't tip this stuff to the civilians, OK?

After reading the book like two times, I think Prophet Motive will be my most "go to " trick of the book. I just love it and totally impromptu and doable, with spec shuffling cards and all

I forgot that one. Especially if you use the "Remote Control" touch as Bannon suggests.

Or the rosetta touch!

Bannon never disappoints! Had only spent an hour with the book, and loving everything I've read so far. Petal to the Metal will go straight into my repertoire. Can't wait to explore the rest of the effects. Besides the ingenious methods, I also love his presentation ideas a lot.

Where are all the killer reviews on this? Is everybody too busy reading? I know for a fact I love this book and I have been performing Bluff Oracle Aces II, Petal to the Metal, Prophet Motive, 32 second sense, Cross purposes and Sort of Psychic (if John is reading this, an interesting version which does uses 16 cards would be Alex Elmsley's Mathematics & Mentalism from the Elmsley book no. 1. This is an interesting approach which doesn't seem mathematic at all!) by now and they are ALL awesome.

That is not all, I really seem to love AK-47, but I am still not confident enough in performing this, I want everything to go down very smooth. This is a killer effect. Another one which should fool everybody badly (but I have only performed it for my brother by now) is the sleight of hand version of Leverage in the book. I really love this trick! It kinda looks like a trick I once read in Royal Road to Card Magic, but it is better

Review of Destination Zero by John Bannon

(Overheard at a recent meeting of Cardicians Anonymous)

I'm Barry, and I'm a Cardaholic. (In unison, the assembled members say, "Hi, Barry.") It's been 12 minutes since I learned another card trick. (Murmuring is heard throughout the room.) I know you're wondering what's going on. I'll try to explain.

Let's face it; I'm pretty good at sleight-of-hand, but my skill set has serious gaps. And it's tough for me to justify the effort required to master some of the more difficult moves. After all, I don't make a living doing this stuff, and my day job makes tremendous demands on my time. The end result is predictable. I have a small repertoire of routines that require a moderate amount of technical prowess, and as long as I practice/rehearse these routines regularly, I can perform them and even make incremental improvements. But I still want to perform new stuff for my friends. I want these tricks to be great, but I don't have the time to perfect tricks that require extremely difficult sleights.

That's part of the reason that I found myself helpless to resist the material in John Bannon's new book of self-working card tricks, Destination Zero. And since I'm coming clean, I've been a Bannon admirer for a long time. He creates tricks that use sleight-of-hand in interesting ways. He also has the chops to do some interesting stuff, and he always is thinking, thinking, thinking about his magic and why he performs it. So, why is this book on self-working card magic so appealing?

Theatrical magic is based mostly on four types of deception: mechanical artifice, sleight-of-hand, psychology, and construction. Most of us focus on sleight-of-hand, use a little bit of mechanical artifice and psychology, and don't pay enough attention to construction. In Destination Zero, John Bannon has imposed an interesting constraint: create card tricks that rely almost entirely on psychology and construction. He has taken a fresh look at a number of strategies that almost all of us already use. He's thought about them deeply, and come up with ways to combine them in powerful ways. All magic tricks have discrepancies, but Bannon revels in them, and he's found ways to use them to his advantage. The end result is a collection of tricks with a very low Pain to Glory ratio. (Very little pain, but a disproportionately large amount of glory.)

For instance, in Petal to the Metal, Bannon takes the Matsuyama Petal Force and uses it to reinforce the fairness of a completely different 'choice' that the spectator is asked to make. The power of the resulting effect is astonishing. The only hard part is to keep yourself from laughing at the bald-faced lies that you're telling.

Another good example: Ban-nilation, an effect in which you use two cards to predict a card that your participant will later choose. The Cross Cut Force is pressed into service in this case. (I can see some of you rolling your eyes, but stay with me.) Bannon's handling will make you smile, and I'll never use this force again without using the lovely touch that Liam Montier suggests. (If you want to know more, get the book.)

Bannon's AK47 trick sounds like a dream effect from a dealer's ad: "The participant thinks of, and commits to, any card. Really. Without asking any questions, the performer removes one card from the deck and places it on the table. He has correctly identified the freely thought-of card!" The method relies on a simple concept that you probably already know, but the cunning presentation is a thing of beauty. It shows what happens when you have multiple contingency plans, and each one of those has a back-up plan. Rehearsal is required, but it's worth it. The first time I performed this, I couldn't believe how well it worked.

Bannon also adds some lovely touches to some of his previous tricks. He revisits the ideas behind Dead Reckoning and Origami Poker and comes up with fresh approaches that are lean and mean. Heck, there's even a self-working sandwich effect!

He also includes a non-card effect, a bank night effect called Banco. I don't like most bank night effects, and I don't currently perform one. Banco changed my mind. Let's just say that after reading the method, I quietly went on eBay and bought the odd items that are required for this effect. I'm looking forward to the day when I can perform this one at a party for my friends.

In other words, even if you already know most of these principles that Bannon is describing, you shouldn't pass up this book. There's something for everyone, and these tricks are fun to perform. John Bannon has examined each of the effects ruthlessly, and he's stripped away all of the fat. Bannon understands that Effect is Everything; the method should be invisible. This is true both for self-working effects and tricks requiring knuckle-busting sleight-of-hand. (By the way, if you already have some moderate sleight-of-hand skills, you can add a few touches to these tricks that will make them seem even more impossible.)

Best of all, after reading this book, you might take a look at some other self-working effects and begin to see them in a different light. (Fans of Giobbi's Card College Light series and magicians familiar with the work of Stewart Judah know what I'm talking about.) You might be able to apply some of Bannon's ideas to other self-working effects that you already know. I don't know whether you'll reach your destination, but I can guarantee that you'll enjoy the journey.

Thanks for the review. I am a huge Bannon fan and this is the only book of his I do not yet have!

If anyone in on the fence about this book I would advise you to get it. There is some pretty strong self workers in here. Definitely worth it.

If the only thing in this book was AK-47, I would be super pleased. This one effect is such a great solution to the impromptu thought of card "problem." I know the workings of the other, similar referenced effects, but I really feel Bannon has managed to iron out the wrinkles and really make the effect work so well. Then of course, there's so many other gems.... I'm very glad I purchased this book!

I missed the release of this one, I think I will slip it into my next order!

This book is simply fantastic.

No it isn't.......ssssshhh!!! LOL

Does anyone know where it may still be available? Seems to be sold out every where. Thanks.

Looks like Penguin has it:
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/5260