Coming off the heels of his first hit book from 2013 entitled "Confident Deceptions", comes a continuation of the wonderfully creative card magic you have come to expect from Jason Ladanye as well as the Vanishing Inc Team (who also produced Confident Deceptions). The newest offering is "Game Changer" and the title is on par with the material offered within the covers of this new book. Clocking in at 350 glossy pages sprinkled with 225 full color, high def photos so you can follow along with the well written descriptions. This book, although only 111 pages longer than his first, is almost twice as thick but the same height and width so they will look great beside each other on your bookshelf.

Each contain 18 effects. "Game Changer" is split up in two sections. Section 1 is Magic Effects, of which there are 8 and section 2 is Gambling Effects, of which there are 10. The Forward is written by Michael Vincent who calls Jason's work "sensational" and likens the quality of this book to "Lessons in Card Mastery" by Darwin Ortiz (Incidentally, If you do not know about Jason, he was one of Darwin's best students while growing up and taking lessons from the Master Card Magician) so this compliment really is not a stretch.

"Game Changer" starts with a fairly in depth look at the "pinky count" which is one of his most used sleights (although you can do any of the effects in either book without, you can just replace with your favorite method). I will note that I NEVER was able to do a successful pinky count before reading his description in "Confident Deceptions" and now I can hit it more than 75% of the time. This description in "Game Changer" goes even deeper and adds photos to help. I am certain I will get it down soon). Later in the description of "Lucky Charms" he goes into a detailed explanation of the MCF too. In fact, all but the simplest sleights are taught and any that were not greatly detailed are referenced in common books like the "Card College" series. Which leads to the Question - Who is this book written for? Well, there is actually something in it for all skill levels. (He goes over this on a short Podcast he recently did about the book on the Vanishing Inc site). https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/blog/t......ladanye/ Take 26 minutes to listen for yourself, also, don't forget to check out Jason's blog which is full of great thought provoking posts. https://www.cardmagicbyjason.com/blog/

Jason does not put ant material in the book (either) for the sake of filling it up. Every effect is tested over years in front of lay-audiences and have been honed in every detail. If it does not meet his high standards, it doesn't make it to the book. Each effect is broken down into sections such as "Effect" - a brief description, "Set Up" - What needs done to start, "Method" - Very detailed with full color high def photos to help the reader understand fully, then a highlighted in silver/grey "Patter" section taking you thru the whole effect and finally "Comments" about the routine and it's nuances and "Credits" for ideas and sleights plus where to find many in print if you wist to explore it further.

Each routine is written in what I would call a "conversational" approach. While reading, it feels like he is telling you directly (and one on one) the workings rather than the standard "Textbook" feel that many magic books seem to have. Even if a particular effect is not one that would make it into "your particular act" there is still a lot there to learn that will help you in other aspects of your magic. The book finishes with a page and 3/4 of "Acknowledgements" to those who helped and inspired him.

Lover of great card magic that I am, "Confident Deceptions" rose quickly on my favorites list. "Game Changer" will certainly do the same after this first reading. Cannot recommend it enough.

Grab your Copy for only $60.00 from Vanishing Inc - https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic/......ladanye/
or direct from Jason - https://www.cardmagicbyjason.com/store/

Has anyone else had a chance to read thru this great card book yet? I am looking forward to hearing other's opinions on the contents, layout and "what not". I have really enjoyed it. Even though this book did not come with a DVD of some effects performed from the book (as Confident Deceptions did) there are videos "out there" Some on his ATT Lecture, as well as his lecture on Reel Magazine on demand.

Hey Pood-Daddy. I have! I've reviewed it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKfCy2zaT3c&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for your review

Ha! That was a bad typo!! Apologies!

That's a good review, Steve. Very helpful. Thanks for putting that together.

Thanks Wordsworth. Glad you liked it

I was impressed by Any at any number called "A Numbers Game". The performer has a deck all the time, but I thought it was pretty clever in a way not to use the dealing technique. Overall, it had impression that emphasizes procedure and presentation rather than method.

Kainoa Harbottle reviews Game Changer in the Feb 2019 issue of Genii.

Harbottle gives it a mixed review -- he's lukewarm on the magic half of the book, but much more enthusiastic about the gambling demo half.

While supplies last it is $24 + $1.99 shipping to the USA:

https://www.magicandsuch.com/product/gam......ladanye/

Was just going to post that! After my purchase, there are still 19 copies left. Great deal.