Hi All,

In conjunction with the special supersaver offer I just ran, a number of people contacted me who had either already purchased some of the products or wanted only half of the items on offer.

As such, I am opening a ANY 3 for $30 offer - choose any THREE of the supersaver items for just $30.

(Please let me know what you'd like in your Paypal instructions or by email).

As before, if any of the e-books you choose come with a bonus item, that bonus will be included in this special offer.

Click here for full details.

Cheers guys

AM

Can someone who has purchased it put a review on some of these e-books? Thanks.

Hi - several reviews have been posted on the Café about the contents of many of these e-books.
Wisdom Begins in Wonder was a combination of new effects and updated effects from other titles of mine namely the 3 e-books Dare To Be Remarkable, Jokers Not Included and 'Twas The Illusion They Loved. Here is Tom Frame's review of The Dare To Be Remarkable e-book on the Genii forum (this comprises just 6 of the 35 effects within Wisdom Begins In Wonder):

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Dare to be Remarkable

Well now, how’s that for a taunting, grandiose title? Fortunately, this collection of card magic by Andrew Murray lives up to its provocative appellation.

Mr. Murray writes well and does a good job of teaching the material. The photos are clear and helpful. He dutifully provides attribution and includes a handy Sleights Bibliography.

Every time that you want to read this ebook, you must enter your secret password. ***, another password to forget! But, I empathize with Mr. Murray’s security concerns. In the grand scheme of things, the password issue is only a minor hassle.

Tyros are hereby forewarned. The material in these pages requires an intermediate level of technical prowess.


F.T.W.: Three cards are freely selected, signed and held in a face-down packet in the performer’s hand. He removes four Kings from his pocket and places them face-up on top of the face-down signed selections. He turns three of the Kings face-down, places them on the bottom of the packet and then he flips the packet over.
The performer turns the uppermost King face-down and places it in his right outer side jacket pocket. He removes the next face-down King and places it in his outer left side jacket pocket. He displays another King, then places it face-down in his top outer breast pocket. He flips the final King face-up on top of the packet and taps the packet against his three pockets that are holding the Kings.
He immediately flips over the remaining cards, revealing the three other Kings. With empty hands, he removes the signed selections from his pockets.

This is the author’s very impressive version of John Carey’s effect, “W.T.F.”. Mr. Murray employs a devious technique that was used in the Bannon/Aronson/Solomon effect “Among the Discards”.
When I first read this technique, I feared that it was too discrepant to go unnoticed. But after performing this effect several times, I was delighted to discover that the technique aroused no suspicion, and the crowd was blown away. I really like it.


Though of Card in Wallet: The performer places an unknown card in his inner breast pocket. A participant freely names any card, say the Two of Hearts. The performer spreads the deck toward him and cuts it as he comments on the participant’s selection.
He reminds the crowd of the card that he placed in his pocket at the beginning. He reaches into his pocket and removes the card, which is a Joker. The performer feebly remarks that “Jokers are wild.” and the crowd groans. With an empty hand, he removes his wallet from his pocket, unzips the compartment and removes the Two of Hearts.

Version #2: The performer riffles the deck and asks participant #1 to say “stop” as she glimpses a card. He hands the deck to this participant as he asks participant #2 to think of any card. The performer retrieves the deck from participant #1, removes an unknown card and places it in his pocket. He correctly identifies participant #1’s card as the Seven of Hearts. .

Participant #2 names any card, say the Six of Spades. The performer spreads through the deck and cuts it, commenting on her selection. He removes a card from his pocket and shows that it is the Seven of Hearts. He removes his wallet from his pocket, unzips the compartment and removes the Six of Clubs.

In both versions of the effect, a suitable “Card to Wallet” wallet is required. You must also be adept at palming.
I’m troubled by the fact that after the participant names any card, the performer must look through the deck and cut it. This is a suspicious, procedurally unmotivated action and the author’s justification is weak. I believe that the participant must realize that the performer is looking for her card. This awareness may help her to reconstruct the method. I don’t like it.


Twice as Nice: Two participants freely select cards, which are lost in the deck. The performer turns the deck face-up and asks the participants if the face card, the King of Clubs, is one of their cards. They inform him that it isn’t their card. He removes the King of Clubs, flips the deck face-down and uses the King of Clubs to flip the top card of the deck, the King of Spades face-up. The participants deny that it is their card. He places the King of Clubs beneath the King of Spades and flips both cards face-down onto the deck.
The performer places the top card of the deck onto participant #1’s palm and the next card onto the palm of participant #2. The participants sandwich the cards between their palms as the performer disposes of the deck. He touches each participant’s hands with one of his hands and then reveals that he is holding a card in each hand. He turns the cards over, revealing the black Kings. The participants name their selections, separate their hands and discover that they are holding their selected cards.

This is a powerful, well constructed effect that gains even more strength because the magic occurs in the participants’ hands. They will swoon at their experience of the performer “stealing” and “replacing” cards while they are securely holding them. I really like it.


Three: A participant freely peeks at a card. The participant riffles the corner of the deck and the performer peeks at a card. The performer removes his card from the deck and holds it face-down. He hands the deck to his participant and she removes her card. She reveals that her card is the Nine of Clubs and the performer displays his card, the Nine of Spades.
The participant selects another card. The performer merely thinks of a card. He names his card and it is the same card that was selected by his participant.
The performer spreads the faces of the cards toward him, remembers a card and names it aloud. Let’s say it’s the Ten of Diamonds. He shuffles the deck, spreads it face-down between his hands and asks his participant to say “stop”. He breaks the spread at that point and turns packet face-up to show that the participant has selected the Ten of Diamonds.

This is an effective three phase routine that becomes more baffling as it proceeds. It also exemplifies how a performer can connect with a participant in an entertaining, mystifying manner. I like it.


Propulsion: A participant freely selects and signs a card, which is lost in the deck. The performer hands her a balloon and asks her to blow it up and tie off the end. He riffles the deck toward the balloon and asks her to shake the balloon. She hears something rattling around inside. The performer removes a hatpin and pops the balloon. On the floor, amidst the burst balloon bits, the participant spies a folded card. She unfolds it and discovers her signed selection.

This is a fine addition to the “Card in Balloon” catalog. Mr. Murray employs Mark Jenest’s sly method for creating the sound within the balloon. The card makes its appearance thanks to the author’s clever Pressure Production. The technique is a bit knacky, but its potential applications are well worth the practice. I like it.


Reset Redone: The performer displays a packet of four face-down cards. He removes the bottom card and shows that it is the King of Diamonds. He drops it face-down on top of the packet and immediately turns it face-up, showing that it has transformed into a Joker. He turns it face-down and deals it to the table. He removes the bottom card of the packet, displays the King of Spades and drops it face-down onto the packet. He turns it face-up and reveals that it has transformed into a Joker. He turns it face-down and deals it to the table.
The performer removes the bottom card and turns it face-up on the packet, displaying the King of Clubs. He flips the King face-down on the packet. He turns the cards face-up and reveals that the final two Kings have transformed in Jokers. He flips the cards face-down and drops them on top of the two tabled cards.
He picks up the packet, turns it face-up and shows that the Jokers have instantly transformed back into Kings. The performer removes the four Jokers from different pockets and places them face-up on top of the King packet. Instantly, the Kings vanish and he is left holding only the Jokers. With empty hands, he removes the Kings from four different pockets.

This is Mr. Murray’s terrific version of Paul Harris’s “Reset”. The author was inspired by David Stone’s work on this popular trick. Lordy, this effect is jam-packed with a whole lotta magic! The crowd’s eyeballs will pop out on stalks like a coterie of crustaceans. I really like it.


V.I.P.: The performer waves his hand over the face-down deck and an Ace appears face-up on top. He turns the Ace face-down onto the deck. Upon turning the Ace face-up, the other three Aces instantly appear face-up.

The author was inspired to develop this method after he witnessed Denis Behr perform his “Bloom Production”. Thankfully, Mr. Murray’s method is much easier. This is tasty, visually startling eye candy. I like it.


Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of card magic. I’m very impressed by the author’s thinking and creativity. Andrew Murray has thrown down the gauntlet. So screw your courage to the sticking place and Dare to be Remarkable!


Highly Recommended

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This is Caleb Wiles' review of the same material :

When you start out in magic, you perform very simple effects. Over time you start complicating things as you learn more and more about the craft. Then, there comes a point when you realize that the best magic is simple and direct and you return to tricks like those offered here. Here’s a rundown of each one:

FTW- This is a quick cards to pocket transposition type of effect based on John Carey’s WTF Interchange. Four Kings are produced and three cards selected and signed. Three of the Kings are placed into different pockets. This leaves the magician holding the three selections and the “leader King.” With a snap, the magician reveals that he is now holding all of the Kings. The signed selections are now in the magician’s pockets.

This trick is dead easy to do; it’s more about rhythm than anything else. You must, however, be very careful to make sure that it is super clear to the spectator where everything supposedly is during the routine. I can’t imagine performing this as a one-off effect since it requires three cards to be signed, but I could see this making a nice addition to a longer routine. Of course, the cards do not have to be signed, but I think it adds to the impossibility in this case.

Thought of Card in Wallet- This was my favorite effect in the book. It’s nothing wildly original, but there are a few small touches that make this play very nicely. It takes what is usually reserved as an “out” for when a trick goes wrong and makes it into a solid performance piece.

Twice as Nice- This is another transposition type of effect. Two cards are selected and lost in the deck. The magician introduces the two black Kings and gives one to each spectator to hold between their hands. He then reaches under their hand and produces a card in each hand: they are the two black Kings that the spectators were holding. The spectators look at the cards between their hands. They have transformed into the two selections.

This is a strong effect for laymen. While this is essentially another version of “the wrong card turns into the right card” plot, the added element of “removing” the Kings from the spectators hands kicks the effect up a notch.

Three- First, the spectator and the magician both “peek” at a card in the deck. They each remove their cards. They are perfect mates. Next the spectator says ‘stop’ at a card and remembers it. The magician thinks of a card and reveals its identity piece by piece. The spectator reveals that this is the card she is thinking of as well. Finally, the magician says that this time he will name the card he is thinking of first. Suppose he names the Ten of Hearts. The spectaor selects one last card. It is the Ten of Hearts.

This is the kind of effect that won’t fool anyone with even a basic knowledge of card magic, but would make a laymen’s head explode! It is a strong coincidence effect that builds with each of its three phases. I especially like the extra idea described in the notes section that makes it seem as if you knew the card that the spectator would ultimately pick before you ever even started the trick.

Propulsion- This is a folded card in balloon effect similar to “Pop” from the Daniel Garcia Project Vol. 6 DVD. Andrew credits Garcia in his comments section, but this seems to be a case of independent invention. There are differences in the approach both men take to the effect, but the basic principle is the same.

Thanks to an idea by Mark Jenest, the spectator can hold the balloon from the beginning. When they later shake the balloon, they can hear something rattling around inside. When the balloon is burst, a folded card falls to the table. It is the signed selection. Since the balloon must be popped, you obviously wouldn’t want to do this in a restaurant situation, but it would play nicely on the street or perhaps in a parlour performance.

Reset Redone- This is a version of “Reset” with a cards to pocket double kicker. The effect has been tackled before by David Stone and Jack Carpenter. Briefly, four Kings are displayed. One by one, they change into Jokers. Instantly, they then change back into Kings. The magician reveals that the Jokers have traveled to four different pockets. This is the first kicker. The magician then explains that the Jokers weren’t the only cards to travel to his pockets. He spreads the cards in his hands to reveal only the four Jokers. The Kings are then pulled out from four separate pockets.

This is probably the most difficult routine in the book as it requires two Gambler’s Cops. That’s not that bad considering that the audience sees eight individual cards fly to your pockets. By the way, while there is some preparation involved, the effect requires only the cards mentioned in the description. There are no duplicates.

V.I.P.- This bonus item is a quick four Ace production that is relatively easy to do. The first Ace is produced with a color change and the others are instantly produced in the manner of a flash Ace production. There are many similar versions of this kind of thing in print. However, if you don’t currently have one in your arsenal, this one is quite nice.

If you read a description of one of the above effects and thought that you knew how the trick was done… you’re probably right. There is really nothing new here in terms of technique. This is a book full of simple plots and simple methods meant for use in the real world. However, while the methods are simple, that doesn’t mean that they are always easy. The ebook assumes you have intermediate card handling ability.

You will have to decide for yourself if this book suits your needs. If you are looking for the latest trick or for interesting methods to show your magician friends, you will be disappointed by the material. On the other hand, if you are searching for a few well structured routines to use in practical situations, I think you’ll find something of use.

Recommended.

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What struck me in particular at the time is how different each reviewer reviewed the Thought Of Card In Wallet effect - how's that for a difference of opinion?!

Here's the unsolicited feedback I received from Joel Givens when he purchased FATED from me:

"Great trick dude! Something I'll definitely use."

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Can re-post more if you like or you can send me a PM and I can do it that way.

Most recent feedback I received was this morning in a personal email from a customer in Dubai who bought all 6 e-books in my $45 SUPERSAVER deal this weekend.

Dear Andrew,

Sorry for the late response. I just got back from a vacation.

Thank you so much for the ebooks. From what I have read so far, the material seems pretty BAD ASS!

These books have gained you another fan

regards from Brunei Darussalam.
Nadzri

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I hope these feedbacks will give you some peace of mind regarding any purchase you were planning...?

Cheers

Andrew

Sorry for my late reaction, but thank you a lot for your detailed information!

Andrew's stuff is really well thought out. Really good stuff in his e-books!

I Agree.

I have Trinity and some other items from Andrew, and his effects are really thought out.

I use at least 2 effects of Andrews in my work.

$30 for 3 ebooks is great.

alex

Thanks Cameron for the kind words!

[quote]On 2013-02-23 17:37, BMWGuy wrote:
I Agree.

I have Trinity and some other items from Andrew, and his effects are really thought out.

I use at least 2 effects of Andrews in my work.

$30 for 3 ebooks is great.

And thank you Alex.

Trinity is one of my favourite routines .

At one time or another I have used all of the routines that I publish.
That way I can attest to their effectiveness and can fine tune the mechanics long before anything is ever published!

And thank you Alex.

Trinity is one of my favourite routines .

At one time or another I have used all of the routines that I publish.
That way I can attest to their effectiveness and can fine tune the mechanics long before anything is ever published!