I dig, man.

mark

I just bought it and it's ok. It's a nice piece of work to own for historical interest but nowhere near as good as Theatre of the Mind or Stunners.

I won't comment on Stunners but do you seriously think that Theater of The Mind has more performable material than Prism? I seriously think that you should trt out some of these effects. I am putting at least 5 of them in circulation.

I found every item in Theater of the Mind to be very performable. So unless PRISM is the same, then no (but I don't own it so I'm only commenting on Theater of the Mind.) Though I have been tempted to buy it, I think ill hold off for awhile as far as buying it goes.

Scott

After reading thru Prism a few more times, there are several routines that I believe would play well and are worth further study.
Be aware though, before you purchase, that almost 1 out of every 6 items (9 of 53) require either a stooge, an instant stooge, or are a 2 person code effect.
I was not expecting that which may have led to my initial lukewarm reaction.

There were only a few effects in Prism that would think about doing but I think what I like most about the book was Maxs presentations, fantsatic.

Man this book is great.... The best book I have got over the last year.

Amazing anD soooooo easy. well, apart form the patter.

I always get much more out of Max's books than just tricks. I find them incredibly stimulating, both intellectually and creatively. So either I end up with some great effects from his books, or his thinking sends me off on a new tangent where I can create something wonderful. That's what I think.

I think PRISM is fantastic. As someone pointed out, if you can get one workable routine out of a book, your money was well spent.

Of the 53 effects in this book, I've identified 17 that are worthy of closer attention. Now - that's 17 for me - you may find more or less. It's largely a function of your performing style. In the end, I probably won't adopt all of them but to find 17 to choose from is amazing.

None of my favorites use stooges, by the way. I have nothing against them, I just have trust issues.

Perhaps therapy...

Much of the routines in the book still stand the test of time today. I think the purpose of the book is not to give one a new complicated methodology of achieving an effect. In fact it was emphasised in the book that for effective mentalism the plot/theme will need to be refreshing and entertaining - and that's what one should learn from the book. Plus, in a performance setting, the best way is always the simplest and I think the methodology somewhat dictates the principles used behind the effects. You can see his's thinking is advanced when it written in 20s at that time when the first few books were written.

Anyone performing the four dided triangle? I was going ti premere it last week but it didn't make the cut because of time. It sounds like a good and KISS type of routine.

Michael

Never used it ued a similiar principle. During pre-show I used a blank palying card stock with names of animals to force shark on a spectator. After a few drawing duplications like Jaks or Better (love that routine) I ask if a woman has a an animal in mind, I ask if she wrote it down or told anyone she says no. Then after some build up and an attempt to lead the audience astray, I reveal my drawing of a shark, slays them....

Another book on my to get list this is getting expensive

I have used a variation of Desire for three shows (with blank palying card stock and it is a huge hit with audiences). I thought it would be a great warm up but it really packs a wallop! If you have not tried it yet, you should!

IMHO, move this book up to the front of the list.

I have always steered clear of mentalism but bought this book because it had an interesting cover (and I wanted to see what all this 'mentalism' fuss was about )

I have to say, I am very impressed with this book and it has changed my whole outlook on mentalism.

I will definitely use gems from this.

"Desire" still a big crowd pleaser (at show number 4). Planning on using it again at a small Library show Wednesday!

CurrentlY using "Squarot" as a lead in to my card stab!

The original color books were great and Prism is even better.

Aside from the new cover, what makes this hard cover verson of the color books better?

I've got all of the color books. Why buy a spiffy new hardcover book; unless Max has added some material, or even rewritten some of the effects.

Anybody here care to do a "compare and contrast" here?

New cover, new illustrations. Other than all being in the same cover, there's not much different.

Mark