I just finished reading Strong Magic and I'm about a third of the way through The Magic Of Ascanio.

Strong Magic was superb. I had trouble putting it down and I plan on referring to it again and again over the years. It was extremely motivating as well. It was well written and a pleasure to read. In fact--it read like a good suspense novel.

So far--I think The Magic of Ascanio is brilliant. There are some novel concepts that I have never heard anyone talk about before. The book is incredibly motivating.

I think I already put this on another topic, but I need to put this here:


If you want some theory in Presentation, this is THE BEST BOOK IN THEORY OF MAGIC THAT I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUY IT, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTING IN THEORY...BECAUSE IF YOU OPEN THE BOOK, YOU WILL READ ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finish this book about two days ago ( I read it in SPANISH )... and I'm starting to re-read all the book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm doing all the writing I can!

BUY THE ASCANIO BOOK NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the best,

:bikes: Mesquita

I am only about 50-60 pages into this book. I got it last night after seeing Rafael Benetar lecture and I must say I am very happy about purchasing this book. I can't wait to finish it and apply the concepts to my magic. Also, if Rafael is in your area lecturing, do yourself a favor and go see him. Ascanio's thinking plays a major part in his magic and if you want to see ideas in this book put to work, go see his lecture!

Larsen

Just about finished with the Ascanio book. If you put thought into your magic instead of just learning tricks you'll want this book.

Hi all,

Thought I would add this in. Stevens Magic is selling the book, and for a limited time, they are adding a free copy of the Greater Magic Video of the Magic of Ascanio along with it. Hard to beat that.

Have a good one,

Bob Phillips

http://www.stevensmagic.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=6465

This is a great book. does anyone know when the rest of the series will be available?

I have a question for those who have read the book. Can you cite a concrete example of some way in which the book improved your magic? For instance, is there something that you used to do that you now do differently (or not at all) as a direct result of reading Ascanio's book?

The reason I ask is not to criticize Ascanio, I just find that a lot of people walk away from lectures or books that discuss a lot of theory saying "Wow, that was amazing, it really changed the way I look at magic", but then do nothing differently than they did before.

So, I open the floor to you guys. How has the Ascanio book improved the quality of the magic you actually perform?

Paul

You must not only read but STUDY Ascanio.
You will learn WHY the Magic happens, what the magic atmosphere is, you'll learn Structure, deceptiveness... You'll understand magic.

Jandro

Jandro,

How has that understanding of magic changed the way you perform? What do you do differently now that you've studied Ascanio?

Paul

That question, of course, is open to anyone.

Paul, perhaps your question is directed to those who have read The Magic of Ascanio some time ago and have had time to distill the information and apply it. I have almost finished my second reading since I received it several weeks ago, so my interpretation of what is in the book, and that of others who have read it years ago, will be at two different levels of understanding.

Anyone who has an interest in the theory of magic will have come across much of this information in previous readings. I believe the beauty of The Magic of Ascanio is that this information has been distilled by Ascanio and others who associated with Ascanio over the years into a mentality (the Spanish school) that incorporates and encompasses all of those elements necessary for truly magical performance.

What I am gathering is that Ascanio helped to produce a group of magicians who not only desired to perform tricks, but create magical and substantive works - his influence being primarily on this approach to card magic.

Now, I can't give a concrete example of how my magic has improved, because it hasn't yet. But what this book has done for me is give me hope that it is possible, even with a deck of cards, to create a magical atmosphere that will be engaging to an audience. I had no idea the impact Ascanio had on the magic environment in Spain, but it is clear in reading this work that, at least while he was alive, there was a group of magicians in Spain exploring this art of ours a little deeper than some of us are currently doing here in the U.S.

The ideas in The Magic of Ascanio need to be applied to every piece of magic that we attempt. I don't know about you Paul, but I have very few pieces in my repertoire (I have only been involved in magic for about five years), but I have already begun the process of starting over and looking at my work with more severe eyes. As Ascanio says, it can take years before a piece of magic is ready for an audience. I wonder how many "magicians" can work that patiently.

One thing that I'm doing less of is reading the magic boards (clearly I've read this post though). Having begun my study of Ascanio, the discussions mostly seem so trivial.

The concepts expressed by Ascanio in this work are not easily assimilated, but then performing magic is not easy.

The concepts as expressed by Ascanio must be addressed every time we think about magic. Theory is not a separate topic for consideration at some distant time in the future. Theory begins at the beginning. It is one of many considerations we must utilize constantly in our never ending work towards perfection in our magic - and, of course, it never will be perfect - but we must keep trying.

When Ascanio's accompanying volumes come out, they will be much more popular because they will include tricks. And, this text will be overlooked by many, as it is now.

When I finish my second reading, I will begin again. As my understanding of Ascanio's words increases, so will my magic - I hope.

By the way, the Erdnase quote at the end of your posts kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Dan,

You've got a good point. It probably IS a bit soon after the release of the book for me to be expecting miracle stories. However, it sounds like, as a result of reading the book, you're going back through your repertoire and reevaluating things and that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

That said, I think you're probably the exception rather than the rule. I've heard countless times (and said it more than a few times myself) that some book or lecture or essay was "amazing". What I rarely see is people who are impressed with another magicians thinking citing any way in which that thinking has changed the way they actually perform. Someone may think "Strong Magic", "Maximum Entertainment", or "Magic of Ascanio" is brilliant, and it may even change the way they THINK about magic, but unless it also changes the way they select tricks for their repertoire and perform those tricks, it's empty theory.

I know that I've definately fallen into this trap. I read both "Strong Magic" and "Maximum Entertainment" and nodded my head throughout thinking "This is really brilliant stuff." I would be lying, though, if I said that I approached magic significantly differently now than I did before I read the books. That raises the question: how qualified would my review of these books be? For all I really know, the ideas could be claptrap and if I applied them to my magic I'd get worse. I doubt this is the case, but I've got no objective way to know, just my gut feeling (even if it's a reliable feeling).

I could be vastly overgeneralizing, taking my own personal experience and making the too-large assumption that most other people are like me.

Since it is so soon, maybe I should ask a different question. For those of you who've read the book and liked what Ascanio had to say (which is apparently everyone who's read it), what do you PLAN on doing differently now? It would also be interesting for some people to check back in six months and say whether they followed through with their plans.

Paul

I am about to receive this book, so I too would be interested in hearing opinions regarding the question Paul posed. It will give me something to look forward to (or not)!

Paul,

I don't have the ascanio book but I can cite a couple of examples of practical things I got from theory books like Strong Magic and Tamariz Five points of magic.

In Strong magic, Ortiz suggests not turning the card right away to reveal it but rather pause for a brief moment, show it to one half of the crowd and then to the half of the crowd where the volunteer who picked the card is located. This adds a little bit to the anticipation of the revelation and prolongs the applause. Since I read that I've been doing it with success.

In 5 points, Tamariz suggests always keeping contact with the crowd by imagining little threads connecting your eyes to them and making sure you don't break these threads either by looking at them or by displaying the props to them. That's also something I've been working on to increase the overall audience involvement.

Just a few examples of practical things I got from these "theory" books...

I don't think you should read these books and then immediately completely change your style of performance. That will hurt you. Work on a few tips until you've mastered them and then revisit the books and find something new to work on and keep at it...

Jean-Luc

Ascanio's theories are not just pipe dreams that make you say, "Ah, that is really clever and creative," or "Wow, he really knew a lot about magic." Just one example is his theory regarding the final revelation in an effect. I suppose I had some thoughts about this and sort of knew why I did what I did, but Ascanio's teaching made me reevaluate how and why I did what I did. I changed one little thing, and that has made all the difference regarding impact.

Some will say that HOW you reveal the climax isn't all that important. I can assure you, from practical working experience in thousands of paid shows and thousands more unpaid, that this is not the case. It can be the difference between the audience thinking, "That was nice " and thinking, "What the...? Holy crap!"

At one point in the book, he also discusses how, when he was younger, he would learn a routine by Vernon or Slydini or whoever and immediately start to change it "to suit" him. Then he would go out and perform it and wonder why he wasn't getting better reactions--realize that something was missing. he would gradually tinker with it and finally come full circle, to performing it (technically, although perhaps not presentationally) just as the creator made it. His point was that, before we begin to change a trick, we must make sure that we thoroughly UNDERSTAND the trick and WHY we are making changes. How often have we been guilty of changing a routine without understanding it fully, have it not play as well as we'd hoped, only to discard it because it "wasn't that great." this is something Vernon talked about, too, and is certainly not a new concept or theory, but read in its entirety and applied, it can't help but improve your magic.

I think this is a wonderful book. It's very interesteing and readable, easy to understand and compelling. I meant to lightly read five or ten pages while I was waiting for my meal to be delivered at a restaurant and ended up staying there for several hours, reading, rereading, taking notes and "mulling over!"

My unreserved highest recommendation goes to this volume.

Just reading Ascanio isn't enough.
You have to Study it and assimilate it.

Jandro

So it's a theory book like Strong Magic?
are the other 2 volumes ( I heard it's a trilogy ) gonna be reprinted??

I am amazed at how differently the Spanish mind works compared to all that I know (the American mind). I have many books on theory and really enjoy them. I always get new tips and ideas from all. This book is different. It encourages us to make a commitment to REGULARLY practicing. On a real schedule> Daily! Even we who are amateurs. If your view of magic is tricks, then this is a necessary, important read. If you see magic as a total entertainment Experience, this will help you to focus and develop. Sometimes, by defining terms eg., the phases of learning, concept of cover and degrees of misdirection, I am suddenly able to internalize and assimilate them. This has caused somewhat of a paradigm shift for my thinking, practicing as well as my working. It has drastically altered if and how I select new routines.
Joe

Anyone know at what rate the follow-ups are likely to be released?

This book has just arrived here in the UK. It's a bit pricey... Anyone have any further thoughts to inform my possible purchase?