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NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Mindstorm is the new book by Sean Taylor and is his first on the subject of mentalism. Sean, who entertains in the Australian corporate scene, has put the last ten years into this book and the work shows.
Mindstorm covers a variety of different performance venues including parlour, close up and stage. It has all been designed for the working performer and, as such, plays very well for a lay audience. The highlights of the book for me are his tossed out deck, bank night and a fantastic newspaper prediction that plays for a massive crowd. In the tossed out deck, there are several great subtleties and details that make this utterly convincing. If you enjoyed Wayne Dobson's tossed out deck, you'll love this. The bank night manages to make mentalism funny without trivialising it. There is also the instructions on how to make a GREAT, if somewhat fiddly, double envelope as well as several routines for it. I've always felt, that one of Sean's great strengths is using psychology and presentation in getting simple methods to play convincingly. As an ex-magician, Sean has also included several mental magic effects including a great comedy lock performance, several presentations of 'pineapple surprise' and a great Jumbo card trick. Pineapple surprise has been my in my case for the past five years and gets a regular performance. The comedy lock presentation is a wonderful failure effect that, when I saw it performed live, had me thinking my ring was permanently locked on a titanium padlock! However, the highlight of the book is the first few chapters that explore the business and philosophy of mentalism and the importance of separating yourself from being 'a magician' when performing. Sean makes a brutal assessment of magic today and how mentalists can benefit by separating themselves from sometimes cheesy perception of magic. Both mentalists and magicians could learn a lot from reading the first couple of chapters alone! It's a great book from a straight talking, no BS performer who cuts to chase and cuts out the filler. DISCLAIMER: I've known Sean for many years and have seen him perform and lecture many times. I am reviewing this book because:- a) I know Sean b) it's a good book. |
Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
Nick
Thank you, that is a great review. Tony |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Except I got the name of the book wrong...mindstormS!
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Piers Inner circle A Limited Edition of 1394 Posts |
www.justgiving.com/piers-cancer-fund www.justgiving.com/Piers-Cancer-Fund-2 www.justgiving.com/Piers-Cancer-Fund-3 Finished my 4 months of Chemotherapy in 2009. 3 monthly checks since... and into 2021! As seen on the QE2 and QM2. Author of Salem's Cornucopia - SUC Book |
Richard Paddon Loyal user 214 Posts |
These are my random thoughts:
I must preface my comments with a disclaimer. I am a friend of Sean’s and have discussed some of this material with him over the years. Even so, I do not give praise lightly or where it might be inappropriate. Sean has worked on the effects within MindStorms for some years, performing them, tweaking them and making them real world, working routines. I have watched Sean perform many of them (for magicians & lay audiences) and have seen how powerful they are and the extremely strong audience reactions they produce. I must also admit one more thing. Sean Taylor has fooled me with some of these routines. I was one of the first to see The Newspaper Prediction and it completely baffled me. The book is 220 pages hardbound. Foreword by Richard Webster. I thoroughly enjoyed reading MindStorms and will definitely be using a number of routines. The items which stand out for me include Tossed Deck, Survivor, the Newspaper Test, Persuasive Banknight, The Chair Prediction and Colossal Card Memory which personally, I hope goes unnoticed. The Chair Prediction is a great routine. It plays large to any size audience, is fun, has two separate impossible revelations and it fools. Many of the routines are of the “pack small – play large” style. This is a book from a working pro. The routines have been performed by Sean and are fully developed mentalism routines. In fact, some are still part of Sean’s corporate act! They include psychological convincers for people already working this kind of material, such as his additions to the tossed out deck. The explanations & descriptions are very detailed. Sean has included extra work & ideas for some of his previous releases – Pineapple Surprise and the wonderful Symbology Deck. The essays are very good and most informative if you are trying to become a working mentalist. I’m sure those who saw Sean perform some of these routines and lecture at MINDvention would not hesitate to obtain a copy. The price is $100 AUS mailed anywhere in the world & is available only from the author. When one considers the prices of many one-trick DVDs and ebooks containing four or five tricks, MindStorms has to be the mentalism bargain for this year. The table of contents: FOREWORD by Richard Webster PREFACE CHAPTER I. CROSSING OVER The move from Magic to Mentalism Introduction Performance The Business of Mentalism General Musings CHAPTER II. THE PRO-ENVELOPE Introduction Fruition Outside the Square Survivor – A Case of People Power CHAPTER III. THE CLASSICS Persuasive Banknight The BookMaster – The Sean Taylor Booktest Anchors Ahoy – The Tossed Out Deck News of the World – The Newspaper Test The Throne Room – The Chair Prediction CHAPTER IV. STAGE MENTALISM Pineapple Surprise Colossal Card Memory The Puzzle of the Puzzle CHAPTER V. PARLOUR MENTALISM Grandma’s Purse Mixed Emotions Time for Business Mind Change CHAPTER VI. THE SYMBOLOGY DECK Introduction Triple Coincidence The Paddo Stack Symbology Wow Symbology Shape Shifter EPILOGUE |
Kephri Regular user Stockholm Sweden 196 Posts |
Already wrote in the other tread I liked this book very much
and now when I've finally had time to read it all I must say I like it even more! Not often you find a book were you could find use of basically all of the material, but this book is such, and I like it extra beacuse Sean is not just telling you the effects but also how he found the way to them and his experiences from performing and testing them. This can only be done by a Mentalist that really is an experienced performer and there're few books around like this. For Sean I'm pleased to hear a second run is on the way and will find its way to hungry readers, but for myself I'd very much have what is in this book spread to a very small field as it's that good! Only one more thing to say, get it as you will not regret it! All the Best Magnus PS, I don't know Sean. |
mergardmagic New user 27 Posts |
I really don’t often post on the Café, but Mindstorms is completely worth the time to post. I’ve known Sean personally for a few years, and being one of the people that has both inspired and guided me through my own transition from magic to mentalism, I couldn’t wait to see what this book was like. Like all of the reviews, I was far from disappointed. Everything in the book is completely practical, easy to understand, and most, if not all are very easy to perform. Sean also takes a deep look into the business of mentalism in addition to discussing the performance aspect. This “worth the cost of admission” chapter at the beginning of the book is a precursor for the rest of the book.
Most mentalism and magic products have one “worth the cost of the product” effect or idea between their pages or chapters. In Mindstorms case, however, every effect is a “worth the cost” effect. Not only is the book easy to understand, but Sean shares presentational ideas and additional methods to assist the reader in performing these miracles immediately. The cost of Mindstorms is just a small price to pay for copious time-tested, meticulously crafted routines and presentational ideas from a true professional of mentalism. |
NeilS Inner circle 3225 Posts |
I have been trying to track this book down but so far without success. If someone has a copy and would not mind answering a question, I'd be grateful if they could please PM.
Thanks Neil |
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