I've never seen this book mentioned on The Café, so I thought I'd offer a brief review, as it could be of interest to those of you who use the Aronson Stack. I don't know the author and didn't receive a free copy!

"It All Depends" is a substantial (111 page) ebook of routines using the Aronson Stack. These are not memorised deck routines as such, but rather, stacked deck effects that take advantage of the Aronson Stack order. If you enjoyed the "Unpacking the Stack" chapter of Simon Aronson's "Try the Impossible" - then that's the sort of material we're talking about. In fact, Eric offers his work on several of the routines that appear in that chapter of Simon's book. I found Eric's work on these routines to be very worthwhile, as he's taken effects that previously required a fair amount of table space and reworked them into commercial, up in the hands, routines that can be performed without a table. His "Double Mindreading Deck", for instance, takes the Mindreading Deck routines from "Try the Impossible" as the starting point to create a very strong multi climax routine that's all in the hands and totally practical for real world close-up gigs.

The only negative I had about Eric's routines is that few are performed directly from Aronson Stack, they often require a card or two to be slipped into different positions first. That said, there are lots of really interesting concepts for those who work with the Aronson Stack to play with and at least three routines that I thought were real workers. Eric has clearly worked this material and his focus is on routines that maintain the stack, which is essential at a professional strolling gig where you need to perform the same effects again for other groups. It's certainly a steal at only $10 from Vanishing Inc.

http://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-d......depends/

Sean

Thank you for posting this review. Is it possible for you to post a table of contents from the book?
I will pick this up when I can.

Thanks

Rob

Hi Rob,

I can't find a table of contents I can link to, but it probably wouldn't mean a lot by itself anyway! There are 7 chapters, covering things like Ace Productions, Mindreading Deck, The Destination Stack ... etc.

You asked about entire suit productions in the other thread and, no, you won't find one in this book either.

Sean

Thanks for your effort Sean.

I got this e-book nearly a year ago and concur that it is great. Brilliant even. If you work with the Aronson Stack than you really should consider purchasing this one. Even if you never use any of the actual routines (and I bet you will, because there are several good ones) the thinking that went into this piece of work is outstanding. It really takes the Aronson Stack to a new level in many ways. And, at $10.00, it is a steal.

Paul

Could this one be interesting for someone like me who learned the Tamariz stack ?

That's an easy one to answer ... No.

It may inspire you to try and work out similar sequences in the Tamairiz stack, but all the routines are stack specific and rely on the positions of the cards in the Aronson stack.

Hey Sean and Paul,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad that the material is being enjoyed by other Aronson stack fans!

As far as the book’s usefulness to Tamariz stack users:

I agree with Sean that the routines might inspire you to create similar effects. I am confident that this is possible with some work and creativity.

However, there is good information in the book for using a stack in walk-around performances and these ideas apply to any stack. So I feel that there is enough in the book for anyone who uses a memorized deck to make it worth a look. But that’s my obviously biased opinion!

If anyone has any questions about the material please feel free to PM me.

Eric

Are there any "generic" memorized deck effects?

Hi Dimazales,

The effects all depend on the specific order of the Aronson stack.

There is a chapter with information on how to manage a stacked deck in strolling performances that apply to any stack.

Eric

Very cool, I will get and check it out , probably Monday. Thanks Eric.

You're welcome. I hope you enjoy the book!

Hey guys! Which are your favourite effects from this book?