My excuses for thinking you were being sarcastic. I actually thought it was a funny line

I#m also in germany ...... and still waiting ((((

Received it two days ago (in Germany, too).

Two favorites so far:

- The variation of Bannon Triumph. I smiled a lot when I first went through the routine yesterday. Very convincing up/down shuffles and displays, and technically absolutely doable for an ambitious hobbyist.

- The New Darwin Wild Card. The best (most entertaining, most convincing) wild card effect that I know, maybe even better than Tommy Wonder's Tamed Card that has been my favorite so far. I fooled myself several times. Never tried the original Darwin Wild Card, though, so I can't say how much of an improvement it is.

I received my book today here in Germany. It turned out that the book got stuck in customs....

Hope they didn't read it... no, lousy payment, poor English, no risk... Jan

I just received it - looks gorgeous.

Has anyone performed “Limitless” yet?

I find it to have a great impact on audiences.

The only issue I had was “how to get into it”. I did not like Darwin’s idea of getting the needed information on the fly so to speak, so I perform it after “Liar’s Poker” from Scams & Fantasies. At the end of this trick, you can gather all the information you need to go into “Limitless”.

If you have some other ideas on how to get the required info, please let me know.

Along those lines, the billion dollar brain looks good as well I have yet to try it though, I need to script it.

Still waiting in Germany :/

I just received it- in belgium

Mine arrived last week in Germany. I guess, german customs is responsible for much of the shipping delays.

I recived my copy today in Sweden, and looking very much foreward to read it.

My deluxe edition arrived in Australia last week. It is a thing a beauty to hold and I love the positively 5th street redux for my gambling friends!
Now just to polish up my mem deck work.

Anyone still on the fence about my new book Lessons in Card Mastery might want to check out Jason England’s review in the February issue of MAGIC Magazine. I’ll take the liberty of quoting a couple of sentences:

“It contains some of the strongest card magic I’ve come across in years.”

and also:

“I’ll put it bluntly: buy this book.”

You can still purchase autographed copies directly from me. Contact me at the email address below.

Sincerely,
Darwin Ortiz

I can't imagine being on the fence with this one, but I surely can imagine being flat out broke.

Mine arrived a short while ago, I am always amazed how quickly things get to the UK from the States, years ago it took ages.

Anyway, superb book, just oozes quality in both the book itself and the text. I like the way Darwin writes about the magic, it is thoughtful; not just a set of instructions for tricks.

Thank you Darwin.

Hi krazykat,

I’m sorry that I overlooked your post and have taken so long to respond. All I can tell you is that, while I plan to reprint both books, I don’t have any timetable in mind. I can’t narrow it down any further than “eventually.”

Sincerely,
Darwin Ortiz

I'm a non-performing hobbyist who enjoys the intellectual challenge of magic. What gets me excited isn't always the effect, but the thought process in how the inventor achieves the desired result. And Mr. Ortiz's new book is the best book I've purchased since John Bannon's "Dear Mr. Fantasy."

Truth be told, I wasn't always a fan of Mr. Ortiz's performance style, at least in the early tapes I bought from A-1. But I suppose that's the age-old argument of books vs. video - the benefit of the written word is we see the effect stripped of inflection, cadence and delivery. There's no place, not the cloak of performance chutzpah, for weak effects to hide. And with "Lessons in Card Mastery," I was delighted over and over again with every page.

The mystification-to-directness of method ratio in "One Shot, One Kill" is like 100-to-1. The methodology behind "Hard Target," as Mr. Ortiz noted in the credits, is so ingenious and implausible that it's just better to sit back and enjoy (with a tip of the hat to Mr. Aronson). "Sorcerer's Apprentice" is a blink-and-you'll-miss gem tucked away in the back pages, but it's an effect that any newcomer to memorized deck magic should tackle. It emotionally engages the spectator, which really, is the secret to getting big reactions.

And I haven't even worked through Positively Fifth Street yet, which so many people on this thread has praised. I can't wait.

(If there's one criticism, it's an aesthetic one: I wished the jacket cover was better designed to match the elegance of the interior. I work in publishing; I notice these sort of things.)

The year is young, but this is the best book I've purchased this year. If there's a better book I buy in 2013, then that's great, which means there would be a book even better than Mr. Ortiz's latest. That's an awfully high bar set.

Kevin

How many of the effects in the book are suitable for strolling work compared to more "at the table"/formal pieces? Also, are a lot of the routines gambling related?

Still looking for a reply for my above question