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Cameron Roat Special user Michigan 728 Posts |
The Complete Works of Derek Dingle by Richard Kaufman
Price: Out of Print Format: Hard Cover Author: Richard Kaufman Illustrator: Richard Kaufman Publisher: Kaufman and Greenberg Pages: 219 pp. Published: 1982 Difficulty: Medium-Difficult You know you’re safe with anything that carries the Kaufman name. The Complete Works of Derek Dingle is no exception. The material in this book is worthy of any performing magician’s repertoire; it’s what Derek Dingle has been using his entire life. The effects are not easy, and some of them aren’t the most practical, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty in here to quench your thirst for hard-hitting magic. This magnificent volume contains over 100 items with cards, coins, rubber bands, balls, balloons, cigarettes, and other objects. Derek Dingle was and is very famous for his technical expertise, his originality, and his professional routine structuring. Mr. Dingle has come up with many original sleights and routines, but he has also added his twist to quite a few classics. DD has many variants of the color-changing deck, some of which he has intertwined with other classics, such as Triumph (Deluxe Anytime Color Triumphant and Color Triumphant II) and All Backs (Technicolor All Backs and Triple Color-Changing All Backs Aces). There are also several variations of Dai Vernon’s Triumph. My favorite of Mr. Dingle’s Triumph routines is Quadraconvincing Triumph. It is a single card Triumph with several very convincing displays (hence the title). Included in this work are also Derek’s variations of the Torn & Restored Card, the Ace Assembly, Twisting the Aces, the Card in Balloon, Oil and Water, and Sympathetic Cards. Not only is DD known for his wonderful routines, but he also has a reputation of being a sleight-of-hand expert. Included in Derek Dingle’s Complete Works are moves he has used over the years, including the Side Steal, Slip Force, Diagonal Palm Shift, and the infamous Pass. Herb Zarrrow’s famous shuffle is one of the most often used false shuffles. Magicians everywhere love the simple idea. Making the shuffle look good, however, is not an easy task. Included in this remarkable manuscript is an extremely thorough explanation of Zarrow’s famous shuffle, along with Derek’s Three-Shuffle Zarrow Sequence. DD is probably most famous for two routines. These two routines are known to magicians everywhere. They are Derek’s notorious Rollover Aces, and his work on the traditional Oil and Water, entitled Oil and Vinegar. Rollover Aces is truly an amazing routine. It begins with a series of face-up/face-down shuffles, and ends with the magician rolling the pack across the table, leaving behind the four Aces. The Aces are then spread and beneath them are four Royal Flushes. Oil and Vinegar is not a ground-breaking routine full of new sleight-of-hand technique or revolutionary ideas. It’s simply Derek’s combination of a few old routines to form one of the best Oil and Water routines in existence. It’s killer, and, with practice, is within the grasp of any intermediate cardician. Examples of Derek’s creativity are scattered throughout the book. Apparition Too is a neat routine during which the magician prints a card visually. A blank card is displayed, suddenly a drawing of a King is seen. Another wave and the animated King gains color. One more flick of the card and it changes to a real playing card (a King, of course), which is then handed out for examination. Another instance of Derek’s imagination is Restoration Assembly. A card is selected and torn into four pieces. The pieces are laid out at the four corners of the table. Two pieces are now covered with two napkins, and when the napkins are lifted, the two quarter pieces have joined in one corner. This is repeated and a three-quarter card is formed. The last pieces are covered, and when the napkins are lifted, the card is fully restored. The book is expertly written by established magic writer Richard Kaufman. Mr. Kaufman also displays his superb graphic skills in the hundreds of illustrations that cover the pages. Derek Dingle is a legend among magicians and his magic is fun and entertaining. Reading this book is great - not knowing what gems will appear as you turn each page. The book is out of print now, but it is fairly easy to find in shops and can still be ordered from Kaufman directly. Do yourself a favor and track down a copy. Another truly wonderful read. |
submagi Loyal user 216 Posts |
Thanks for the awesome review Cameron! I am trying to pick a copy up of this now =)
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invalidity Regular user 170 Posts |
Thanks for the detailed review. Much appreciated.
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jazzman New user manchester, UK 69 Posts |
Great review Cameron. I have been after this for months, now you've got me drooling!!
Paul |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
Excellent review. I agree that this is a great book, however, sadly enough, I don't think it was one for me. I got this awhile back and have been playing around with routines but I don't like the style of most of his tricks. Not that they are too advanced, some of them just require too many props, stranger cards, or prep work. This book is defnintely in the medium to very difficult range. No beginner should pick this up. It will be totally useless. I read through the book a couple times, and the MOST USEFUL things I got out of it by far were:
1. His views on the Pass - They helped me get my pass better very quickly. His work on the riffle pass is great. I use Riffle No. 1 quite a lot now. More so than any other pass he published. 2. His Three Shuffle Zarrow sequence - Once again an excellent explanation of the Zarrow and it has helped me improve mine. It has also gotten me away from one shuffle Zarrowing under a one card cover. 3. Rollover Aces and Oil and Vinegar are IMO by far the most practical routines for the real world, and thus are definitely my favorites. Oil and Vinegar isn't quite a Dingle original though. It is based on Stewart James and Roy Walton handlings. 4. Don't bash me for my point in No.3 there are many great routines you can use in the real world but in each case either a simpler or better handling can be found by Larry Jennings and is the method I prefer. Dingle seemed to take a lot of stuff from other magicians and re-work them into magician foolers. This is a good thing, but not really what I'm looking for. When all is said and done, I prefered Jennings' Wild Card, Universal Card, Triumphs, Ambitious Classic (Dingle re-worked it and calls it Too Many Cards), and I prefer (by a lot) John Bannon's version of Card Under Glass to Dingle's version. 5. This book has a lot of great work on sleights - Marlo's ATFUS, D'Amico Change, Angle Steals, KM Move Mechanical Reverse, Pinky Pulldowns, Multiple Lifts, some Elmsley Variations, the Faro Shuffle, and Second Dealing. All these sleights are very good, most of them require a lot of work and once again, most of them I will never use (like the second deals he teaches and the angle steals). Once again most of these moves were created by other magician's and are simply refinements made by Dingle. 6. His creativity is very good...just look at Restoration Assembly and Apparition Too like Cameron stated above. Two ingenius methods. Once again though...how many times am I really going to use these? What I didn't like about the book: 1. Mr Kaufman wrote an excellent book. the illustrations are great, and the writing, while it could be confusing at times (i had to read oil and vinegar like 4 times before I really understood the latter actions). The one thing I didn't like about the book was that he never mentioned EFFECTS before METHODS. It all sort of blends in together, and I didn't like this at all because I really just had to read through the trick with my deck of cards in hand and not know what the outcome of the effect was going to be. 2. Too many effects with stranger cards and lapping/switching methods involved. I'm sorry but I won't use these in the real world and most of the stranger cards are very hard to come by these days (Poor Charlie). Many of his routines also require a lot of duplicate cards. I, like Jennings, prefer to use a deck of cards, maybe a few gaffs and extras from time to time, but nothing like the amount of stuff nedded for some of these tricks. 3. His "impromptu" routines often mean..."This can be done wth a regular deck of cards" and you end up having to cull a ton of cards to set up the trick. Many are like this throughout the book. He will give a gaffed method then delve into the "impromptu" method. 4. Some of his work, like Regal Royal Flush etc...are I'm my mind complicated methods involving classic passing and classic forcing that can be accomplished by simpler means. I personally find his trick Everywhere and Nowhere in the Air (everyone else LOVES this trick) to be pretty tough to pull off to an observant spectator because you keep having to classic or slip force cards. I don't like routines that involve multiple forces especially when oneof those forces is the classic force being used multiple times. 5. The routine Complete Torn and Restored Card destroys way too many cards. 6. Too many Triumph routines. I love the trick Triumph but I feel like including like 10 in one book is overkill. And it felt like each one just used different Zarrow Sequences. All in all Quadraconvincing Triumph to me was the best, I probably won't use any of the others. I prefer the original Vernon, Jennings and Hooser Triumphs more. And I also find Paul Harris' Color Stunner to be easier, better and more useful than Dingle's color changing Triumphs. Overview: Would I recommend this book...YES! You will gain a lot out of reading it including very good insight into powerful sleight of hand magic. You will become a better magician for it and Dingle's re-workings of sleights created by other performers makes them easier to use and easier to perfect. Will I use a lot of the material from this book...NO. It doesn't fit my "style" so to speak and most of the stuff certainly isn't useful for walkaround situations. I am happier with my Classic Magic of Larry Jennings. |
therntier Special user 681 Posts |
All backs with selection is one of the best routines in this book. It gets overlooked very often. I love this book, but many of the effects talked about take a lot of shuffling. Shuffling can make an effect long. Eventhough magicians will be ok with this, it can be a lull in the spectators mind. Quadraconvincing triumph is a good example of this. It's a great effect with two many shuffles. The spectators aren't any more convinced of the condition of the cards then they are after just one shuffle. Some may believe that you are actually unshuffling the cards.
That being said, All Backs is outstanding. Everyt show is motivated. In my opinion, it's the best effect in the book. |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
I agree with therntier...also we'll twist if you insist is pretty good too. though scott guinn has a better handling of it.
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mysticz Special user D.C. metro area 680 Posts |
IMO, if you learn nothing more from this book than Dingle's method and approach for the "think of a card from a pressure fan" plot, you will have attained far more than what you paid for the book. The rest is just icing on the cake.
Joe Z.
Joe Zabel
"Psychic Sorcery" There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. -- Shakespeare's Hamlet I.v. 174-175 |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
Hmmm, that trick is pretty good too...i never really paid any attention to it. tell me what are your experinces with the lay audience? what is your hit rate?
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mysticz Special user D.C. metro area 680 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-11-13 17:11, david_a_whitehead wrote: My personal working of the Dingle "thought-of card from pressure fan" effect is one of my favorite impromptu mentalism effects with playing cards. I find my "hit rate" is about 70 - 80 percent, and I have developed a couple effective outs for the times when I miss. This effect plays very strong with audiences and is a lot of fun to perform. Joe Z.
Joe Zabel
"Psychic Sorcery" There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. -- Shakespeare's Hamlet I.v. 174-175 |
Jem Veteran user Singapore 342 Posts |
Thanks for taking the time to post a wonderful review of the Derek Dingle book, Cameron. It is greatly appreciated, as this book is high on my "Next Book To Buy" list. I enjoy reading all your book reviews.
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ToPher Regular user Somewhere 120 Posts |
I just bought this book. It hasnt arrived yet, but when it does Ill post my thoughts.
"T" |
eddieloughran Special user 942 Posts |
I'm with David above.
A book with lots of info on slights and technical details, but the tricks themselves require too much preperration and/or gaffs. |
david_a_whitehead Inner circle USA 2122 Posts |
Thanks eddie
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peterdgr8 New user 94 Posts |
I also concur with David. Leaving the reader to figure out the 'effect' you're trying to convey to the audience is REALLY difficult in my opinion. And, while, the material is certainly top notch, bottom line for me as well is, Dingle is not my style. And I am much more comfortable with the Kaufman and Maxwell work on Jennings, who in this man's opinion, was probably the top card man of all time. He just made magic.
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