Got mine in the mail today. I have read thru the first third of the book and quickly skimmed the rest. It reads a lot like Destination Zero as far as layout and style. The routines are well explained and the "Why" is explained as well as the "How" when need be. If you like Bannon's style of writing, this book overall should please you.

I used to dabble in everything. Close-up, mentalism, tarot, palmistry... and a long time ago went to strictly close-up / (maybe a little parlor). I was a bit worried that this book was not going to be for me but anything Bannon puts out is worth studying in my opinion. I was pleasantly surprised by the effects I have read so far. I see no reason a "non mentalist" card magician couldn't add most to his set. Like his past books, buy it now before it goes OOP. This one is another winner for John Bannon (and the magic community). Will update when I finish it in a couple days (hopefully).

Anyone else with initial thoughts?

Sounds great Poof-Daddy any chance you could post the table of contents? Eagerly awaiting mine!!

If you have time I would love to hear a little about his 'Out of this World'?

I'll add one more question: does Bannon still adhere to the self-working criteria as set in Destination Zero in this collection? Eagerly awaiting my copy in the mail!

Not as self working but a few are close. As with Destination Zero, where he may teach one cut or shuffle, he encourages you to go with your favorite. I was happy to see that the second effect in the book was "Collusion" (which was teased on the "Move Zero dvd". When I saw it in the trailer, I thought I had read the effect before but after looking back I had not. It combines some stuff from a couple of effects (which is what made me think I knew it) (but... now I do ).

I have a few appointments this week so maybe I will get a chance to read thru the rest later. (From the first 1/3 I have read, it is great so far).

It is about halfway thru the book pg99. Name of the effect is "Mundo". It is more of a "packet effect" version than a whole deck and with the structure, pretty much one card does most of the work for you. There are also a couple suggested variations at the end I found useful. So far I have toyed with a couple ootw effects but never really added one to my arsenal. This one seems simple enough to put in. I may just add this as I have always wanted to add one version or another.

I will blame you for my sore finger when this is done
(I really wish it was somewhere to copy paste but here goes)

0 - forward
1 - line of sight (redux)
9 - collusion
19 - prophet move (redux)
33 - after shock
44 - rock the 'voque'
58 - the slidewinder variations
Surprise in mind
Unusual suspect
Second guess
Evil twin
83 - proximity
91 - clean out of sight
99 - mundo
105 - big bad add
110 - matrix reloaded
120 - esp by the numbers
130 - AK-47
138 - lost in translation
143 - misremembering jack
151 - go-figuration
160 - presumption shock & judo
Shock exchange
Split second shock
Wild shock
Proxy shock
178 - mental baguette
187 - blank thought remix
193 - candy crush
198 - gregorian chance
Days of prophecy
Days are numbered
Gregorian chance
215 - further reading

Thanks for doing that will keep me going till I get my copy!! Can't wait.

Did anyone else get their copy yet? And for those who did, did you order it through Bannon himself or Squash Publishing?

I received mine Wednesday last week in NYC. Bought from John.

Hey all,

Im surprised there isn't more talk about this book, or am I missing some thread somewhere else?

Just got mine from Davenport's Magic, London, UK. So I'm excited to dig in and read it all, will probably finish it in a couple of days. Bannon is always good, so I have no doubt this will be good too.

//Dan

You aren't missing anything, it seems there has been very little talk about it. It is a great book though. I guess the release time may have held down some of the postings as shortly after, Handsome Jack and 52 Memories were both big releases too. I think the "readers" dollars got spread out a bit.

Look at the bright side though, you can be unique in your area performing these gems for now. I was having a ball doing effects from Destination Zero until the DVDs came out. Now everyone in my "magic club" are doing something from the book.

There's a very thorough and fair review of the book by David Britland in the current Genii.

I've read the book and have then gone back over it a couple of times, and I'm still formulating my thoughts on it. I may try to write a more formal review here, but, in terms of a quick take, I prefer it to "Destination Zero" simply because some of the challenges Bannon is grappling with here are more interesting to me than the set of problems he laid out for himself in "Destination Zero." And, there's more here that I'll wind up doing, or trying to do, or simply playing with, than there was for me in "Destination Zero." (I suspect that may be a minority opinion, though.) I also found it more fun to read than "Destination Zero." As Britland notes, even though the book is a collection of tricks and routines, it nonetheless has kind of a "notebook" quality about it, so Bannon is circling around plots and moves and examining them in sometimes micro detail, playing with how the same basic trick can be altered by changing aspects of timing, or framing, or linguistic subtlety.

All of that said, there's a certain repetition to the book as a very large number of pages are devoted to the same class of tricks (for example, "the thought of card") for which the methods are all variations on the same one or two moves. (The Gary Ouellette Touch Force -- basically a cross between a Hofzinser Cull Force and a Riffle Force -- gets a lot of action here.) And if you're a Bannon fan, you'll recognize the seeds of these routines from earlier work -- specifically, "Out of Touch," from "Dear Mr. Fantasy." (And, actually, the first trick in the book, "Line of Sight (Redux)" is basically the same simple Alain Nu effect that began "Dear Mr. Fantasy," but here with a new Bannon peek -- which is actually quite nice.) In reading some of these routines, you might enjoy the thinking while, in the end, saying to yourself, why don't I just force a card, or, instead of the fiddly Slidewinder switches, just do a Top Change?

After reading the book, I felt, like Britland, that one of the better items was "Mundo," which is a cool small-packet OOTW. I'm not sure it's going to replace the small packet version you already do (like, for example, Jon Armstrong's), and its downside is that the reveal of the separated cards is in the magician's hands. But the method is clever and there's a great Raj Madhok kicker included as well. You've seen "Collusion" on the BBM trailer, and I was surprised that there wasn't more of a set-up to that trick than I was expecting. "Blank Thought Remix" is Bannon's tweak of a David Solomon trick that reads really well and that I can't wait to try. (Still, the section of tricks that it's in is curious because Bannon starts by saying how much he hates the patter that usually goes along with "invisible cards" -- and then pretty much uses it throughout, albeit with his own caveats becoming part of the trick itself.)

Okay, that's my non-review ramble. I did enjoy reading this book and am playing around with stuff in it. I'll be doing "Proxy Shock," "Mundo," and maybe some others. If you're a Bannon fan, it's, of course, a must buy, as this is a book you can tell Bannon really considers one of his major efforts. If you enjoy reading his various theories ("tricks work," for example), there's a lot of that here. It's not a book chock full of different types of routines you want to try immediately, like "Smoke and Mirrors," and it's not a book of neo-classics, like "Dear Mr. Fantasy." It's something a bit different, and, as a fan, that's all you can ask for.

Not quite finished with it yet, but I must say that I enjoy it! I quite like the fact that he takes one concept and walk us through its development. From a mentalism point of view, you probably won't necessarily do any of these tricks, but I like them none the less, they are still good card tricks. I will definitely play with a few of them.

Blank Thought Remix is my favorite in Mentalisimo. Two jokers are set aside on the card box and a spectator is asked to think of a card. First think of it as blank and then picture a card in your mind. A blank card appears between the jokers and then the blank card turns into the selection.

What I like about this book is that he shows you an idea and then expounds on it, plus other guest contributors ideas.

Only up to Go-Figuration but that trick and Clean Out of Sight are my favorites thus far. Haven't gotten to the one stated above.

Having all of John Bannon's material it would be rude not to pick up this. Anybody have any links or Know of any UK dealers stocking this bad boy?

Greig.

I had an email only yesterday that Big Blind Media had a few copies in stock.

Davenports do as well.

Here is my review of Mentalissimo. Take a look. I hope it's helpful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb5gJPWfhs