It sure is.Thats good enough for me.
Todd

Matt always astounds me with how he approaches things and streamlines all of his presentations.

I've seen P.A.T.H.S. slowly grow from one edition to the next and it just keeps getting better and better with each addition.

If you're looking for a radically different approach to "Progressing Anagramically" that can restore your faith in this misunderstood technique then you are in the right place (almost).

The contents of the book consist of multiple approaches to the presentation and justification of these special processes that essentially set you up to look EXACTLY what you could expect a mind reader to do if he really was pulling a Sherlock to read someone's mind!

You'll find routines surrounding little touched upon, but timeless pieces of pop culture for the current generation such as Nintendo characters, months in a year, open ended think of anything divination, days of the week, ext.

All in all you're getting a lot here; including a variety of different approaches with interesting storyboards created for those witnessing the demonstrations. In this mixed bag that explores very interesting avenues that surround the progressive anagram and I highly recommend it to either the person experienced in PA's as well as using them as well as those who just never seemed to really click with the method. I myself was like the latter until earlier this year and I am excited to test the systems in P.A.T.H.S.

Highly Recommended!

-Jacob

P.S. Did I mention there is even an anagram for letters of the alphabet in his "Alphagram"!

Let me just get this clear, Alphagram is Basically so you can guess what letter a soec is thinking of, and then from there divine their word?

Thanks

Also, will this be available on penguin anytime soon?

Thanks
Sleepy

Matt uses alphagram three times in a row to know a three letter word. It is an anagram which allows you to know what letter someone is thinking of in the alphabet.

I'm definitely intrigued by this. I have pretty much everything of Matt's and he never disappoints. Will have to wait till after Blackpool though.

One thing I will disagree with though is about the prodigal not covering presentation. Atlas does indeed cover this and how not to make it look like a guessing game or process of elimination. That of course does not mean I don't want to read Matthews take but I did want to point out that the Prodigal is far more than simply a collection of anagrams.

Mark

Ahh okay,thanks for the info!

Sleeoy

I'm sorry if I made it seem like the prodigal doesn't cover presentations. That was not my intentions. I was merely suggesting this work is more focused on brand new presentations and the prodigal is more focused on anagrams. Hopefully the comparison there is clear!

Thanks for your review, Jacob!

I'll be adding P.A.T.H.S. to Penguin near the end of the week, Sleepy.

As promised, here is a slightly more detailed list of the contents:

Path I - This is the first approach taught in the book to disguise the P.A. process. As Madison explained, the unique part of my presentation is that both "yes" and "no" answers provide a purpose within the given presentation. There are no misses, because the presentation perfectly and logically justifies WHY we're asking about a particular letter.

Player One - A simple anagram for characters in the Super Mario Bros. universe. The participant picks their player, and we then proceed to guess which player they've chosen.

Player Two - Takes "Player One" and expands it to any common Nintendo character.

Path II - This path is an altered approach to "Path I", adjusting the presentation to further streamline the process.

Triangulation - This piece is unique in that it mixes multiple categories into one anagram, creating the illusion of endless choices. A male and female version are provided.

Path III - This approach is my attempt to work through a new type of P.A. without the spectator having to repeatedly say, "yes" or "no", or nod or shake their head. I cover a way to use this concept with playing cards, as well as some other random categories.

Anagram Architecture - Focusing on the design and structure of an anagram, this chapter examines the small details that go into making this technique look as deceptive as possible, and how we can progress through an anagram in the most efficient ways. At the end of the chapter, I share a couple of P.A.s that I've built using the ideas outlined in the chapter. There is a star sign divination, which can inform you of their sign with only one or two letters needing to be called. There is also a streamlined version of "Triangulation", showing the effectiveness of applying the techniques taught in "Anagram Architecture".

Alphagram - As has already been discussed, this is an anagram for the English alphabet. It's actually not as complex as you might expect, but like any anagram, it will require some memorization work. Luckily, there are a lot of little quirks built into the system that help. We can use this to learn ANY short word that a spectator thinks of, as well as the first few letters in a person's name.

If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to ask, or send a PM if your inquiry may lead to exposure.

Matt

Received some quotes today about the P.A.T.H.S. approach:

"Well, Matt has come up with an idea that's hard to put into words or describe. It's a ploy? A verbal subterfuge? A psychological deception? I don't know...but it's really, really good! This makes anagram hunting as easy as shooting fish in a barrel...with a machine gun. This one basic idea allows you to use 'Yes' and 'No' answers as a way to get vital information without seeming to be wrong as you do it. Plus, he gives you some already made anagrams and many more ways to use his idea. System? Wording? Whatever...it's good. Another bullet to put in your arsenal from Matt." - Greg Arce

"I've never been crazy about anagrams, but Matt found a nice way to approach them which eliminates what are normally the weak moments in the process. Triangulation and Alphagram are my favorites. I'm sure that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and soon Matt will surprise us with even more ideas on the topic." - Luca Volpe

Will be picking this up for sure over the next week or so... can't pull the trigger just yet as have bought a bunch of new stuff recently and so need to hold off for a few days, but looking forward to it.

Yeah...I didn't exactly pick the best timing to release P.A.T.H.S. with both Valentine's Day and Blackpool occurring in the same week!

I am just diving into the first half and I agree with others that the presentational framework is interesting. And I really like some of the new PA's. When I get work behind me this week, I will check back in with a more detailed set of thoughts. I like this.

Will this be at Penquin this week Matthew?
Todd

Thanks for your initial thoughts, Robert! I look forward to hearing what you think once you've read the whole thing!

Todd, I'll be adding P.A.T.H.S. to Penguin this weekend, but it typically takes a day or two for them to activate it on the site.

I also received this quote today that I wanted to share:

"In these exciting works, Mello revisits some familiar landscape with a literally new path. It is a pleasure to read, and exciting to contemplate the possibilities. I will find uses for this, so will you." - Marc Salem

Thanks Matthew sounds great..
Todd

http://pathsmentalism.blogspot.com

Creative approaches with this ellusive technique. You can use PA/BA and fail miserable and just playing "20 questions" or create awesome realistic mindreading. With this new release from Matt Mello you will achieve the status of impromptu telepath.
Matt offers his original ideas, handlings and effects that I am sure will be part of the wise performers who wants to improve their verbal and psychological skills to perform highly effective propless Mentalism.
You can tell now someone "what he is thinking" with clever "PATHS"


All the best

If you're familiar with Matt's work, you know he's very outside the box and innovative in his methodology. Well, imagine a new approach to anagrams, and that's what Matt Mello has done in PATHS.

Matt contacted me with a copy of PATHS a while back to talk through some of the material and I was, as usual, creatively stimulated by all of it. I think for longtime Matt Mello fans, you will be creatively inspired based purely on how he approaches common plots and premises with just about anything Matt releases. For that reason alone, it's worth buying and reading. It's a lot of fun to see new ideas come to life!

I love Matt's thinking in this just in regards to anagrams. For me, that was fascinating to consider his justifications and reasoning for the process, and to work out ways to disguise the process in plain sight, or layer it so it BECOMES presentation.

As far as the actual anagrams, the hesitation most people have is the amount of memory work and study they take. Matt has taken several common topics and very interesting premises and simplify them into anagrams you can actually learn and use.

Naturally, PATHS goes deeper as you keep reading, and for the advanced student, you get Alphagram, which is super cool. It's almost like a "meta-gram." It's an anagram for the alphabet, ha!

Matt's work is so different, I just can't see anyone not being creatively stretched or finding a worthwhile idea--for that reason, I'm pretty much an ongoing advocate for buying everything Matt Mello creates.

||sean ||

This is fantastic.

My kind of thinking here I demand MORE!!!

AG

Sometimes, a manuscript comes along that is heralded later as a true addition to the 'canon' of an entire genre. I honestly believe that Matt Mello's P.A.T.H.S does just that for the anagram 'branch' of the art of mentalism! It exceeded my expectations, and I have to say that I am in love with the super simple new concept of presenting branching anagrams. The book also adds some very lovely new anagrams that are quite relevant these days.

Other than the presentational framing work, my favorite part of the book is 'Triangulation.' It's a combination of three anagrams that makes you look like you are absolutely doing the real thing. I just love it.

Great job, Matt.