Does anybody own this book? Is it worth a purchase? What kind of routines are in there (I know that it contains "bizarre routines", I´m more interessted what kind of bizarre effects).

Thanks, Magixx

Very good book....Make a demon head rise out of sand in the dark...have spectators see your astral self floating above your head...stuff like that...you'll like it. get it!


Mike

Thanks! Please more comments!

Magixx

My question is: Have you read any of his books before. I don't do anything out of them, but they are inspiring and a really enjoyable read. They are not even particularly expensive, so no need to worry. Get it!

//Daniel

No, I haven´t read any of his books before. That was the reason for my question.

Magixx

And what do you mean with "not even particularly expensive"? Is 40$ too expensive?

Magixx

Check the prices at "Magic Books by Post" I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Unless you already paid $40 in which case your going to be really ****ed off.

Mark

@ lastnitesfun:

Thanks for this valuable hint! I have already ordered the book..... and some more from Shiels and Cameron (the Cameron books are 5 pounds each!).

About the 40$:
Somebody offered the mentioned book for 40$ on ebay.com (and "Something Strange" and "Thirteen" for 20$ each). Today the Café has halped me saving money.

Thanks again!!!!

Magixx

For the record:

Night of the Demon: The wizard summons a glowing demon amid eerie sounds following a mysterious red fire from a bowl...

The Mummy's Hand: A mummy's hand moves in the darkness while the wizard is tied, then the hand undergoes a startling transformation...

Hobgoblin: One of these nasty little vermin dances in the dark in the presence of a bound wizard...

Double Double: A participant is invited to stab the image of a man formed with a loop of chain on a pentagram. The shadow image of a man on a card, previously shown to be intact, is now wounded in the appropriate spot!

Dry Djinn: A bottle contains a spirit, which answers questions by rapping a crystal contained within. As the wizard releases the spirit, the wrapper on the seal grows red hot, and the bottle fills with smoke...

Death by Sorcery: The wizard asks a participant to select one of a group of five photographs of people and seal it in an envelope. He burns and mutilates a duplicate photograph; the participant's photograph is found to now bear corresponding injuries...

Baldpate Revisited: The wizard displays an uncappy power to find the right key...

The Warlock's Forelock: During some ceremony in the darkeness, a woman in the crowd screams. When the lights are hastily turned on, she now bears a white forelock!

Xyddatha: The wizard has a sitter concentrate on a Tarot card. He writes her initials and Zodiac sign on an envelope, sealing an unseen card within. After a brief reading, she is allowed to open the envelope. It's the very card she thought of!

Hell's Smells: A bit of hellish atmosphere for devil-summoning...

That's less than half of it. There's more, ghosts, scarabs, familiars and so forth. A few effects are "ghost written" by the like of Charles Cameron, some appeared in The New Jinx.

You already know if you like this sort of thing. It is a pleasure for me to re-read the wild ideas of Doc Shiels again and again over the years. I find this and his other books to be a great inspiration.

Yours,

Paul

Thanks a lot for this summary. I like ideas like this, and i´m looking forward to read this book!

Magixx

I've never put much stock in the Shiels and Cameron books beyond inspiration and idea fragments. Most of the routines seemed 'untested,' and sometimes impractical, in the reading.

As for Hells Smells: While the 'gimmick' does create the smell of brimstone (sulphur), that is therefore also the smell of rotten eggs, with a stark similarity to the smell of flatulence. The end effect might be anything but spooky.

Steve

Yeah, but what a fun. At my opinion Shiels books are a must read, like Punx'.
They are imagination teasers and that's far more important than a encyclopedia of tricks.

Quite right. Inspiring they are. They do get the imagination going, even if you use none of the actual effects.

Steve

Shiels not practical? What? Haven't you ever raised a monster?

I have an idea actually. I want to get the press out to cover me raising a lake monster somewhere. Then after half an hour or so of chanting and calling up the lake monster. . .have Bigfoot appear on the opposite (wooded) shore. . .yell out "What the hell do you want?!?!", flip me off, and storm back into the woods. I then look into the camera, shrug my shoulders, and say, "I got the accent on the wrong syllable of Shoggoth, I guess."

What do you think? Brilliant isn't it? Okay, too much cold medicine. . .

Mark

Actually, I love it Mark...

What prescription are you taking?

;-)

Prescription, heck, it's Nyquil.

Mark

So while we are talking about Doc Shiels, let me say that my favorites among his books are The Cantrip Codex and The Shiels Effect. I feel like Doc Shiels is the fellow who got me started on raising a monster in my own way. If it weren't for these books, I would have never exhibited the Feejee Mermaid. He writes about exhibiting a Jenny Hanniver in one of his books.

As for The Shiels Effect, that is a piece of work that really enlarges the imagination. Here you are working on your sleight of hand moves, and suddenly you can read about taking over the world.

Yours,

Paul

Yes, the Shiels Effect is one of my favorite books of all time, magical or non.

Mark

I've had these and the Cameron books for a long time. Lest you suspect that these are all pipe dreams, you should perhaps contact Karl Bartoni, who knew Cameron and knows Tony Shiels. Tony very likely did each of the bits in D,D & D at one time or another. The chief difference between these things and the ideas in the Punx books is that the Shiels items are basically outlines and methods, while the Punx books give complete routines with stories.

When you see these books come up on eBay always check to see if they are still available from the other outlets.

Ihave ordered 4 Cameron books and the Shiels books from "magic books by post". The ideas in these books are good in my eyes (but who am I to judge this...).

Magixx

I have all the Cameron books and Shiels books with the painful exception of The Shiels Effect. They are great filled with wild story ideas surrounding basically simple magic. And Shiels is a study in character himself. The Magic CD interview with him is delightful.