Afterglow by John Graham

Afterglow is a brand new book release from John Graham (author of Stage by Stage and Encore – both have been reviewed on this website) and Vanishing Inc.

First off, it’s been a minute since I’ve published a review. Think of it as my Spring/Summer break. But I’m back with a stockpile of books and tricks to share my thoughts on. In my absence, Vanishing Inc.’s warehouse caught fire. I’m sure you’ve heard all about it, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was expecting that fire to delay the release of this book. Fortunately for all of us, they must have had a pile of these in another location because they are now available for immediate shipment (and in fact, VI only paused their shipments for about 24 hours and then they were back up and running as if nothing happened–truly amazing.)

This thirty-five-dollar, fifty-three-page book details a 22-minute close-up card act that can be performed with a borrowed and shuffled deck of cards for anywhere from 2 to 25 people. The unique thing about this act is that each effect secretly sets up for the next trick which keeps you one ahead methodologically and your audience one behind at all times. This allows you to perform several routines that usually require a pre-set/stacked deck FASDIU. These setups are done during natural action and don’t include complicated culls or crazy sleight of hand.

The act was also built so that each effect builds getting stronger and stronger until it eventually culminates with an out of this world ending using two spectators.

Usually in my book reviews I review each effect in depth, but since this book is really about creating an act, I think it would be better to spend more time discussing the act as a whole, but before I do that, here’s a basic rundown of the tricks that are in the act:

It opens with a quick pick a card trick where an incorrect card changes into the selected card. This is followed by a one-at-a-time Ace Assembly where Aces travel invisibly from one packet to another. In the next effect, the performer cuts off a number of cards named by the spectator which simultaneously cuts directly to their selected card. This is followed by a triumph routine which is then followed by another triumph routine where the entire suit of the chosen card is faceup and in order at the conclusion. Next up is a hands-off card location where the spectator choses a card, cuts it into the deck multiple times, and the performer is able to name the exact location of the selected card all without ever touching the deck. And that leads to the Out of This World finale with two spectators separating red and black cards without looking at the faces. That is seven routines that are all performed from the borrowed shuffled deck.

You can actually watch the full act on Vanishing’s website or youtube, although I have one very small gripe about that video. They cut out a small portion (literally like two minutes.) That small portion is the way that John gets the Play It Straight Triumph cards in the correct order. I imagine they cut it to maintain the secret and because it felt like down time, but if you’re scratching your head about how he got those cards in order, you won’t be able to figure it out from the video.

You’ll notice the act contains all classic effects. All of the tricks are tried and true and have already stood the test of time. Odds are, you already know most (if not all) of the tricks in the act. So what you’re really buying is how John weaves them together to work effortlessly as an act, and I think he does a fantastic job of doing that. There are definitely some changes I would make to this act, but the good thing is that it is very easy to make those changes. I will use a different opening routine, a different Ace Assembly, I will change the timing of one of the secret set-ups, and I will change the presentation of almost all of the tricks. It’s not that John’s presentations are bad–they are very nice. The tweaks I would make would simply make all of the tricks have more of a theme (such as different techniques gamblers might use.) That said, the act is great as is and you could pick up the book and perform the entire act exactly as written and you’d have a phenomenal act that you can go into at any moment. As you can probably tell, the act is modular so if you’d like to take out a few things or even add a few things, you can absolutely do that. This allows you to make the act your own.

As you’d expect with John’s books, the illustrations are gorgeous and the writing is superb. Everything is easy to understand and follow. John explains the workings of each trick, the script for each one, the transitions between tricks, the evolution of the act, some notes to help you learn the act, and he devotes a page of text comparing this act with his Encore act and explains how they are different. You get literally everything you need to go out and perform this entire act right away. And if you’re worried about the sleight of hand involved, don’t be. The entire act uses a double lift, pinky break, thumb break, block push off, and a very simple cull. That’s literally all. The entire act is very easy to do. I was afraid the act would be difficult to memorize, but with the cards in hand, it becomes very apparent what the next effect is because the transition is built into the previous effect.

I can definitely see myself using this act informally for those times when a group of friends wants me to “do some stuff.” I think all of John’s work is worth getting, and this is no different.

You can purchase Afterglow from Vanishing Inc here:

https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/card-magic/afterglow-anywhere-magic-act/