Post
Barrage by John Bannon
This 132 page book is an explosion of color that is fun to look at, and the material packs a huge punch. I really love the design and layout. It feels very different from any other magic book I’ve read. It’s almost like reading a magazine with full color illustrations, playful backgrounds, and colored words throughout. It gives pop art vibes.
There are eight card routines within, and each one is easy to do and very strong. This is considered a “best of” with some of Bannon’s favorite routines.
Fours Majeure - A follow the leader plot with the Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a surprise four of a kind. The spectator chooses which leader cards to switch, and the rest of the pile always follows the leader. The kicker is a chosen card is switched with the last pile, and even the mates of that card switch places with the four of a kind that’s left.
The great thing about this is that the move that makes it all happen is self-working and done so early in the routine that there are quite literally no moves once the magic actually starts. Bannon describes it as requiring an extensive set-up, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. If you can secretly get a four of a kind to the top of the deck, then it’s very easy to set-up in the moment. The follow the leader plot isn’t my favorite plot in card magic, so I don’t see myself using this routine, but this is a nice version of it that is very hard to backtrack.
Three Impossible Things - The magician proposes three impossible things. First, the magician will do something impossible, then the spectator will do something impossible, and the spectator will do the last most amazing thing and they won’t even know they did it. For the first feat, the spectator shuffles the deck and the performer cuts to the four Kings. For the second feat, the spectator shuffles the deck and cuts it into four piles; the performer puts a king on each pile and the spectator holds on to one of the piles and riffles it towards the others. They turn over the top four cards of the pile they hold and find all of the kings. For the last feat, the top card of each of the four piles is revealed to be the four Aces that they somehow cut to despite their shuffling and cutting.
This routine is a combination of two other Bannon effects Blitzen 2022 and Three Part Harmony. Once again the routine is very easy to do with hardly any moves, and the majority happens in the spectator’s hands. There are some really great holdout methods being used so that the spectator can shuffle and cut the deck throughout the routine and they’ll never realize you are controlling cards the entire time. It’s a clever combination of principles for a nice effect.
Heart of Glass - The Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts are removed from the deck. The Ace is placed under a glass and the Queen is placed on top of the glass. Incredibly, they switch places (with no duplicates.)
This is a quick two card transposition with a very nice subtlety that makes it seem extra fair. It’s easy to do, requiring only one sleight and that sleight happens so early that you are way ahead of the spectators.
No No No…Maybe Yes - You tell the spectators the name of the trick is “No No No No No No No Maybe Yes.” They take a random number of cards, shuffle them, remember the bottom card, and return those cards to the deck. They even burn some cards from the top to keep it fair. They cut the deck several times to find a random starting point. The performer reminds them of the name of the trick and as they deal cards, he says each of the words in the name. Once they reach the word “yes,” the spectator is holding their card.
This is a totally impromptu trick FASDIU. It makes clever use of a classic principle which is usually used as a force, but here it is used as a control. It also has a nice variation on the balducci force. It seems very clean, and I imagine it's totally impossible for the spectators to back track. The idea of the name of the trick revealing where the card is located is novel and fun.
Paint it Blank - Two Jokers are off to the side. The performer asks the spectator to imagine any card by first making their mind blank, then imagining a blank card, then imagining the card forming on that blank card. They name that card, and it is removed from the deck as an “invisible card.” They put the invisible card between the Jokers, and a blank card materializes between the Jokers. They then imagine the details forming on the card, and the blank card is now their freely thought of card.
This is a clever version of “Club Sandwich” by Andrew Normansell that makes it into a freely thought of card. Once again, there are hardly any moves and all of the moves are fully motivated. It’s such a strong trick for hardly any work. You’ll need a gimmicked Joker, but once you have that in the deck, you have a strong, practically self-working piece of magic you can do at a moment’s notice. It would also work well as an “out” if a trick ever fails.
Mundo - A unique small-packet version of Out of This World.
This is a very easy out of this world with 20 or so cards. The unique aspect is one card is left faceup for them to think about as they deal. This faceup card eliminates the need for marked cards or memorization. The traditional packet switch that’s necessary in OOTW is eliminated with a clever sleight that is done in the hands. My only problem with the routine is the pacing. After they sort the cards, you immediately spread them all for the spectators to see the separation, but I prefer a slow build so they can process what they’ve done. That said, I do like this version, and I think it would be particularly strong as a second phase to an OOTW effect so that they know what to expect. Once again, basically self-working.
Bank Job - The performer removes an envelope that contains money and six cards. Each pair is shown to have one red card and one black card. The performer explains that the spectator will choose three cards for themselves, and three cards for the performer. Every red card earns 5 cents. Every black card earns a dollar. The spectator chooses three for them and three for the performer without looking (the rest are placed in a discard pile.) The performer’s cards are revealed. He has three black cards and he removes three dollars from the envelope for himself. The spectator’s cards are revealed. They are all red cards. He tips out three nickels from the envelope for the spectator. The envelope is otherwise empty. The performer mentions the outrageous odds of that and shows the odds written on the back of the envelope: “one out of 456, 012.” The discarded cards are turned face up to reveal a 4, 5, 6, Q (looks like a 0), Ace, and 2 matching the number on the envelope.
I really like this one. It’s got a lot going on, but they will never see the kicker ending coming and it all happens with essentially zero sleights. I think the core principle here is really clever; I’m inspired and my brain is trying to think of exactly how I want to use it, but I really like it. You can predict any number within some specific “rules.”
Triplicity 2022 - Three demonstrations of psychic superpower. The participant mentally selects a card by remembering a card at a freely chosen number then they give the deck a few cuts. First the performer demonstrates telepathy and names the mentally chosen card. Then he demonstrates clairvoyance and names the current position of the selected card. Finally, he demonstrates premonition by revealing a prediction that has the name of the chosen card and the position it would end up at.
This is a very good one. You can either have the prediction written in advance or write it in the moment. Both have their advantages, but either way, it’s a super strong trick. The prediction just seems so impossible since they can CLEARLY see how different choices would have changed everything throughout the routine. It’s a very well thought out application of some classic principles for a super practical three phase routine that is performed entirely hands off.
Overall, I’m a big fan of this book. I find Bannon’s thinking inspiring, but I often find his books hard to read because they are typically very text-heavy and sometimes read as convoluted until you actually try the process out. Thankfully, the colorful nature of this book made it an easy, fun, and thoroughly enjoyable read with good magic to top it all off. I highly recommend it.
Available for €40 at the link below. Use code MAGICREVIEW at checkout for €5 off!
Never miss a post! Subscribe now!