Like the title says this will leave your spectators truley astonished. I really like this effect and having Paul Harris name on it I was intregued. The handling will take a bit to get down and to do it smoothly but when you do you will have an effect that has no explaination as to how it was done. This never fails to drop the jaws to the floor. People will think you have special powers. This is one of those effects that is unbelievable until you learn how it is done. The concept is easy to understand and if you want a powerful close up effect this is the trick for you. A real winner.

I actually think Paul got it right first time around with the original Deep Astonishment but this is certainly worth getting too.

The routine makes more sense than the original (although I've altered the original to suit my own style) but if you want a strong routine which makes sense and is easy to perform then check this out.

Paul ..... are you listening???? Love the effect, love you! I have a little hard time keeping the flow going when I don't get a short name like "Rose". Someone gives me "Fernando" .... well, it would be helpful to have a few more of those blue fortune cards to play with and keep the story going .... also, with some additional blue cards to mix in now and then .... I could do a couple of readings at the same gathering for the same group ... What you think, Paul?
But, all and all, the effect is great, your crazy, your books have opened my eyes to the Art of Astonishment and Penguin is the only place to shop on the net .....

Rarely can you find a trick that adapts so perfectly to any situation. Performed under the right conditions, I have seen people--grown men, in fact--sob at the conclusion of this trick. You could play it for comedy just as easily. This is one of the few tricks you could do when you have a date over to the house and improve your chances of getting lucky. Let's see the Chicago Opener do that!

If you are serious in keeping the magicians code and are willing to keep secrets and practice, GET THIS! This is my favorite close-up illusion. It gets great reactions and gives you an aire of mystery. People will be scared of you after this if you have good patter. ok STOP LISTENING AND BUY NOW!

A very well thought out, diabolically clever effect. I have yet to actually perform it for anyone, but I agree completely with another reviewer - there wasn't that typical letdown once you learn the secret. If anything, I thought, "This is great! - I can't wait to perform it." After reading much of the advertising and reviews I was convinced that the spectator's chosen "name" must be some clever force of a dozen or so offered to them - NOT SO. The choice of names is in the complete hands of the spectator. I'm actually glad the price of this item is where it's at - this one's too good to become over-exposed the way of the D'Lite. The price will keep Deep Astonishment out of the hands of the lookey-loos. I'm holding off on performing this for one reason - this effect is too good to fumble through. I can see this trick being a reputation-maker.

The word "astonishment" is inadequate to describe the emotional state of the spectator at the end of this effect. I have performed it about 10 times now for strangers and the advice given in the instructions to say nothing at the end is gold. They don't know what just hit them and ANYTHING you say will put some handle back on their reality. People look at you differently after this one. Thank you Paul and Rodney.

What a great effect. The patter is great and easily able to be modified for your style. The setup is simple. The idea behind it is very effective. I performed it twice to 2 of my toughest test subjects and both were stunned. The items are not examinable, but how many tricks are? Not much practice is needed for this but if you give a great perfomance it will be a trick that will always be remembered by your audience. It may be a bit pricey but that will keep it from being overexposed. Penguin is the cheapest on the web.

I have only received this one yesterday. I actually have to wait to perform this effect because there was a slight flaw with it so have to get a new one, but: just from playing around with it a few things have already become obvious: first of all when they say a "beautiful leather wallet" they are right, it is real leather and the wallet is very nice to look at. In fact when you open it the inside is of a slightly different color, almost pink, like roast-beef.

Everything is solid and if there hadn't been a part missing in my shippment I could have easily fixed it myself. The cards are made of plastic, so you don't have to pay a lot of money and end up with a dirty deck after a few performances. The cards are also very decent and make this trick very different from most of the magic around.

I have purchased one or two items before in this price range and this is by far the fairest price I have seen considering what you get. If I compare this with the "mind power deck" for example, you get way more here. Not that the mind power deck is necessarily not worth it's price, but here you get a lot more props and the method is even more cunning. Let's say, this one is under-priced, then.

The handling: normally one is always a little dis-illusioned after finding it how it works: no real magic again! Not so here. I got more and more excited as I went through the props, the handling, instructions in hand. AWESOME.

The easiest method to the most clever trick (an impossible one) I know so far. There are no postings in the penguin-only section at this point, I tink this should change soon.

A local magician has made a big name for himself using Deep Astonishment, so when i saw 2 come out I ordered it as fast as possible. I have perfomed it 3 x times to my normal test audience, My Girlfriend who is a tough critic, my Grandma who is easily fooled but very hard to keep her attention, and my mother who ends up being very very tough to trick. All 3 were not only tricked, but utterly fooled and left with a amazed look as I put it away. Only problem I had was with the patter, but being a good BS artist i changed it to my own and it works great. Stop reading and BUY IT NOW.