I didn't buy this set through Penguin, but I use these reviews a lot and this one doesn't have any
yet so I just have to write one!
Honestly, Juan's outdone himself on this set. I've only
watched the first 2 DVD's but they're totally worth the price of admission by themselves. His new
variations on Neither Deaf nor Stupid and Total Coincidence (both of which he teaches an impromptu
version of!!!!) take the tricks to the next level and really amaze people every single time. Before,
I felt NDnS was missing something, but no that new strong climax he teaches knocks it out of the
park. I performed the stronger-climax version of NDnS pretty much the day I watched the video, so if
you're familiar with the base effect you'll love the variation. Did I mention it's super easy? I
performed it tonight at a party and my spectators were dumb-founded and amazed. They just couldn't
believe it! It felt and looked like [b]real magic![/b] I really don't want to spoil anything about
how the climax works since you really should buy this set, but without revealing too much, you're
able to get even more people involved in the trick risk-free. You do need a little audience
management and rock-solid presentation for maximum effect, but the audience management skills
necessary are pretty easy so long as you're not a day-one beginner. If you're looking at and
considering buying this box set, you almost certainly have the skills required.
What about
the teaching quality? Well, if you've purchased any of the Maestro's work before (especially his
Penguin Live lecture), you know what you're getting. It's solid teaching, he explains everything
clearly and in detail. And as always he gets into the nitty-gritty subtleties that make his tricks
so dynamite. I definitely incorporate most of what he mentions and you probably will too. They jive
with a lot of different performance styles quite well, though I will admit my style takes a lot of
influence from him. The stack explanation is a little confusing on first watch, but I'm sure I'll
grasp it fully the second time around. And yes, this stack is totally different than Mnemonica
(though you can do some of the same effects). Is it as powerful as Mnemonica? No probably not, but
you can do some pretty neat things with it that you can't with Mnemonica, so it's worth learning as
a good alternative.
God I love this set and I'm barely through 2 DVD's. You could pack just
the first two DVD's and sell them for $100 easily, the effects really are that strong. Did I mention
a lot of them mostly happen in the spectator's hands? Because the description doesn't mention that
but it's a [b]MASSIVE[/b] selling point. There's something for everyone here. Buy this, you won't
regret it. It's probably the best magic purchase I've made all year. Very practical too! I could
gush about it for a few more paragraphs, but I think I've made my opinion clear: [b]A MUST
BUY!!![/b]
Bravo Juan! You've outdone yourself yet again!
