E.E. is an excellent mentalist. His MANOEDA is a staple of my repertoire. This small, four-effect e-book is set up to give you a 20-minute or so close-up routine. By E.E.'s own admission, there is absolutely nothing new here. You have four very small routines: a "which coin" using e********, a couple of living or dead tests, and a "spirit" routine using a Pilot Frixion pen. Needless to say, you can carry everything you need in one pocket.

This little manuscript reminded a lot of a book Phantini put out in the 50s with a full impromptu (or nearly impromptu) mentalism set. I liked it. It had some nice, strong elements to it. Elizalde's isn't as impressive, but it really is good for beginning mentalists. There is a good flow through the routines, clear explanations, and I was pleasantly surprised to see him use a variant of Kennedy's WOO, an excellent billet p***, from The Impromptu Mystifier. I suspect that few have ever seen it, let alone used it, and with a little practice, it is extremely deceptive. E.E.'s version is easier and actually resembles a Corinda p*** too.

This book isn't going to set the mentalism world on fire--and E.E.'s other ebooks this year are far superior. But for $7.95, you can't go wrong, especially if you are just starting out in this arcane art.