Magic Tricks

I originally bought this book after hearing from another magician about the great work Eric has done with the Hot Rod. I have no books on the Hot Rod and have never even seen anyone doing professional level magic with a Hot Rod Stick but have always seen the potential. Apparently Eric saw even more potential than I did and has harnessed it!

So lets get into the books contents. It's well written with great photographs of each of the moves for a visual aid. This book was well thought out and executed in a very clear manner.

Here is some info about the routines found in the book.

- Kill Bill: The book begins with a routine using dollar bills in a great pocket mentalism act you can carry with you all the time.

- Charming Redux: Next much to my delight was a one coin version of Charming Chinese Challenge. I focus mostly on coin magic myself and have developed my own one coin CCC routine based on some of the work of Gregory Wilson (Unleashed). I love how Eric has also explored this area and expanded on what I was already doing giving me more phases. Just wear a coin with a hole in it around your neck and as soon as someone asks about it, you are off with coin magic! Great ice breaker.

- SALT, STRAW, SPECTACULAR and GRAIN OF SALT: Next what seemed to start as a simple salt shaker through table routine took a huge twist! Suddenly a straw is penetrating a salt shaker visually and the salt shaker and straw are passed out for inspection. A completely new twist and new penetration effect based on an old method. Then a second salt shaker routine is taught where it disappears in the hands of the spectator and appears back on the table like a time warp.

- SHAKER-THRU-WINDOW: Next up we have one of the greatest routines of the book. Shaker through window. This is less of a magic routine and more of an impromptu world class illusion as a salt shaker is slowly pushed through a normal window and appears outside of the restaurant.

You may have noticed by now that everything in this book is USABLE. You can do this material just carrying average items or finding a few materials like napkins and salt shakers. I am impressed that nothing so far is throw away material or requires a purchase. This is all great stuff you can use.

- THE COLOR OF MEMORY: Next we have Eric’s take on stack work. Introducing his own unique stack that is much easier to remember and then shows you a black and white memory routines where you can apply it.

- POLYCHROMATIC CONNECTION: Then here is the reason I bought the book the HOT ROD routine. Eric goes into his Hot Rod work starting with a nice write up of the paddle move. From the grip to the move and the angles he starts you off with a great foundation. Next he goes into his multiple phase routine where the Hot Rod disappears, reappears, splits into two and does the impossible all as a “brain test” of sorts. I have been lucky to see him perform this live and no book could do it justice but this book breaks it down perfectly. One of my favorite moves is the Zoom Change. It is a completely visual way of changing a hot rod color as if you are zooming in with your fingers.

- OCULAR ACES: Finally Eric ends the book teaches a unique Occular Force method and a very interesting routine finding the aces in “Occular Aces”.