Generally, I would rather compliment, then complain, but this PDF at $26 is perhaps the worst
purchase I've ever made, and certainly my worst purchase in magic . . . so far. (Side note: my
sister made a worse purchase, but got a great story when she found an incredible on-line deal on a 6
foot ladder. When it was delivered, it turned out to be 6 inches. Hilarious!)
Anyway,
Elsdon's text -- it should be noted somewhere on the site -- is written for someone who already
knows the principles (I challenge you to make sense of his reference to a "branching anagram and
some simple pumping" if these terms are not already in your repertoire). I decided not to bother
trying any of the effects because they seemed rather indifferent and the whole experience put me
off. Really, you assume that Penguin is going to deliver some value if they put a $26 price on a
PDF, for goodness sake.
Further undermining the sense of value is that all the tricks (or
perhaps 9 of the 10) are taken from other sources. They are not original. I give Elsdon lots of
credit (and one of the stars in this review) for citing his sources. Yay for acknowledging the work
of others!
I do give Elsdon credit as well (and another star) for a great title:
Conversation as Mentalism. I loved the idea that this was really going to be about engaging people
deeply in a thoughtful way that led to magical experiences, and wish it had taken me there.
Final note, I've only seen volume 1. Perhaps volumes 2-5 will be worth another $104. I suppose
I'll never know.
Conversation as . . . disapointment
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