Customer Reviews

Self-Working Mental Magic (Dover Magic Books)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Self Working Mental Magic, by Karl Fulves, is an extremely useful book- if not for all of the effects themselves- then at least for the principles introduced. I didn't use many of the tricks exactly as they were presented, however I did find that using the basic premises to create variations on several of them elevated the effects to professional status. I would recommend this book to any amateur magician who is thinking of getting started in mentalism. I think it has many excellent principles contained within its pages. Some of the suggested presentations seem a little elementary, however this is to be expected since the book is aimed at beginners. As stated earlier, the tricks lend themselves quite easily to improvements and variations. The section on "book tests" has some nice effects, and Fulves' variation on the classic "7 Keys to Baldpate" make the book well worth the price. Armed with this book, and a little creativity, any magician will have a number of mental miracles at their fingertips.

This is an excellent book for two very different reasons. First, it introduces the reader to lots of ideas in mental magic that are not available to the general population(unless they have read this book), and second, it spends time explaining the psychology behind what the 'mindreader' is doing and how it affects the audience. Many of the ideas in this book come from some of the great magicians of the past 50 years, and if nothing else, Karls' variations are well worth the price.

The tricks in this book are easy to learn. Within minutes, you will be doing the same tricks magicians such as Uri Geller do. A few require an accomplice, and none require any special skill with slieight of hand.

This book is amazing. I learned 4 of the tricks in no time at all and people now think I have real mental powers like David Blaine.

You could start a religion with the stuff in this book. Imagine knowing what coin someone chose or knowing what card they put in their pocket. The best trick is where you ask someone to think of any card, just THINK of one, they dont even have to take one from a pack. Then you name it...

Speaking for my husband, an amateur magician, this book has been a tremendous help. It has easy to understand instructions, relatively easy tricks, but plenty of WOW power. Great for the beginner and pro alike.

If you see a book written by Karl Fulves on magic that has the words Self-Working in the title then buy it. There is a wealth of knowledge in each of these books. -Diamond Jim Tyler

This book is not for the semi-pro or pro mentalist. I did not find any effects in this book that I would use in a mentalist act.

Some awesome stuff in here. I use several of the effects all the time. Definitely worth the small price.

I can't believe this book only rates three stars. I have used some of the material in my professional show and have seen many other professional mentalists using the same material. If you are an idiot don't buy this book (as apparently some idiots have) but if you have any real performance skill and really want to blow them away, get it!

As usual, Karl Fulves delivers top quality magic. This time it's for the Mentalist. I have used quite a few tricks from this book to show at my local magic club and they were received quite well. You will need a basic knowledge of magic to perform most of the tricks in this publication. Not for the absolute beginner. Well worth buying.