In our third part of ‘the ones that got away in 2013’ we review Spoken by Rus Andrews.
In our famous (OK – not really that famous – but bear with me anyway) one sentence summary, the effect looks like this: the spectator thinks of any card, mentally makes a few changes to it and that card matches a single playing card sitting in your wallet.
Now I love effects like this – it falls in to the Kenton Knepper’s Kollossal Killer/ Michael Murray’s Springboard family of effects. I’m always looking for the perfect one which I can carry around with me and perform at a moment’s notice. So the question is, is ‘Spoken’ the one?
The DVD includes a good number of performances of the effect which is useful given the nature of the effect. As the name implies the effect relies heavily on some clever scripting. But the process is broken down very carefully – firstly in outline and secondly in much more detail. And the process is not actually that complicated when you get down to it.
There’s some smart thinking here, building on the shoulders of others. In addition to the video instruction, the DVD includes a printed summary card which helps you learn the script anywhere. Positively you can use (pretty much) any wallet but you will need to supply a number of cards to make up the effect.
Now in the interests of transparency, this isn’t 100% full proof – but if you stick to the script you really ought to be successful most of the time. Like any effect of this nature it requires some confidence to perform, but it is not as scary as many of these kinds of tricks.
Variations on a theme
An alternative version is included which doesn’t rely so much on the verbal skills, but does use a pack of cards (which you will have to make up). This would be good if you lack confidence when you start performing this, but if you have any performing experience at all you shouldn’t need to go here…
They also describe a ‘parlour’ variation and another close up option. And some thoughts on what to do if it does go wrong.
Final Thoughts
The DVD is put together nicely and easy to navigate. The explanations are clear and thorough – aided by David Pennington’s questions and comments. This is strong mentalism that will fit in your pocket and should get you some great reactions. If I’m honest, I think there are better effects out there, and it is unlikely to supplant On the Mark, for example, in my working set. But this is, at least partly, a matter of taste and style.
Available from MagicDirect