As Guy Hollingworth explains in the foreword, there are lots of books on card magic, but very few of them focus on longer, structured routines the way Evidence of a Well Spent Life does. Across the over 170 pages, you’ll discover entertaining and deceptive card routines that weave multiple effects into a single, coherent performance piece.
Each routine has a theatrical structure, with each moment building on the others to a powerful and memorable climax. For example, in “Better Safe than Sorry 3”, three cards are found despite the deck being secured with rubber bands. The effect is then repeated, under test conditions, and the final card appears folded into quarters inside a sealed plastic box secured with rubber bands.
His structuring also makes the routines more deceptive. In “Eight Ahead!”, Helge takes the One Ahead principle to the extreme and gets miles ahead of the audience. Four signed cards are lost and found in a variety of ways before transforming into Aces. The selections are then found in four impossible locations, sandwiched between two cards, in the card case, in your wallet, and in a matchbox.
Along with the incredible routines, Helge has also included original sleights that are perfect for stand-up, close-up, or even strolling performers (many of them have an accompanying QR code to show you what they look like) and several essays to improve your magic. You’ll get real insights from Helge on using humor for deception, adapting card magic for stand-up, and how to construct your magic. (His essay on how to treat spectators should be a must-read for every serious performer.)
However, our personal favorite section is devoted to Helge’s work on creating signed duplicate cards. Not only will you learn Helge’s work on the method, but he teaches you multiple applications, including a killer Brainwave, an impossible Torn and Restored, and one of the strongest and most fooling Traveler’s routines we’ve ever seen. Each copy of the book includes eight special cards to get you started performing these routines right away.
Whether you’re interested in performing card magic on the stage, playing around with signed duplicates, or are just looking for card magic with a great structure, Evidence of a Well Spent Life is the perfect book to add to your shelf.
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