Mind Blasters USA by Peter Duffie

[Tom Frame]

Mind Blasters USA (Ebook) by Peter Duffie $29.95
358 pages, 142 photographs, 21 illustrations
Available at: http://www.peterduffie.com/


Peter Duffie continues his popular series of mentalism ebooks with Mind Blasters USA. This time around, he has compiled over 80 effects from an impressive mob of Yankees.

Contributors include Marty Kane, Kenton Knepper, Bruce Bernstein, Devin Knight, Dr. Bill, Dennis Loomis, Jeffrey Bloom, Tony Razzano, Elliott Bresler, Patrick G. Redford, Craig Browning, Bryn Reynolds, Richard Busch, Barrie Richardson, Christopher Caldwell, John Riggs, Ray Carlyle, Robin Robertson & Stephen Jones, Paul Carnazzo, Rolando Santos, Cameron Francis, Mark Strivings, Scott F. Guinn, Christopher Taylor & Matthew Johnson, Chuck Hickok, Don Theo III, Dale A. Hildebrandt, Sean Waters, Jheff and Allen Zingg.

Whew!

Overall, the contributors do a good job of teaching the material.

The quality of the photographs varies considerably. This is an inelegant and annoying aspect of the production, but youll get over it. Most of the photographs are helpful.

When I was confronted with the number of effects in this tome, I was seized by post traumatic stress. Shaking and drooling, I was transported back to my review of Mr. Duffies The Celtic Cabal (May 14, 2010). Writing that 5100 word brute was an exhausting ordeal that nearly caused me irreparable psychological damage.

This book contains many more effects. If I attempted to provide my usual, obsessive description of each and every effect in the book, I would need long term inpatient treatment on a locked unit. No siree, Im not gonna do it!

I will tell you that youll find a wide variety of material involving drawing duplications, predictions, billet work, pseudo-psychometry, book tests, telekinesis, coincidence effects and body stunts.

I didnt like about a dozen of the effects because I found them to be weak, procedurally problematic, unconvincing or simply not my style.

The rest of the material is good and some of it is very good indeed. Here are some of my favorites:


The Card or the Cash Visual Matchup (Scott F. Guinn): The performer seals a participants $20 bill inside an envelope and writes Prize on it. He uses a clothes pin to attach the envelope to a second participants clothing. The performer displays a face-up deck, places it in the card case and lets the first participant hold it.

He tosses a book of matches into the crowd to select a third participant. The participant freely selects a number between one and ten and removes that many matches from the book. She tosses the match book into the crowd to select a fourth participant. That participant counts the remaining matches in the book and adds their digits to arrive at a single digit number. She tears that number of matches out of the book of places the book in her pocket. She announces that she tore out six matches.

The first participant removes the deck from its case and deals six cards into a pile onto the table. The participant displays the sixth card, the King of Hearts. The performer seals the card in an envelope and writes Answer on it. He uses a clothes pin to attach the envelope to the participants clothing.

The performer asks the participant if she would rather have the $20 or the King of Hearts. Regardless of her response, she opens up the Prize envelope and discovers the King of Hearts. The performer gives her a lottery ticket and sends her back to her seat.

The first participant opens the Answer envelope and finds his $20 bill. He concentrates on the serial number of his bill. The performer begins to write serial numbers on a board. He gets the strong impression of the number nine. The participant holding the match book opens it, counts the matches and discovers that there are nine matches remaining. The performer finishes writing the serial numbers which match the numbers on the participants bill.


Harry Anderson's Yard Sale Deck Using the Aronson Stack (Dennis Loomis): The performer displays a deck of cards that he bought at a yard sale. Several participants work together to freely create a random playing card, say the Four of Diamonds. The performer tosses the cased deck to another participant. She reads the price tag on the card case and sees that the deck cost forty-one cents. She removes the cards from the case and counts them into a face-up pile on the table. The forty-first card is the Four of Diamonds.


Ring Tone (Patrick G. Redford): Four participants with cell phones in their pockets take the stage. The performer turns his back and asks the participants to remove their cell phones and write down their telephone numbers on a sheet of paper. The performer asks the participants to unlock their phones and trade them with someone else.

The performer hands his phone to one of the four participants, who dials any of the four phone numbers. Based upon the ring tones, the performer correctly determines the owners of three of the phones. He then divines the content of the remaining phones home screen.


Shopping Trip (Barrie Richardson): A participant is given a business card and a pencil. The performer asks her to imagine that she is holding a large mail order catalogue. She freely mentally selects one category of products, a page number and a specific product. She writes her responses on the business card and folds it. The performer takes back the pencil and folded card and drops them into a glass on the table.

The performer correctly divines the page number. He writes something on a drawing pad and then asks the participant to name the category of the product. He shows that he correctly predicted the category.

He gives her his drawing pad and marker. He takes a second pen and pad and walks out into the audience. He asks her to draw her imagined product on the pad as he draws something on his pad.
The participant displays her drawing of, say, a tennis racket and two balls. The performer returns to the stage and displays his drawing of a tennis racket and three balls.


Sugar from the Orient (Christopher Taylor and Matthew Johnson): The performer draws a different ESP symbol on the backs of four sugar packets and tables them face-down in front of a participant. He turns his back and instructs the participant to lift up any one of the sugar packets, remember the symbol and then place it face-down onto the table again, in the same position from whence it came. He asks her to slightly move each of the packets to eliminate any indication of which packet was selected.

The performer faces the participant and lifts up each packet and studies its symbol. He removes a marker and draws a symbol on his palm. The participant announces that she chose the triangle. The performer displays a triangle written on his palm.


Peter Duffie has compiled a very impressive book that features great lashings of strong, clever mentalism that will induce cerebral explosions. I really like it.


Highly Recommended

[Ted M]

I've been pondering this one, so I'll be using this along with Elliott Bresler's writeup to decide whether to buy.

Tom, I enjoy your reviews and find them very useful. Thanks for writing them!

[Tom Frame]

Thanks, Ted. You made my day.

[Joe Mckay]

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the review. I am glad (for the sake of your sanity) that you didn't do another effect by effect review. I cannot imagine how much effort they must take. Particularly with the large compilations that Peter Duffie has been putting out. I'll never forget the mammoth one you did a couple of years ago. INSANE! :-)

As always - keep up the good work!

Joe

[pduffie]

Thank you, Tom

Your excellent review is very much appreciated.

With Best Wishes

Peter

[Matthew Field]

Peter Duffie's "Mind Blasters USA" is an absolutely amazing compilation from some very creative minds in magic. There is material for many different settings and for mentalists of many different levels and skill sets.

It is a worthy addition to the mentalist's (virtual) bookshelf.

Thanks for the review, Tom.

Matt Field

[Scott F. Guinn]

Thanks for the mention, Tom! I am greatly honored to have been included in this compilation of outstanding contributors, and to have been mentioned in your review.