Asymptotes
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Ben Blau's card effects have now been amassed into a hard-bound volume. Ben has been quietly influencing the mentalism community for years with his meticulously-crafted miracles.
This 355 page, hard-bound and dust-jacketed book reveals many of Ben's most closely-guarded secrets, moves and principles - all of the things that he uses in his mind-busting arsenal.
Illustrated with 140 crystal-clear photographs, many of these effects break new ground in the realm of mental mysteries with playing cards.
Ben Blau is a very clever fellow, indeed! If you like impossible card discoveries that will fool just about everyone, then ASYMPTOTES is a must have. In it's pages are many ideas that are real additions to the armory of those who practice Mentalism with playing cards.Bruce Bernstein
Ben Blau's book is a must-read for all lovers of sophisticated card mysteries. His approach is scholarly, his thinking is immaculate and his work is deeply fooling. Very highly recommended!"Mark Elsdon
Ben Blau's ASYMPTOTES has some incredible and public-pleasing ploys! I think that all serious performers of mentalism should read it. I was surprised by how much I learned (and re-learned) from this book.Marc Salem
Clearly, when it comes to theatrical mystery, Ben Blau aspires to perfectionMax Maven
Asymptotes, by Ben Blau, is one of my favorite magic (or mentalism) books. And I'd like to point out that my library is well-stocked, very well-stocked indeed. This book contains mentalism routines with cards. Everything is incredibly well explained. Ben Blau is cunning, and his routines are very cleverly constructed. They are often impossible to reassemble for the magician trying to understand the method behind the effect. To exploit the routines, you'll need to spend time on them, not because of difficult manipulations, but to assimilate and understand the logic behind the effect. The book is also very well done: well written, well laid out, nicely bound in a hard cover. Once again, this is one of my favorite books, to which I'm most attached. There's a lot of intelligence behind every turn. I really like Ishin-Denshin, Sort of Truth, or Crimpson Clupedia, for example. But the whole book is good. Highly recommended.
Ben Blau is such a creative thinker when it comes to mental card magic, and Asymptotes is full of gems. Don't expect to find quick and snappy material within these pages; these are pieces that take time and demand a focused connection with your spectator. There's certainly a time and place for material like that, and Blau's work will repeatedly have you smiling over its clever methodology and devious structure.
I've put this book in my wishlist and taken it out many times over the years. I was finally in the mood for some "mentalism with cards" types of books. And I wasn't finding it in the places I thought I was supposed to look. Finally ended up rediscovering this book and buying it. I wish I didn't wait so long. This is easily my favorite magic / mentalism book I've read this year. I loved it. And, more importantly, I can see myself doing almost every trick in it.I was enjoying it so much that I ordered Ben's second book after reading only the first 3 tricks in this one. I was originally put off by the price, but you're getting more than your money's worth with this one. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The way Ben Blau writes his routines gives you the impression that you are watching the trick unfold before your eyes. He seamlessly combines the script, theory, and methodology in one stream of consciousness, and at the end of each explanation leaves you thinking, "Well, that's quite clever!"This book is full of material that I found inspiring. It has a mental-magic focus without any excessive finger-flicking or memorization necessary. I know I will keep coming back to it, and highly recommend giving it a read if you are into ingenious methods and quirky mental presentations.
The effects are really great, but the thinking behind them that can be applied to other effects makes this book worth double its price. Ben Blau has a unique way of seeing effects, the logic of how one part leads to another, Each effect contains a cohesive string of events that build suspense and then lead to very surprising endings.
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Ryan asks: Is this a book of knuckle busting card moves? Or is it suitable for those who don’t partake in finger fumbling with the pasteboards? Oh and Merry Christmas to everyone at Vanishinginc. And a very happy new year ??
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