Q4 Looks Wild for Magic Books
Get your library ready! 📚
I have a special advantage working as both a magic book reviewer and as an employee at one of the largest magic book publishers, Vanishing Inc. That advantage is that I hear about books that are coming, and in this issue of The Erudite Magic Digest, I want to discuss some of the latest books released as well as ones yet to come in 2024. We all recognize that our pocketbooks are finite, but our desires are more or less infinite. So I hope this will help you decide what you need to save for, and what reviews may be coming down the stretch.
Out now
There are a TON of books coming, but before we get into that, let’s talk a bit about books that have been released lately.
The Green Neck System II
If you blinked, you may have missed the first volume of this series. The original Green Neck System shares a method to determine a thought-of object using a simple mixing procedure of three objects. That’s oversimplifying things a bit, but it’s an extremely devious, flexible, and organic system. In fact, it’s one I use as part of my “EDC Mentalism.”
And now, Gabriel Werlen is back with The Green Neck System 2, sharing 24 new routines in an almost 250 page book. According to the ad copy, these routines go beyond the original to tricks involving:
Free Will
Kurotsuke
Telepathy
Clue (the game)
Rock Paper Scissors
and more…
Based on those descriptors, you get the idea of what this can do, and how you might deploy it as part of your close-up or stand-up mentalism show.
It’s been out in French for a while, but it’s making its English language debut at a retail price of $60. One thing worth nothing about the new English version - it’s only available in softcover, so it doesn’t quite match the first volume, which was a hardback. It seems like this would have been the time to re-release the original in softcover so magicians could buy the matching set, but alas, the original is still out of print (with the exception of Don’s Magic & Books, who has at least one copy at the time of this newsletter).
I don’t own this 2nd volume yet, but I plan to add it to my magic library since I really liked the first book and use the system. In fact, if you want to see all of my thoughts on the original, check out the review posted below:
The Particle System
This is a bit of a cheat because while it’s “out,” it’s also not yet been released en masse. However, early copies sold at MAGIC Live and other smaller events, so it exists in magicians’ libraries right now. In fact, a little birdie told me we don’t have too long to wait before this goes everywhere.
In case you don’t know what this is, The Particle System is a book outlining Josh’s work on his own special stack, one that has some tremendous properties. It’s the first Joshua Jay book of original material a few years, and it’s made up entirely of magic he’s actually performed for real shows. So you won’t get iterations - he’ll teach you the final version of lots of great plots that are baked into the stack, or are easily attainable from the stack.
Even thought it’s a book about stack work, Josh designed the book to appeal to card magicians of all stripes, not just those who want to perform with a memdeck. You won’t need to memorize the stack to reap all of the benefits. As Josh says,
“…if you open your eyes to it, the Particle System is a Swiss Army Knife of tools and tricks that can enhance the magic you already do.”
This book was being tossed around in the 2020 annual letter as a potential 2021 release, but since we’ve already seen the physical product this year, stay tuned. If you’re a card magician, I think you’re going to like this one.
Outnumbered
Anytime John Bannon releases a new book, it always has my attention. It always used to be a big deal, with lots of fanfare and attention. But lately, he’s been sneaking in some smaller books below the radar.
Recently, I heard about Outnumbered, a small, 6 effect book[let] released at Blackpool 2024. As with most John Bannon material this is cards, and the idea behind each of the effects is that they’ll fool even you as you work through the instructions. I’ve definitely been there, done that with John Bannon, and it’s a great feeling.
Ironically, I don’t own any of these “out now” books I’m talking about, but I definitely want to have all three on my shelf. This one seems the priciest at $40 for 6 tricks, but it all depends on why you collect magic books, or if you’ll use any of the material. Several looked interesting to me, and I’m always keen to follow along with the thinking of John Bannon.
Yet to Come
As if the previous books won’t drain your pocketbook dry, there’s more to come. Here are a few of the books I’ve heard about that I’m especially excited for in the last part of 2024. Of course, if you have books you’re excited about, sound off in the comments!
Johnny Thompson Books
ICYMI, Vanishing Inc bought the rights to the The Magic of Johnny Thompson books, and they have been sent to the printer to come out later this year. If you, like me, missed out with the first printing, rest easy knowing that you have time to save up and get access to the thinking of this legend of magic.
This is over 650 pages of magic, spanning 2 hardcover books, lavishly photographed, and penned by [the infamous] Jamy Ian Swiss. Based on my covetous eying of the table of contents, most of this magic is card work, but I’m just as anxious to see how Johnny thought about magic through the lens of these books.
In fact, I feel that’s one of the most important things we can gather from a book. Yes, tricks are great, and it’s even better if we find something to add to our repertoire. But really, I’ve gotten to a point where I have so many lifetimes of magic in my library, I’m not looking for the “next great trick.” Instead, I want to learn and be a student of the creator - allowing them to shape the way I think about magic. And when I consider how much Johnny Thompson influenced some of the best names in magic over the decades, I can barely wait for these to go on sale.
The books were never cheap, so save those pennies, boys and girls!
Repertoire II
Asi Wind announced this book earlier this year (April, I think?!), and even established a preorder, which I took advantage of. While I’m fairly sure there will be copies available once Asi has fulfilled the pre-orders, I wasn’t taking any chances.
The original Repertoire was absolutely stunning, and contains one of my favorite card tricks ever: A.A.C.A.A.N. I’m expecting some great things from this 2nd volume, both in terms of the content and the layout. Of course, it’s being produced in the same style as the first volume, with a classy black faux leather hardback and hand-painted watercolor illustrations by Asi himself. The paper and ink on this one produce an intoxicating aroma, which is almost magic of itself. IYKYK.
Asi has repeatedly indicated via his social media that this will ship before the end of 2024, so I’m hoping this will make a great holiday present to myself, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll have it on your 2025 reading list. The pre-order was $100, and since the original volume is still listed at that price, I expect it to come in around that same price point when finally released.
Gratitude for what I already have
I never want to come across as always pushing you to get the latest and greatest book I’m discussing. On the contrary, I hope Erudite Magic videos and discussions help you make better decisions about what is best for you or help you to enjoy the library you have.
With that in mind, I want to share another hidden gem I discovered recently, and it came about because of my research into one of the books above.
I strive to provide you with value in this newsletter, whether you’re on the free plan, or a paid subscription. Either way, I appreciate you taking time to read and share what we’re discussing here with other passionate magic book lovers.
Another hidden gem (or, learning your style)…
As I get older and more experienced in reading magic books, one of the things I find is that I’m better able to decipher what might work for me and my performance style. The following trick is a great example of how this works.
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