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Tricky Nick
I'm Tricky Nick. The world's greatest magician.This is my absolutely not-made-up story of magical greatness. Magic changed my life and it could change yours too.I learnt my first trick when I was ten and now I'll teach it to you (plus a whole bunch more). You'll also meet Trixie, a magical mystery girl, and the strange B.U.M (Brotherhood of United Magicians), and find out other Top Secret Stuff I can't reveal just yet.This tale is so incredible, so unbelievable, you'll swear I'm making it up. But you can trust me, I'm a magician ...SHORTLISTED FOR AUREALIS AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S FICTION 2020
- GenresChildrens
256 pages, Paperback
Published August 25, 2020
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas J. Johnson
4 books10 followersNicholas J. Johnson is a honest-to-goodness magician, an author and an expert on scams and deception.
He has written two crime novels for adults, Chasing The Ace and Fast & Loose.
His first book for young readers is Tricky Nick.
He only rates books he wants to give five stars too.
He has written two crime novels for adults, Chasing The Ace and Fast & Loose.
His first book for young readers is Tricky Nick.
He only rates books he wants to give five stars too.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 11, 2020
Oh, what an enormous amount of fun this book is! Tricky Nick – A Completely True Not-At-All Made-Up Story by the Greatest Magician in the World (Pan MacMillan 2020) is a hilarious tale by author – and actual magician – Nicholas J. Johnson. In this awesome middle-grade book, Nick tells the amazing story of his life and how he became a magician – all of it completely true (except for the bits he’s made up). This book is chock-full of magic tricks and how to do them, an outrageous adventure story with evil baddies, time travel, good guys trying to save the world, and Nick’s very ordinary family who remain completely unaware of the prodigious talents of their son. There’s the Brotherhood of United Magicians (BUM), Trixie the mystery girl and top-secret tricks. Everything about this book will appeal to the younger reader.
But the most outstanding feature of this book – even putting aside the fact that the author actually teaches you REAL magic tricks that you can practise yourself – is the incredible VOICE. Nick narrates this memoir-style story with imagination, humour, sarcasm, wit and irony. Kids will love the adventurous narrative, the writing style and the frequently funny asides. And there are numerous moments that will have adult readers laughing out loud too. This book is seriously fun but also encompasses serious messages about confidence, friendship, belief in yourself and risk-taking. With sharp, age-appropriate dialogue, a sense of wonder and a feeling like Tricky Nick could be your new best friend, this would be a great gift for kids who love magic, boys who need some encouragement to read, girls who need reminding that they can do anything … basically any kids who love a good story! Would recommend for anyone over the age of about seven (to seventy-seven!)
But the most outstanding feature of this book – even putting aside the fact that the author actually teaches you REAL magic tricks that you can practise yourself – is the incredible VOICE. Nick narrates this memoir-style story with imagination, humour, sarcasm, wit and irony. Kids will love the adventurous narrative, the writing style and the frequently funny asides. And there are numerous moments that will have adult readers laughing out loud too. This book is seriously fun but also encompasses serious messages about confidence, friendship, belief in yourself and risk-taking. With sharp, age-appropriate dialogue, a sense of wonder and a feeling like Tricky Nick could be your new best friend, this would be a great gift for kids who love magic, boys who need some encouragement to read, girls who need reminding that they can do anything … basically any kids who love a good story! Would recommend for anyone over the age of about seven (to seventy-seven!)
September 2, 2020
BOOK REPORT
TRICKY NICK (by Nicholas J Johnson).
FULL DISCLAIMER: Having read Nicholas J Johnson’s previous books ‘Chasing the Ace’ and ‘Fast and Loose’ I can honestly say I am a fan of his inventive, character driven, genre bending fiction. His skill as a storyteller, both in person and on paper is superb.
Having said that…
Tricky Nick is not fiction. Throughout the book he goes to great pains to reiterate this fact. Though I suspect he may be lying.
Yes, his Dad really is named Wally, but Google couldn’t find any ‘W G Alma Scout Hall’.
Yes, the tricks he teaches in the book really work, but I’ve never heard of a magician called ‘Horatio T. Zephyr the Third’.
Despite this, from the Prologue (“A Prologue is the bit at the beginning of the book that everyone skips. That’s a shame because this stuff is great.”) to the ‘One Last Thing’ (where he explains how to use the book itself to perform magic) this is an incredibly engaging page-turner.
Ok… it’s written for kids, not for aged magicians who have nothing better to do than fact check whether or not a library in Canberra caught fire thirty years ago, but I was hooked.
Somehow, Nicholas has adapted the slick, con artist writing style he used in his previous books, and transformed into a cheeky schoolboy on the verge of becoming the “greatest magician in the world”.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I can imagine boys AND girls from 8 to 12 years old would absolutely LOVE it. It almost makes me want to procreate so I can give it to my own offspring.
Even if you don’t like magic, Tricky Nick’s passion for the art is infectious. By the end of the book you’ll be so smitten I guarantee you’ll try out at least one of the tricks inside yourself.
PRO TIP: Don’t buy it on Kindle. If you do, you’ll miss out on being able to use the book itself for not one, but many amazing effects it was ingeniously designed to do.
Highly recommended.
TRICKY NICK (by Nicholas J Johnson).
FULL DISCLAIMER: Having read Nicholas J Johnson’s previous books ‘Chasing the Ace’ and ‘Fast and Loose’ I can honestly say I am a fan of his inventive, character driven, genre bending fiction. His skill as a storyteller, both in person and on paper is superb.
Having said that…
Tricky Nick is not fiction. Throughout the book he goes to great pains to reiterate this fact. Though I suspect he may be lying.
Yes, his Dad really is named Wally, but Google couldn’t find any ‘W G Alma Scout Hall’.
Yes, the tricks he teaches in the book really work, but I’ve never heard of a magician called ‘Horatio T. Zephyr the Third’.
Despite this, from the Prologue (“A Prologue is the bit at the beginning of the book that everyone skips. That’s a shame because this stuff is great.”) to the ‘One Last Thing’ (where he explains how to use the book itself to perform magic) this is an incredibly engaging page-turner.
Ok… it’s written for kids, not for aged magicians who have nothing better to do than fact check whether or not a library in Canberra caught fire thirty years ago, but I was hooked.
Somehow, Nicholas has adapted the slick, con artist writing style he used in his previous books, and transformed into a cheeky schoolboy on the verge of becoming the “greatest magician in the world”.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I can imagine boys AND girls from 8 to 12 years old would absolutely LOVE it. It almost makes me want to procreate so I can give it to my own offspring.
Even if you don’t like magic, Tricky Nick’s passion for the art is infectious. By the end of the book you’ll be so smitten I guarantee you’ll try out at least one of the tricks inside yourself.
PRO TIP: Don’t buy it on Kindle. If you do, you’ll miss out on being able to use the book itself for not one, but many amazing effects it was ingeniously designed to do.
Highly recommended.
January 5, 2022
A clever and funny story for any competent reader over the age of eight (that includes adults). Tricky Nick is not only a great story it also teaches you how to do magic. While the character of Tricky Nick is lots of fun Trixie in her sparkly skirt is magic!
PS My name is Jill and I'm married to a Wally!
PS My name is Jill and I'm married to a Wally!
October 7, 2020
Me and my kids (7 and 12) all loved this. It's a proper magic trick of a book in its deft, inventive and always playful blend of truth and imagination. Did that really happen? Yes it did (but not really). We get told the story of how a boy becomes a magician, including some actual how-to instructions on basic magic tricks and techniques, and we are reminded that getting good requires practice (no fantastical 'instant expert' stories here, thankfully) - all within a rollicking plot that juggles mysterious strangers, thrilling action, things disappearing and reappearing, fire, and a few surprises worthy of a master showman. Enjoy the show!
October 14, 2020
Such a fun book! Couldn't put it down! Two minutes after I reached the end, I performed a magic trick for my Mum and she was very confused as to how I did it. I'm buying copies for my nephews and nieces for Christmas.
October 29, 2020
I am a long way from the target audience of this book but enjoyed it anyway and will now pass onto Master 9 to get his opinion.
September 27, 2020
Tricky Nick is an alias of sorts for Melbourne magician, author and public speaker Nicholas J. Johnson, whose work you might have seen on stage and screen, from the world’s top comedy festivals to con-busting on The Real Hustle, The Project, and A Current Affair. This book – Johnson’s third novel – is the ‘completely true not-at-all made up’ origin story of the greatest magician in the world…which is him…sort of. The fact that there’s a decent smattering of time travel and secret society action here tells you all you need to know about the agility of a magician’s sense of ‘truth’.
The central story follows young Nicholas as he learns his first trick (found on the back of a Cornflake box), gradually upgrades to discover the ‘magic’ of the 793.8 shelf of the local library (look it up), then meets some uniquely magical friends who guide him on his path to an inevitable future as a magic pro. It’s a lovely journey narrative, with lots of laughs, and some gentle fun-poking at grown ups. There are takeaways around the importance of practice when developing new skills, and being open to learning from mistakes. So, enjoy it just for that, if you wish.
BUT if you want to dive deeper (as I ALWAYS want to do) Tricky Nick gives you a few extra levels. For one thing, as Nick learns his early tricks, he shows them to the reader. With a few simple props – a coin, a card, a pen and paper, some string – the novice conjurer can kick start their pathway to magical greatness.
The book also includes lots of fourth-wall-busting. The narrator adds quotes, footnotes and asides to advance the action, further mucking around with what we should or shouldn’t believe about this ‘completely true’ biography.
Then there’s the vocabulary. The enigmatic Mr E, a curious gent who Nick happens upon in the library, enjoys the magic of language, as much as any other kind of trickery. “One always finds it inspiriting to chance upon a disquisitive mind amongst this humble bibliotheca of prestidigitation,” he declares. Have fun extending your reading by looking up some definitions and playing around with synonyms. [And yes, I know my definition of ‘fun’ can be as contentious as a magician’s definition of ‘truth’, ha ha.] This is also a nod to the performative component of stage magic, which often relies on misdirection through language.
And in amongst all of this playfulness around words, and secrets, and authenticity, the actual-author-Nicholas is asking one incredibly important question: how do we ever know what to believe? Critical thinking is probably the most crucial skill we can develop as humans on this quirky earthly journey – and it’s never been more important that in the current environment of information overload. In addition to stage magic, Nicholas J. Johnson specialises in exposing fraudulence. He offers programs for secondary schools on topics around critical thinking and gullibility, and presents at corporate events helping leading businesses unpack the mechanics of scams.
Whether your young reader is an aspiring Penn or Teller, or just a curious problem-solver, this is an enjoyable addition to the library. I recommend reading it with – or to – the kids in your life, if you have the opportunity, to open up a dialogue around reasoning, resilience…and lying through your teeth.
A longer version of this review is available at charminglanguage.com
The central story follows young Nicholas as he learns his first trick (found on the back of a Cornflake box), gradually upgrades to discover the ‘magic’ of the 793.8 shelf of the local library (look it up), then meets some uniquely magical friends who guide him on his path to an inevitable future as a magic pro. It’s a lovely journey narrative, with lots of laughs, and some gentle fun-poking at grown ups. There are takeaways around the importance of practice when developing new skills, and being open to learning from mistakes. So, enjoy it just for that, if you wish.
BUT if you want to dive deeper (as I ALWAYS want to do) Tricky Nick gives you a few extra levels. For one thing, as Nick learns his early tricks, he shows them to the reader. With a few simple props – a coin, a card, a pen and paper, some string – the novice conjurer can kick start their pathway to magical greatness.
The book also includes lots of fourth-wall-busting. The narrator adds quotes, footnotes and asides to advance the action, further mucking around with what we should or shouldn’t believe about this ‘completely true’ biography.
Then there’s the vocabulary. The enigmatic Mr E, a curious gent who Nick happens upon in the library, enjoys the magic of language, as much as any other kind of trickery. “One always finds it inspiriting to chance upon a disquisitive mind amongst this humble bibliotheca of prestidigitation,” he declares. Have fun extending your reading by looking up some definitions and playing around with synonyms. [And yes, I know my definition of ‘fun’ can be as contentious as a magician’s definition of ‘truth’, ha ha.] This is also a nod to the performative component of stage magic, which often relies on misdirection through language.
And in amongst all of this playfulness around words, and secrets, and authenticity, the actual-author-Nicholas is asking one incredibly important question: how do we ever know what to believe? Critical thinking is probably the most crucial skill we can develop as humans on this quirky earthly journey – and it’s never been more important that in the current environment of information overload. In addition to stage magic, Nicholas J. Johnson specialises in exposing fraudulence. He offers programs for secondary schools on topics around critical thinking and gullibility, and presents at corporate events helping leading businesses unpack the mechanics of scams.
Whether your young reader is an aspiring Penn or Teller, or just a curious problem-solver, this is an enjoyable addition to the library. I recommend reading it with – or to – the kids in your life, if you have the opportunity, to open up a dialogue around reasoning, resilience…and lying through your teeth.
A longer version of this review is available at charminglanguage.com
October 8, 2020
A fun and mysterious adventure for any magic loving young, independent reader.
Read
September 1, 2021I loved the voice in this middle grade, plus the awesome fringe benefit of being able to learn magic tricks!
Funny, engaging, surprising. Time travel, magic tricks, and an organisation with the acronym BUM. What more could you ask for? Another great finalist for an Aurealis Award this year!!
Recommended.
Funny, engaging, surprising. Time travel, magic tricks, and an organisation with the acronym BUM. What more could you ask for? Another great finalist for an Aurealis Award this year!!
Recommended.
August 12, 2021
A bit slow to get into at first, possible because of the magic tricks described in detail, in amongst the narrative. Once it gets going it's a great read - exciting, surprising and funny. Great for middle primary.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews