The Paper Engine - Tension, Focus and Design in Card Magic

by Aaron Fisher

The royal road to expert level card magic winds up a steep mountain trail. As you reach the treacherous, rocky pass, you can sense the danger.
The sun sets. The trail grows dark.
It's an exciting, dangerous journey. You'll cross misleading trails, false prophets and hidden clues. You'll meet terrifying goblins who turn out to be friends. You'll fall for a beautiful maiden, only to discover she's a troll in disguise.
One hundred years after the dawn of modern sleight-of-hand, the fundamental concepts of tension, focus and design remain as central to the creation of quality magic as ever. Only true mastery of these critical ideas will arm you against the challenging spectators and discerning eyes you'll face when you perform real sleight-of-hand before a living breathing audience.
When you tire of walking in the dark, this book will be your flashlight. Use it and illuminate your journey

Genres: Magic

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Brandon Baggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the instruction in this book was amazing, though I wish I would have known the difficulty level that this book presents before I got it. This is definitely a book for an immediate, pushing advanced card worker. If you are not familiar with most of the principles put forth in Expert Card Technique and Card College, I wouldn't try this book. But other than that, Fisher does a great job of presenting techniques, tricks, and theory making this a must have for any serious card magician.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the 20th Anniversary Edition. It fits perfect into my gap of insecurity I feel, performing for real people, questioning every move I make. The educational approach is disarmingly honest. Aaron Fisher admits, live performance IS difficult. Particulary valuable are the Thoughts and Commentary. Aaron Fisher designs every step he took to come to a better solution that he has come up with the chapter before. Which reflects the natural learning process what every student must go through to improve. A process that is left out of in a standard textbook and where you only see the completion of the entire creative process.

[Jonathan Minond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful addition and a permanent spot in my card magic library