Prestidigitator is a legacy worth having, a sumptuous 350-page hardback tome wrapped in posh buckram book cloth. Inside, you’ll discover a treasure trove of fresh ideas that popped into my head recently, alongside a smorgasbord of effects I've conjured over the years, plus a delightful assortment of nearly all my published work.
Most magicians know me for 'Trilogy', that cheeky little trick recently deemed a 'Fooler'. Well,
Prestidigitator takes the Trilogy concept and cranks it up to four and five revelations. If I had to strut my stuff in front of Penn and Teller, you can bet your last pound I’d go with the first trick outlined in this book.
And boy, is this book brimming with tricks—over seventy items sprawled across nine chapters! While it doesn’t shy away from a bit of sleight of hand, the real magic lies in the clever subtleties, under-the-radar principles, and sneaky gaffs.
- Mentalism
- Impromptu card tricks
- Double decker shenanigans
- Stage magic
- Rope magic
- Random props
- Variations on existing classics
- Prepared card tricks
- Fresh concepts
For the stage performers, there’s a chair test, a memory-erasing routine, a comedy gag, a take on 'Touching on Hoy', and a spectator hallucination that’ll leave them scratching their heads.
Close-up magicians can relish in the joys of weighing cards with just a bare hand, naming buried cards by touch, divining chosen cards over the phone, calling number totals without peeking, and having a spectator name their own unseen card not once, but twice in a row.
Examples from the book
ANOMALY - Oddly enough, a spectator discovers you’ve written down the names of five playing cards you were thinking of on the backs of five different cards they had in mind.
UNSIGHTED - A deck is examined, three spectators freely pick cards, bury them in the pack, and pop the deck into an opaque bag. You see none of this. Turning around, you reach into the bag and name all three cards without laying eyes on anything.
THROW OF THE DICE - Six colourful envelopes. You predict which one they’ll choose, but more impressively, you predict the number on a die they’re imagining.
MIRACLE - A spectator thinks of seven playing cards. When you turn them over, letters of the alphabet appear on the backs, spelling out the word miracle.
THE BORROMEAN RINGS - Three ropes knotted into rings magically link, yet when spectators examine them closely, they can’t seem to name any two of the rings that are actually connected.
"When it comes to creators who never fail to impress me, Brian's name is right up there! He has created game changing routines like Trilogy and Cataclysm, effects that I still perform to this day. Brian's effects are clever, strong and commercial and when he told me he was writing a book my first thought was it's about time and my second thought was I want the first copy! This book is full of gold and should be in every magician's library!"-
Peter Nardi"I was fortunate enough to preview this remarkable book and it's absolutely full of ingenious ideas that are sure to inspire. It's a treasure trove of knowledge that will resonate deeply with anyone passionate about the art of magic and mentalism."
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James Harrington (Mind2Mind) "I've worked with Brian Caswell for a long time. In fact it was Brian who originally suggested the Ninja Plus gimmick all those years ago. Several of his tricks have been in my working repertoire for as long as I remember. This is a reference work I'll be going back to again and again." - Matthew Garrett "Brian has provided effects for every aspect of my work - for stage, for cabaret and for close up. I've lost track of how many times he's come into rehearsals and fooled me with a trick. It was an honor to do the illustrations for this book."-
Dean Maudsley, Sleight of Hand Artist "Brian Caswell's creations are incredible; his effects have been in many of my performances and Trilogy is a mind blowing closer that I continue to use." -
Michael J Fitch
