"Linking Laces" by Paul Harris, David Jockisch, and
William Goodwin
Suggested Retail USD$25.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Linking Laces", the latest trick to carry the Paul Harris name and put together by Paul Harris, David Jockisch, and William Goodwin, simply knocked my socks off. Impromptu, visual, magical... this one has it all.

In "Linking Laces", the performer rubs the loops of a spectator's shoelaces together -- tied on her shoe -- and the two loops visually link. In fact, the laces have to be untied to unlink them. The performer then re-ties the laces for the spectator. The spectator rubs the loops together all by their lonesome and the two loops link again and remain linked. The spectator can keep this as some kind of weird souvenir or untie the lace themselves to get the loops out of their linked condition.

You know, no description is going to do this one justice; even the demo video falls short. It looks great out there in the real world, it is jaw-droppingly surprising, and it is a wonderful piece of magic (albeit strange enough to do).

And, from our side of things, it's the perfect trick in many ways. There are no gimmicks to fool around with (the working is entirely topological in nature, which won my heart over), this is a completely impromptu piece with no set-up whatsoever, and everything can be examined (yes, the loops are really linked at the end, which really adds to the weirdness of things).

Now, it's been my experience that most string and rope routines are tough to learn. Hold this end here, push it through this loop there, stand on your head and dangle the other end between your toes while pulling the knot tight... you get the idea. "Linked Laces" doesn't fall into that category. Between the details in the booklet (some 28 pages and a truckload of photos) and the DVD, you'll have little problem picking this one up. It'll take you a few run-throughs to get things just right, but forget the problematic juggling. The instructions are so clear you won't have much of a problem getting this one going for you.

As a bonus, Paul Harris gives with a piece of his strange magic that has his fingerprints all over it, "The PH No-Gimmick Self-Tying Shoelace". You can keep all your gimmicks and having to wear pants around your knees and the like; this is the version I'll be doing from now on. No gimmick, no tedious set-up... just plain crafty psychology and weird methodology at work.

In fact, that last sentence pretty much describes everything in "Linking Laces". I'm not sure how much each gentleman contributed to this -- Goodwin had a piece of it, which appeared in print before, and the first link is directly attributable to Paul Curry -- but this thing has Paul Harris' fingerprints all over it, from the method to the writing style. And that's a Good Thing indeed.

All in all, "Linking Laces" is a winner, hands down. It's Paul Harris at his best and worth the price a few times over.

"Linking Laces" by Paul Harris, David Jockisch, and William Goodwin
In A Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
You're in Paul Harris territory here, and it shows: it's impromptu, it's strong, and it's entirely magical in appearance. This is really great stuff.

Quality: 10
The instructions are very well written, with every little move and nuance described. Excellent work here.

Illustrations: 10
Illustrations, black and white photos, are all over the place. This is essential for this type of routine -- rope and string things are always tough to describe in print -- and the illustrations make learning this a breeze.

Presentation: 10
It's all about the visuals and the timing. Do it impromptu, totally off the cuff, and this one absolutely sinks people into -- summoning my inner Harris here -- a deep well of astonishment.

Shane