"Belgian Blockbusters: The Magic of Peter Vanspauwen"
ebook by Scott Guinn
Suggested Retail USD$20.00
Available direct from Scott Guinn
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Belgian Blockbusters: The Magic of Peter Vanspauwen", an ebook by Scott Guinn, is a simply wonderful collection of great, twisted, classical plots that is probably the best buy in ebooks to date.

Yeah, go ahead and dismiss what I say because Guinn writes for Visions. And dismiss what I say because I've run many of Vanspauwen's pieces on these pages over the years (and still do more than a couple of 'em from time to time). In fact, it would suit me just fine if you just clicked somewhere else and didn't read the rest of this review and leave the slick magic in this ebook to me and the handful of others who will be using the material to get some of the best reactions we can from the re-done classics Vanspauwen has put together.

Still here? Damn.

Okay, so if you're sticking around, here's the matter of things: "Belgian Blockbusters" is a collection of Peter Vanspauwen's work. On it's 96 pages are described close to fifty sleights used in four card tricks, three coin tricks, and three platform pieces. And in that voluminous collection of stuff, there's not a weak one to be had: any one of these pieces is worth the price of the ebook.

That's not hype. There's a reason I loved publishing Vanspauwen's material on Visions: his thinking is extremely clear and focused and when he takes a classic plot -- say a double-card revelation -- and gets done with it, it's more direct and yet just different enough to take the plot to the next level. "Belgian Blockbusters" is filled with that kind of thinking.

Here, let me show you what I mean, starting with the card tricks.

First up is "Bluesette". This is a color-changing deck routine that is almost over before it begins. In it, a card is chosen, lost in the deck, and that quickly the deck has changed colors except for the single chosen card. The fact this is a fully-gaffed deck will turn many off, and those turned off will still love Vanspauwen's "Rollover Half Pass" (I should mention that another method is taught if the idea of a pass sends shivers down your spine). This is a quick, excellent, piece of work.

"Yours for the Ace-King" follows, and it's a doozy. A card is selected and the performer, through a series of fancy locations, cuts to the three mates of the selected card, finding the three Aces. The problem is that the selected card isn't an Ace. Attempting to change the selected card to an Ace fails, but the three Aces become Kings to straighten everything out. This is one of my favorite pieces simply because of the theatrics and blocking Vanspauwen uses. Really great stuff.

"At Home in Belgium" is, as you can probably guess, a version of "Homing Card", really twisted. In this one, it's the backs of the cards that change and not the faces. Another favorite of mine, this one is quick, visual, and wonderfully open. I loved this as soon as I read it and started doing it. It's a keeper.

The last card trick is called "Recollected". Yep, it's the "Collectors" plot but altered so that's, well, Guinn calls it a "kind of reversed Collectors" and that about sums it up. In a short multiple-selection routine, three spectators select cards. The first two spectators find their own, and then these two cards find the third. At the end, the three chosen cards are found face up interlaced between the four Aces. This is probably the most entertaining version of the classic out there.

After the card tricks come the coin tricks and it's here that Vanspauwen really shines and that's saying something.

To start things off in the coin section, there's "PV4 Coin Production". This is a really sweet, really pretty production of four coins (kinda obvious from the title, that). It's also probably the simplest to execute. Using nothing but standard moves orchestrated in a straightforward way, the resulting routine is perfect for strolling and walk-around types who want a quick and magical way of getting into a coin routine.

Next up is "Crossing Belgium", which follows the "Coins Across" plot, using a fifth coin as a target. Four coins travel, one at a time, from one hand to the other to join a Chinese coin. This is another favorite of mine simply because of the sheer boldness of the "non-clean clean-up" at the end but more than this is a very clean method with just the right psychology to make this a winner.

"Belgian Coins Thru Table" is what you'd expect, but it's a smooth rendition of the classic and one that is a pleasure to perform. This one almost makes me want to disregard my dislike for lapping... almost. If you're in situations where you can do it, this is a great "Coins Thru Table" routine with some of the usual great thinking behind it.

After the cards and coins comes the final chapter, material for platform and parlor settings. I have to admit I only tried one of the two but it's easy to see that all three of these pieces are wonderful routines.

"The Peavey Rope Routine" is the one I took out for a spin. Strangely enough, at first read, it was also one that didn't impress me much ("Do we really need another 'Sandsational'? I asked; I answered it when I did it before a group of about twenty people and got a standing ovation). Vanspauwen has put together what I think is the ultimate rope routine, both in terms of structure and method and entertainment value. This is one I dearly love. Worth the price of the book? Nope. Worth about five times the price? Yep. And then some.

"Red Yellow Blue" is Vanspauwen's "ABC Block" routine, and it's a neat one. Designed for children's shows, and perfectly so, you'll need to do a little arts-and-crafts time but once done you've got a great routine that keeps the spotlight on the child cum assistant and has them save the day. Really neat stuff and probably a keeper for those who work children's shows.

"Belgian Bottles" is a handling for ye olde "Topsy Turvey Bottles". Vanspauwen get's huge points here for taking a classic sucker routine and turning it into a good piece of magic. Played as he outlines, this will have folks dusting off their tubes and really, genuinely entertaining audiences.

Okay, so that's the material. You can pretty much judge from that whether this one is right for you. Or can you?

You see, in addition to the routines, you're also going to learn almost fifty sleights of one kind or the other (Guinn being Guinn, that is, a stickler for details, has indexed all the sleights at the beginning of the book). If you were to take all those sleights, and just those sleights, and threw them into a book, it would be worth $20 by itself. So how much are the routines worth then? My answer is "a lot more than $20".

Boiled down to its essence, "Belgian Blockbusters" is a fabulous collection of great magic and wonderful material. The routines are very commercial, very much "real-world", and play beautifully. Guinn and Vanspauwen have hit the ball out of the park on this one, making it one of the most valuable ebooks around.

"Belgian Blockbusters: The Magic of Peter Vanspauwen"
ebook by Scott Guinn
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
With four card effects, three coin effects, and three platform routines, there's pretty much something for everyone here. Vanspauwen's work is all so well thought out, so well done period, that something in this collection will make it worth the price. This is good stuff indeed.

Quality: 10
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Guinn is one of the best writers in magic, hands down. His descriptions of Vanspauwen's routines are beautiful here -- you'll have no problem learning any of the material...

Illustrations: 10
...Especially with more black and white photos than you could care to count, each well shot and well placed. This is simply excellent work here.

Presentation: 10
Vanspauwen's work is all about twisting classic plots around on some axis or the other; these classic plots become almost new with his thinking.


Shane