"Cards of Influence" by Kenton Knepper and Mark Townsend
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In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Cards of Influence", a book of card magic from Kenton Knepper and Mark Townsend, is a rare collection of simple effects and wonderful presentations that will find its way into many a heart and mind of performers and spectators alike.

I guess, before going any further, I should get my biases out of the way. Yeah, Kenton writes for ye olde zine, and I consider Kenton a friend of mine. I'll spare you the whole "if it was junk I'd tell ya anyway" routine because, first, it's true, and second, it's been said before. Suffice to say that those aren't my biases.

My biases are against run-of-the-mill magic and toward magic that is different. "Cards of Influence" is anything but your typical card magic and is so different at times it'll take your breath away. The stuff here is refreshing, entertaining, and, well, just plain fun.

As you can gather from the title, it's all about using cards as focal points for demonstrating subliminal influence, linguistic deception, and the like. As heavy as those presentations can be, in "Cards of Influence" those presentations are light, at times almost silly, but always entertaining and memorable.

Let's get the mechanics out of the way right off the bat. The material here plays with classic themes and plots for the most part, so you're looking at simple sleights - a double-turnover here, a Biddle Count there, that kind of thing -- and other times you're looking at common dealer items ("The McCombical Deck" and "The Split Deck", for example). Overall, if you've got a basic command of card sleights you should have no problem learning and performing the material; even the most difficult routines in the book are simple to execute if you're been around the block a time or two.

There's a reason for that simplicity: the less strenuous work your fingers do, the better the presentation your mind can do. And "Cards of Influence" is very much about those presentations. The thing that hits you about this book is those presentations that, in spite of the theme of the book, never seen to pigeonhole the performer to any specific theme. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a book with so many quality routines explained and then with so many variations of the routines to choose from. That's gold for pretty much anyone.

As for the routines, well, let's take a look at them.

"Cards of Influence" starts off with "Your Spell in Numbered". No, it's not what you think: no "spelling trick" here. In this routine of Knepper's, you begin with seven numbered cards on the table and allow the spectator choices of which of the numbered cards to move where. At the end, despite the spectator's decisions, a word is spelt out perfectly. This is a nice, quick, interactive piece that I really liked, mostly due to the wordplay involved. While not as earth-shaking as other pieces, it is fun for all involved.

"The Uneven Deal" comes next. This one uses alphabet cards that, no matter how they are mixed around -- and the spectator makes the choices there -- a given word is always spelled out correctly. The simple, "feel good' presentation here makes this a neat one; the flexibility suggested by Knepper makes it worth a look-see.

"A Choice Assessment" is another variation of the "word play' theme. Think of it as "This and That" on steroids, done under the guise of a spectator's "assessment test". This is another fun, entertaining piece that is just plain neat.

"Subliminally Wild" is worth the price of the book, hands down. In this one, the "Wild Card" plot is used to demonstrate subliminal control. No matter how I describe this one, it's not going to sound anywhere near as well as it should. Suffice to say that suddenly a packet trick is used to give a lively, engaging, and sometimes hysterical demonstration of subliminal influence, suggestion, and trance states... without coming near to using any of them to accomplish the trick. If this were the only thing in the book, it would still be an excellent book. With the right spectator, this could be reputation-making stuff.

"Subliminally Wild Too" is Allen Zingg's take on the the previous routine. Zingg, in his typical fashion, really twists things, removing all appearances of a packet trick by bringing in a full deck of blank cards and making just the right presentational moves to take the original to a whole new level. As Zingg describes it, this one is metaphorical and fun both. Excellent thinking as you'd expect from Zingg.

"Subliminally Wild Epilogues" are next and they continue to play with the original idea, this time allowing you to end -- logically, even -- with a full deck of cards or go into a full-bore version of the "Mental Photography Deck". These are great additions and worth thinking about in more ways than one.

"Split Hemispheres" is, as the names would lead you to, a presentation for Haskell's "Split Deck". In this one, the presentation revolves around a spectator's conscious and unconscious mind, one which you don't influence but the other... well, you know where it's going. This is a great presentation for the classic, period.

"Subliminal McCombical" and "Kenton's Favorite Subliminal McCombical" are, again, what the name implies. The former uses a standard, store-bought "McCombical Deck" while the latter uses one you'll have to make yourself. Both of them use influence as a presentational hook and both of them are wonderful. I prefer "Favorite" to the original, but making it up is a hassle; the original is much simpler to do "out of the box". Either way, they are both great ideas.

"O and + = Proof" is something I'd thought I'd never see: a mini "Brainwave" done as a lead-in for a reading (that is, "an interpretation of the subconscious"). And you know what? It works pretty darn well. Don't panic over the "reading" portion of this; it's very light but sets you up for a huge premonition effect that moves this way beyond "merely" having a spectator pick an odd card from a packet of like ones. This is another one of my favorites.

At this point, Knepper turns over the reins to his student and co-author, Mark Townsend. Up to this point, the book has been solid, with some fantastic pieces in it based on the familiar. Now? Well, Townsend turns things upside-down, inside-out, and usually both at the same time.

"The Well" began as a traditional "Do As I Do": a deck is shuffled by a spectator, cut in half, the performer and spectator shuffle their packs, exchange them... And just as I was getting to the point I knew what was coming, Townsend pulled a fast one. The routine continues with performer and spectator going to opposite ends of the room or stage and dropping their halves on the floor so some land face-up and face-down. The performer then not only gives a nice, quick character reading based on the face-up cards he sees, but also names all the face-up cards in front of the spectator, one by one. With a framing around looking down a well to see a reflection, this is a powerful, theatrical, and downright diabolical piece. Another winner. When you consider Zingg's addition to it, you've got a thrilling piece of work in this idea.

Townsend continues with "Parchmentarot", a version of Aaronson's "Shuffle Bored" that is delightfully powerful. In it, the prediction is based on tarot cards found face-up after a free-for-all mixing procedure. A bit on the bizarre side, with nice symbolic meaning, this one's a real treat. According to Townsend, this knocked 'em for a loop at "The Mystery School" and it's easy to see why. If you do magic with tarot cards, this one is right up your alley.

"Amethyst" is more of an idea of Townsend's than a full routine, but what an idea! This is one worth its weight in gold. Basically, Townsend stumbled upon something (a scientifically proven something) that allows a spectator to see images in a stone orb. I'll cop to trying this as soon as I read it and it worked so well I'm faced with the temptation to use it much more than I should. This is an excellent idea, complete with applications for existing effects.

"X-Change of Mind" is a quicky, based on a simple two-card transposition. The presentation here is a good one, based on a suggestive state and hypnosis. It's also fool-proof, assuming you can perform the one simple sleight needed. As a lead-in to similar effects, this can be just the convincer you need to sell the whole theme. Very nicely done, this one.

"Personality Test", and the variations of it by Knepper, is based on an old gag, of all things, and plays powerfully. I'll admit I breezed by this one when I first read it because of the working, but when I went back to it I saw how Townsend's presentation really makes this one work. Essentially, this is a playing card divination, but that's an understatement. Don't make the mistake I did; this is a neat piece of work on many levels. To give you an idea of how good this one is, the rest of the book, "Untouchable Knowledge" by Knepper, "I Am You and You Are Me" by Zingg, and "Almost Real I Am You and You Are Me" by Knepper are all based on Townsend's method -- for that much thinking going on about it, it has to have something to it. And it does. Count this as another one worth the price of the book.

That should give you an idea of what you're getting here. I could summarize it, say that what you're getting are some extremely creative routines coupled with some brilliant presentations and variations, but in the case of "Cards of Influence", the more you know about the material the more you can decide if this is right for you.

As to that ever-popular question, "Is this right for me?" the answer is really a simple one: if you're into pseudo-influence/faux hypnosis presentations, or you're looking for card magic suitably twisted around those themes, then "Cards of Influence" is a solid must-have. With a slough of excellent material with some great thinking and ideas behind them, this is one time you can't go wrong.

"Cards of Influence" by Kenton Knepper and Mark Townsend
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
To put it simply, the classics gets twisted on their ear in as wonderful and unexpected a manner as possible. The methods are easy -- there are the usual collection of basic sleights, and some of the effects rely on dealer items you may have tucked away somewhere -- allowing you to concentrate almost entirely on the sometimes striking presentations. To make the material even more valuable, there are numerous variations given all over the place, with a special appearance here and there by Allen Zingg.

Quality: 10
The writing is superb, clearly detailing all the ins-and-outs of each piece. You'll have no problem learning the material and performing it with all the power these effects can muster.

Illustrations: 10
There are loads of black-and-white photos throughout, well done and excellently placed, that make learning the material much simpler.

Presentation: 10
This is what it's all about, and the presentations -- which run from mentalism to the flat-out weird -- are great, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. At their best, they are startling, at the worst they are extremely entertaining (and brother, if that's the worst you can get from this book, well, that's saying something).


Shane

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