"Mitox" by Phill Smith
Suggested Retail BP$£27.50
Available direct from Phill Smith
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Mitox", a book by Phill Smith, is packed with some off-the-wall effects to blow spectators' minds and enough careful, deliberative thinking to have you stay up nights wondering what else you can do with the groundwork laid by Smith. This is one mentalism book that belongs in the hands of everyone who works the field. Period.

That's not hype: this is simply one of the best books on mentalism I've read this year and probably a few years before this one. Smith's material strikes a chord with me few mentalism books do: the chord of "B-weird". Whether it's the presentation, the effect, or the method, there's just something slightly off-kilter with Smith's work and that's what makes it so valuable. Or, to put it another way:

This ain't your daddy's book of mentalism.

I'll save you the run-down on all the effects -- they are listed on the website anyway, and going through all 20 of them would make this much too long to read through -- but I want to point out something: there's not one effect in "Mitox" that is not worth reading and thinking about, and you'll find more than a few that you'll want to learn, tinker with, and make your own (I found five I'm currently messing with, with two more waiting in the wings). That's about as good a recommendation of material as I can give.

As for the things that matter about the material, well, that we'll get into a bit.

First, the methods are all nice and practical. I'm going to quote Smith here: "I like things to be simple and easy. I hate gimmicks and gaffs. I like backups in case things go wrong. I like strong effects, which give me the chance to shine through. I love impromptu. Above all I like the audience, for a moment at the very least, to believe." With that level set on his material, Smith delivers and delivers superbly. You won't find anything here that is not practical for its venue (and some so practical you can walk around all day with them ready to go at a moment's notice). You'll be familiar with most of the workings (it is, after all, against the law to write a book on mentalism that doesn't include at least one based on the "one-ahead"), tried and true standbys to the art that they are, but you'll see them used in different ways -- sometimes really different ways -- that breathes some new life and spawns some new ideas.

And that brings us to the second thing here: the material, as great as it is, is really only a small part of what Smith wanted to accomplish here. He sees the routines, as good as they are, as examples of what his essays on creation and creativity teach. The tricks, you see, are to serve as illustrations of what you can do with some thought and a good dose of your own inventiveness. And you know what? It works. Smith's ideas on the subject of creativity are dead-on and you'll be able to see each "lesson" in the material he's supplied.

So "Mitox" is a good, solid "two-fer": you Smith's get great material plus you get a lesson in how to create you own personal and different material.

That makes "Mitox" a great work for the experienced performer, hands down.

Oops. Bet I just shot down a lot of hopes in flames, didn't I?

Unfortunately, it's true. Sorry, beginners, "Mitox" is not for you. You need a decent background in mentalism to get the most out of the effects here, and you'll need even more when it comes to making the essays work for you. Moreover, you'll need some performance experience under your belt from time to time to get things "just so". If you've been around the block once or twice, then you should have no problem with "Mitox"; if anagrams and one-aheads and equivoque are unknown terms to you, pass it by.

At the end of the day, Smith accomplishes a lot with "Mitox": great effects, brilliant thinking, entertaining writing, and enough off-beat ideas to make this a solid gold brick of a book.

My advice is simple: if you're a mentalist, get "Mitox". As simple as that.

"Mitox" by Phill Smith
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
This is one of those books that you just can't put down. The material -- all mentalism and most off-beat mentalism at that -- in great stuff with no filler to be found. With some clever methods that are wonderfully practical and entertaining presentations that are instantly engaging, I don't know what else any experience mentalism would want but I know what I want: more of Phill Smith's thinking.

Quality: 10
Smith writes clearly, concisely, and with a great personality between the lines. This makes "Mitox" as entertaining as it is instructive, a real rarity.

Illustrations: 10
There are plenty of illustrations -- mostly line drawings -- that do the job perfectly of getting you up and running with the material quickly.

Presentation: 10
Smith wanted to avoid doing anything that looked like a trick; his methods reflect that but his presentations do it moreso. Direct, appearing propless (and actually being propless in at least one case), and yet packing a punch, Smith's presentations are refreshing and wonderful.

Shane