"Ponderings" ebook by Sean Waters
Suggested Retail USD$30.00
Available direct from Sean Waters
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Ponderings", an ebook by Sean Waters, is one of those rare offerings to the mentalism community that proves we just don't have enough adjectives to describe really great, truly great, pieces of work, so we have to rely on words like "wonderful", "creative", "inventive", "powerful"... and they all apply easily to "Ponderings". Written for, and best utilized by, experienced and competent performers, this book simply is a must-have for any performer that fits the bill.

I thought that from the first reading of the draft I was sent and, after performing most of the material off-and-on since I got the thing, I'm convinced of just how good the material Waters has created really is.

I was hooked from the first effect, "Red-Handed", which Waters accurately describes as "a direct psychological force with cards". It is that, but with a difference: Waters keeps the forcing simple and quick. No long build-up for a possible failure here; Waters method is direct and fast so that, if the force doesn't work completely, you haven't taken a lot of time with a failure. Having mentioned the dreaded "f-word", though, it should be said that this is one where "missing" happens very rarely, making this one of the best psychological card forces out there. I loved Waters' thinking here and it's the perfect introduction to the rest of Waters' thinking.

Like "Washington DeCeived", which is so off-beat, so weird, that I immediately worked it into my act. It was the first routine in the book I did and I'm still doing it. It begins as a memory feat -- recalling a dollar bill's serial number -- and then takes a crazy turn into a remote viewing demonstration. How Waters ties the two together, makes it all sensible and logical, is gold. I told Waters when I first read this one that I considered it worth the price of the book; I still do. This is good, powerful stuff.

"HTP" is next up and, considering it was an effect we ran on this site when Waters first put it together, I was already in love with it. A drawing duplication tied to a personality reading, this is a great routine to say the least. Waters has added some touches to it since its original publication and they serve to make a great routine even better.

"K?NT" is a definite winner. You'll need the original "K.E.N.T" (available from Kenton Knepper) to perform Waters' version, but if you have it, you'll appreciate just how Waters, in his own words, picked up where the original left off. Far more than simply being "K.E.N.T. without cards", Waters cranked up the amperage on this one to the point of it being almost miraculous. This is another one worth the price of the book, easily.

"PC Principle" is an essay covering a very neat idea. That's all it is, really, an idea, but what an idea! This is as brilliant as it is simple and, moreover, the psychology behind it works so well it's scary. Combine this with another routine, throw it into the mix of another effect, and you'll be in heaven. Definitely for the more experienced to play with, "PC Principle" is powerful stuff that all but defies you not to do something with it. I loved this one, to say the least.

"Double Malt" is another of my favorites, even though it doesn't fit into the mentalism arena that well (meaning that, if you're a die-hard mentalist that wouldn't think of doing anything that could remotely be considered "mental magic", you're going to hate this one). Me? I love the thing. The presentation -- an explanation of a scam taken to extremes -- is beautiful and I loved it from the start. You'll need some standard magic gimmicks for this one, but they are common enough. This is one performers working strolling situations will get the most out of.

"Avalon"... This is now my preferred way of doing Kenton Knepper's "Kolossal Killer", hands down. Waters is particularly brilliant here, building an engaging, interesting, and logical routine around all the aspects of the original method, but building in so much suspense and so many presentational hooks that I'll go out on a limb and say this is a work of genius. Worth the price of the book? You bet. And if you did it exactly as Waters describes it, you'd get your money's worth. But the routine is so flexible, and the psychological pieces so well explained, that converting this, personalizing this, is a breeze, making this one worth the price of three of these books.

Okay, so there are the effects. But more than the effects, there're the ideas. Waters is clearly a gifted thinker -- his material reflects a thoughtfulness that is seldom seen nowadays. Waters built on the shoulders of giants here, utilizing techniques from Osterlind and Knepper and Banachek and many others, but taking those techniques to some new places. That, perhaps, more than any single effect, is why "Ponderings" is of such great value.

But not to everyone.

"Ponderings" is not for the casual dabbler: the hobbyist need not bother for the most part. Waters' work -- and he admits this himself -- is for the more experienced worker, someone who has put in the time and the work already on some of these principles. While Waters' material is far from difficult, it does require a certain understanding, a certain confidence maybe, to work as well as it should.

It also all but demands a certain amount of creativity on your own. Waters work will do just great right off the page, don't get me wrong, but the ideas he's got in those routines really deserve some elbow grease to personalize them, to maybe change them a little or a lot. Do that and you may find every one of them worth gold.

My final shot on this one? If you fit the criteria, get this one. You won't regret it.

"Ponderings" by Sean Waters
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
While not for everyone -- the material is at once gutsy and subtle -- for the working mentalist, for the thoughtful mentalist, this book is pure gold. The effects are brilliant at times, the essays provocative, the ideas worth much more than the price of this ebook. Solid, wonderful stuff.

Quality: 10
Waters' writing style is smooth and engaging. You'll find yourself enjoying this read as you are exposed to his wonderful thinking. Add a thoroughness that is oh-so-welcome, and Waters, well, simply delivers the goods here.

Illustrations: n/a
None supplied and none needed. The words do the job here.

Presentation: 10
Waters shines here, as you would expect. With so much going on in effects, with methods that mandate presentations that work, Waters' presentations are as engaging as they are dead-on. In short, they get the job done and then some.

Shane