"The Safwan Papers" ebook by Bryn Reynolds
Suggested Retail USD$30.00
Available from Outlaw Effects
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Shortly after beginning to read this ebook through for the first time, my reaction was, “Blimey, this guy’s thorough...”

There are just five effects here, and a very useful utility device, but in each, the descriptions of the underlying mechanisms and techniques are almost baroque in their detail, making them part effect, part resource for the subject of the effect. Attention to linguistic subtleties is something others sometimes gloss over a little too lightly, perhaps believing the reader’s skill to be enough to put their own successful spin on things. Not so here. Perhaps it’s Reynolds’ background in law enforcement, but he gives us all the details, not “just the facts, ma’am.”

Take “Seven”, the first effect in the ebook, for example. This is a personal take on Knepper’s Kolossal Killer, and yet he’s stripped it back to its basics and built it into something new. The resulting write-up is ten pages and nearly 4,000 words long. All the outs, verbal gymnastics and other handlings are explained in forensic detail.

“Bottle Cap Koran”, a multi-phase coin-under-bottle-cap routine is explained in exquisite detail, including two photographs showing exactly what to write on your prediction. This is the kind of detail that sets “The Safwan Papers” apart, but is it original work?

Well, no, but (and it’s a VERY big but indeed), the selected effects have a genuine feel of having been developed and written up by someone who understands how to use his mentalism library – to create something that’s classic and yet uniquely his own, well worked, practical and thoroughly written up. A good example is his take on the classic “Bank Nite” effect. In his hands, it’s now completely hands off, using genuinely ordinary envelopes, which are genuinely destroyed. There’s no hold out and yet the mechanism is very well hidden indeed. Likewise, the effect “Himberstring” is a good example of using mentalism thinking to reverse engineer a classic of magic.

Finally, there’s the utility device: an 8-card billet index designed to sit in amongst the bills of any wallet that costs just $4 to make. Again, this is Reynolds’ thinking being applied to something he knows well, and I’m glad he chose to share his knowledge.

I’m increasingly conscious of giving new material good marks, but all the things I’ve reviewed fro this site has, so far, been very good. This ebook is, by virtue of its level of detail, the cream of the crop so far.

"The Safwan Papers" ebook by Bryn Reynolds
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 9
A good mix of classic effects given some very modern, practical thinking based on solid experience.

Quality: 10
The attention to detail is astonishing. There’s even a full explanation about how he came to be writing the book –and a very nice picture of some puppies.

Illustrations: 10
There are clear photographs where required, and rather than being a “nice to have” extra, they actively add to the quality of the work.

Presentation: 9
It’s really good to see enthusiasm almost gushing onto the page in the from of so much detail.

Jon Thompson