If you've ever seen Wayne Dobson, you know he is a phenomenal performer. He is well respected in the magic community not only for his ability to entertain but also for the manner in which he has overcome the onset of Multiple Sclerosis. Although he now has to perform from a wheelchair, he continues to astound his audiences.
Roy Johnson's mentions in the introduction to the book that "The cruel necessity of having to adapt the technical aspects of his magic in order to cope with the onset of Multiple Sclerosis provides a bonus to any magician reading this book, because the methods employed have been stripped down to the absolute minimum of technical skill without losing, and in most cases gaining, any of the strong effects created."
Missing Think- This is a prime example of getting a lot of bang for your buck. The spectator freely selects a card from a packet and commits it to memory. He then returns the card to the packet himself and shuffles the cards. The magician removes a card from the packet and places it in his pocket. When the spectator looks for his card again, he finds it missing. The magician reveals the card in his pocket and returns it to the packet. Again the cards are missed and again the card is seen to be missing...it has jumped back to the magician's pocket. The method is extremely simple, yet clever.
4 Seen- This is Wayne's version of the old insurance card trick; basically four cards are forced and revealed in a clever way. The method involved in the force is very easy and happens basically out of the magicians hands, but requires a procedure that I would imagine would be hard to justify and somewhat easy to reconstruct.
Conjuror's Choice- Six face down cards are displayed and the spectator "freely" selects one. The other cards are turned face up to show pictures of famous magicians. When the spectator turns over their selection, they find a picture of the magician (or his business card, etc.) Wayne suggests using this routine as an opener.
X-Change- This is an extremely simple routine using the Boston Coin Box. Four coins are placed into the box which is placed under one of the corners of the close-up pad. After some byplay, the box is shown to be empty and the coins are seen to have traveled to the underside of the opposite corner of the mat. I wouldn't go out and buy a Boston Coin Box for this effect, but it could play rather strongly in the context of a full routine.
Teach a Card Trick- This is one of Wayne's trademark effects and my favorite routine in the book; the magician teaches the spectator how to perform a card trick. The magician selects a card and shows it around to the audience, the card is replaced in the deck and vanishes only to reappear in the card box previously placed in the spectator's pocket. The method could not be any simpler, and the presentation is superb.
Switch- A card is selected, but the magician finds the wrong card. He places the wrong card in the card case and removes the correct card from the deck which he then causes to change places with the wrong card in the card box. The wrong card is placed in the magician's pocket, but the right card changes to the wrong card. Finally the deck is spread and all the cards are seen to be the wrong card. The effect is too confusing and some of the method far too transparent.
Sweet- This is a practical handling for the classic coin to sugar packet. The coin is signed, and the spectator really sees the coin inside the sugar packet. Wayne suggests using stickers to place on the coin to have it marked, but it could just as easily be done by marking directly on the coin. This makes the effect something you can do at basically any restaurant as the preparation is minimal.
I Swear- This is another example of how Wayne can take an ordinary trick and turn it into a very entertaining, memorable experience for his audience. For magicians this trick amounts to nothing more than a spelling trick, but for laypeople, in the right situation, this is a trick they won't forget. The method is not new by any means, but Wayne's presentation is what counts.
TLC- A way to perform the old trick using the one-ahead principle where you supposedly predict three different events (read three thoughts) before they occur. In other versions a switch needed to be made because the predictions were not written in the order the spectators were led to believe. Wayne's method allows you to write the predictions on the cards in a way that dispels any thoughts of a switch.
Spell-Check- This is another spelling effect. Two decks are shuffled and cut by two spectators. One spectator turns over the top card of his deck. Spectator two deals from his deck one card for each letter as he spells the name of the card. The last card dealt is the selection. The effect is rather weak for the method employed. Also the magician must make an adjustment to one deck before the cards are dealt.
Janus- This is very similar to an effect marketed by Doc Eason called the Impossible Opener. This version is not much different in effect but doesn't end completely clean as in Doc's version. Even though the cards don't beg to be examined, since this version seems to bring nothing new to the table, ending clean would be preferable.
Unique Prediction- A prediction effect using the Coin Unique gimmick. The effect is forgettable on its own, but it could be a nice "mental" addition to a coin routine.
Invisible- This is a nice alternative to the standard Invisible Deck effect. The magician claims to remove an invisible deck of card from an invisible coin purse. The spectator then "freely" arrives at a selection. A folded real card is then produced from the purse frame. The card is unfolded to reveal the named card. The method is simple and the effect plays big for very little work on the part of the magician.
The booklet provides no groundbreaking ideas, but the magic presented is practical and easy-to-do. A few of these routines really pack flat and play big, but Wayne's presentation is what counts. He made his living with these tricks, some of which he has actually used on television. However, Wayne has become a star because of his presentational ability, not because of these routines. I would imagine that Wayne can make just about anything entertaining. This is not to say that booklet is not worth your consideration, but I believe these routines are more suited for a beginner.
