MY THOUGHTS:

Posted by CRIS JOHNSON on 21st Nov 2011

MY THOUGHTS: I think this is fantastic. It's no secret that I love everything that I've bought from Paul and this is no different. One of the main reasons why I like this so much is the fact that the two books used in the performance actually focus, as part of the presentation, not only on the thoughts read (ie word or passage is read by a spectator and the "mojo guy" reads their mind) but ALSO the actual subject matter of the book is important to the routine and your entire show (if you're like Paul, who has wrapped the subject matter of the books around his entire mentalism show.)

This is also why I feel the holy grail of book tests, the Mother of All Book Tests, is slightly overrated - the text of the book means nothing. It's completely random. Even if you throw a book jacket on MOAB, it's not like you can incorporate passages into the presentation that have any significance.

Another thing to admire about this is the fact that the spectator can read the Personality book from cover to cover and will never hot upon 'the secrets.' This is a huge advantage over the book test that has been my favorite for the past few years - The Shakespeare Experiment...great book, but your spectator management skills need to be up to snuff!

Yet another thing to consider - the subject matter of the book lends itself well to incorporating it into your act for those high dollar corporate gigs that many magicians strive for. Whether a keynote, workshop or sales meeting, the subject matter of the book, deducing someone's personality, is of key relevance to corporate groups.

I'm only part way into actually reading the Personality book in terms of the actual content and so far, I'm extremely impressed. As a hypnotist and NLP guy, I can say that this information is right on target in terms of "decoding" the complex human behaviors. Great, great stuff.

The knowledge I know I'll get from this (aside from the trick aspect) will give me a ton of material to work with, from the aforementioned workshops to actually making my clinical work easier in hypnosis, because the more I can glean of a person's personality, the better I will be able to work with that client! Pretty far reaching stuff for a book test!

Oh, and while the Joke Book is a key to the 'workings' of some of the handlings (Paul provides several), it too is funny as hell. In particular I enjoyed the answering machine messages!

THE WORKING: OK, so I've raved about this package in terms of concept. What about the workings? Well, since Paul provides the purchaser with SEVERAL different ways of snuffing out what the spectator has chosen from the book (different handlings, some are forces, some are free choices) I can safely say that there is definitely something in here for everyone...there's drawing dupes, offshoots of the Hoy principal, clever forces, cribs, and on and on.

Honestly, I was super relieved when I realized how many choices Pail provided, as I remember reading on one of those dreadful forums (so much negativity!) that a book test called The Master Key was trashed because it provided too many choices in terms of 'the working.' I felt this was hogwash - different performers have different tastes and having choices is a good thing.

The workings are all on the technically easy side - no memorization necessary, although if you enjoy memorizing, you can certainly dispense with the crib.

An important note - for the most part, the workings are based on tried-and-true methods. If you're looking for the latest breakthrough in terms of method, you'll not find it here. This package is designed for the worker, and I feel very relieved knowing that not only did Paul build his book test on the solid foundation of proven methods but he made sure the book was readable from cover to cover - no 'gobbleygook' here!

ANGLES: This being a book test(s), there are no angle considerations that I noticed, meaning you can do this in a house party surrounded - a situation I've found myself in a few times over the years when entertaining adults!

THE FINAL RATING: It's not going to surprise many readers to know that I'm giving this a 10 out of 10. Paul's my friend, so occasionally I sometimes feel a pang inside my mind of "Should I give Paul's latest product a lower score simply because I'm friends with the guy and I need to be 'believable?'" But it's impossible. Book tests are one of those 'standard' items where new versions pop up all the time and with very few exceptions are any of them worth consideration. Paul's latest offering is stellar and for the working pro, an incredible bargain.