Review: Letters from Juan vol.3 (Juan Tamariz) ~English ver.
I am writing the magic book review in English for the first time. And the book I chose is "Letters from Juan". This book has become a bit of a hot topic in the magic world, partly because it is the new work of Juan Tamariz, a living legend. However, a quick search on the Internet reveals that the reviews are a bit negative. My opinion is the opposite of those opinions, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this book with English speakers.
"Letters from Juan" series is now on sale from Penguin Magic. Now I got vol.3. With plans to release a new volume every month, we are now halfway through the 6-volume collection. Given Penguin Magic's recent movements, it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually publish a deluxe hardcover edition containing all six volumes in the near future, HAHAHA.
After reading up to volume 3, I've come to the firm conclusion. In order to really comprehend and learn from this book, readers needs a solid understanding of Ascanio's theories and Tamariz's other works or his theories. So, for those who haven't caught up or have forgotten about this prerequisite, they may be left feeling like "I am so disappointed" or "Sh*t, I don't recommend this booklet" etc. We need to read between lines to enjoy and learn from this booklet. I will talk about the reason later.
Now, let's dive into the content.
There aren't descriptions of the magic effects in this booklet on the magic shop website, but outlines are listed on the Conjuring Archive. A big thank you to Denis Behr!
Unique Double Prediction
This work employs a Mexican turnover, reminiscent of "Shovel" from volume 1. While it may seem a boring trick if only the magic effect and used technique are considered, thie trick is a good aplication of Ascanio's theories (e.g. "Parenthesis of Forgetfulness" and "Stress the Initial Situation" etc) and Tamariz's theories (e.g. The Comet Effect). Thanks to those applied theories, the audience is not able to trace back the trick so easily though this trick has very simple structure of the secret (Mexican Turnover and other technique). We can learn Ascanio's "Cover" for that vulnerability.
I think this is the work that should not be dismissed without proper appreciation. You'll need to read between the lines to understand why he chose this technique, the specific presentation, and handling. It's a pity that these details are not elaborated in the book. There are four improvements proposed by Tamariz himself, and the illusions produced by the Mexican turnover in the third and fourth improvements are astoundingly clever. If you already read "Sonata" by Tamariz, this is worth reading for additional ideas of Mexican Turnover.
One Armed Tribute
This card magic routine is dedicated to Tamariz's mentors, Juan Anton and René Lavand. It combines a series of astonishing effects, including Ambitious Card, the coincidence effect, Triumph, Card Through Table, and Color Separation. However, it requires a high level of technical skill, including multiple lifts from a deck on the table and the use of psychological forces.
The unique card displays in this routine serve as a learning point for how to cover techniques, and the multi-phase structure, which draws the audience in as it progresses, is noteworthy. Clips of Tamariz performing this trick can be seen in the trailer (around the 1:07).
Penguin Magic, are you going to release a video version of this series by any chance?
Impromptu Book Test
As the title suggests, this is an improvised book test that can be done with any book and deck. However, a deck is required for the selection of the page, which some might view as a disadvantage. Tamariz does provide an explanation for why he uses a deck to select the page number, although I found the reasoning a bit far-fetched. The description of how the effect is achieved is overly simplified, making me wish more details were provided.
I agree the process of number selection is very fair and it is difficult to catch for even magicians. However, this principle can be applied to ACAAN for example. Why book test? I can't get it from the description.
Grand Poker Demonstration Vernon Formula Plus
This grand piece, a true embodiment of Tamariz and one of the most ambitious works among tricks in Letters from Juan, is finally here. It's a poker demonstration with minor modifications to the Mnemonica Stack." Without any difficult dealing techniques, we can achieve as many as seven effects in this routine. Effects varies from Blackjack to oridnaly 5 card poker hands. In the end, color separtion will occur.
The fact that this requires almost no sleight is frightening. Except for the drawback that there is a lot to remember to actually do the procedure. (However, Tamariz is aware of this drawback, and he offers a solution in his tips. This is useful.) Simply great!
Postscript
Well, it is true that I am an avid fan of Tamaritz, so it is quite difficult for me to evaluate this collection of works without bias.
I found some critiques about this series on the Internet. The main complaint is that the works are shoddy and overpriced. While it is true that some of the works could be too simple, boring and sometimes outdated, as mentioned above, Ascanio's theory and the differences from his other works make them good educational materials for reading Tamaritz's thinking. I just feel that this "bad" rating is caused by the fact that those thinking is not explicitly stated. Since it's a book, it would be great if Penguin magic wrote a lot of reasons for the handling choices. Then maybe people would be willing to pay the price.
I hope Editors do a good job in the future materials.
By the way, at first, I thought why this series has only 6 volumes though "rainbow" has 7 colors. Yes, I am Japanese. In Japan, it is said that "rainbow" has 7 colors though there is only 6 colors in western societies including Spain and USA. Did you know that?
Vol. 1 is red, vol. 2 is yellow, and vol. 3 is green, so left with orange, blue, and purple. This completes the "Magic Rainbow"!
I am looking forward the rest of the series!
The link below is the review after reading all six volumes.