Jack Parker's

Set to Stun

Available: http://www.jacksdeck.com/
Price: $20
Format: eBook

Now since this set of notes came before Set to Kill I probably should have done this one first, but whatever. Part 2 here we go!:

Cross Eyed Surprise - A three phase routine were two aces constantly switch places with each other, while imbetween two sets of Queens. And for the finale the Aces actually switch places with the Queens! Now when I started to read this, I was into this effect. But then I got to phase 3 and I was struggling to understand what to do. I don't know if it was the writing or my own fault, but from the first two phases I can tell you that this effect is wicked nice. Really the only thing that is risky are some of the displays involved.

Three Wrongs Make a Right - A nice four of a kind effect were the selection rises through the deck and reverses all of its mates along the way. Whats really nice is the flexible patter, if you do a bit of comedy I know you could work something out of this. And the effect is dead easy, nothing too far fetched. But this effect does bare an obvious resemblance to a Kostya Kimlat effect called Four the Hard Way.

First of the First - A wicked simple cards across, where the spectator's selection vanishes from imbetween two jacks in her half of the pack that she is holding, and reappears in the half that you are holding. Probably the entire effect is done with only one real move, which is great! The simpler the effect the easy it is to connect with the audience while doing it, since it is not that difficult you get to focus more on them than what you are supposed to be doing. Great effect.

Persistent Offenders - Wow, this is just excessively magical! So much magic involved and so so easy. And most of the effect is done with one simple gaff. The effect is akin to the Paul Harris classic "Tap Dancing Aces". I used to shy away from most gaffed effects but this one is almost too good to pass up.

More Effort, Less Magic - Another great magical effect, that can immediately follow Persistent Offenders. Where a chosen selection disappears, one of the kings change into the selection then the king reappears and the selection is now reversed in the middle of the deck. The first vanish is simply genius!, I love it! And the routine allows for plenty of comedic byplay/patter. Love it, Love it, love it!

The Heist - A slick, "hands-off" version of card across. Again with the help of one single gaff, the effect is SO SIMPLE! The gaff makes everything squeaky clean and fair. And also the patter for this effect is very nice and provides a lot of misdirection for some of the repeated moves.

U.D.S.I. - WOAH! Super visual transpo of two cards for one. This effect is super quick, visual, and slightly easy to do. Yee-Haw! This is a gaffless variation of Luke Dancy's effect DiVision (sold at Elmwoodmagic), and it seriously looks just like the original.

Fletch - Sadowtiz for the Win! This is Jack's version of Jerry Sadowitz's great effect "Fetch". While the ending is not the same as the original, at the heart you will see the similarities. The ending, in my opinion, is alot better/stronger than the orginal. Since the "helper card" actually changes into the selection. And of course it's dead easy to do!

100% Confidence - Favorite Effect! Straight up gangsta effect right here! This is Jack's supped up handling of David Solomon's classic "Three Indicators". This does require a bit of a setup, but it is totally worth it! If you don't add this to your repertoire then I suggest you rethink your hobby/profession.

Can Can Coin - Again the lone coin effect. In this one you actually "pull" a coin out the bottom of a Coke can. This didn't really float my boat, maybe because of my hatred for coins. But it does have a lot of really cool convincers to it that would be this slay for an audience.

Man this was another great purchase from Jack! The thing that really stood out the most for me were the effects "Persistent Offenders", "More Effort, Less Magic", and The Heist. When Strung together this three phase routine is absolutely magnificent, in my opinion. And the thing about them was that they all utilize ONE gaff. Jack has managed to squeeze out every last ounce of magic from the ONE gaff. I just thought that was really great. Bravo Jack!

Final Score / 9.6