Concept
The concept is beautifully clean, which is probably why it remains one of the most enduring plots in mentalism: A book. A random page. A freely chosen word. And you tell them exactly what they are thinking of.
In collaboration with a Danish mentalist, we have produced this new version of a professional book test in Danish – in a very limited edition of just 24 sets.
The set consists of two different novels: Det syvende spor and Før det bliver mørkt. Different titles, different covers, and books of different thicknesses.
The spectator has a completely free choice of which book to use. No equivoque. No Magician's Choice.
The spectator is handed the book and can freely flip through it. She stops on absolutely any page she wishes, looks over the page, and thinks of any longer word of her choice.
The book can then be put away.
She writes nothing down. She does not show you the page. She does not tell you the page number. There is no counting, no playing cards, no calculations, and no other props involved in arriving at a page.
And yet you can reveal the exact word she is merely thinking of!
Books That Can Be Treated Like Books
For the working mentalist, one of the major strengths lies in the construction of these two books.
The spectator can genuinely flip through the book and read the text.
Every page is different, and the text forms a coherent, continuous story. The spectator will not encounter pages filled with obviously repeated passages or anything else that, upon closer inspection, immediately exposes the book as a prop.
As far as she is concerned, she is simply holding a novel.
This also means that the procedure can be kept exceptionally clean:
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Completely free choice between two different books
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Free choice of page
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Every page is different
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Free choice of any suitable longer word on the page
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Nothing is written down
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No page number is revealed
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No cards, calculations, or other devices are used to select a page
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The book can be put away before the mind reading begins
This allows you to focus the presentation on what really matters: the person and her thought – not the procedure.
More Than One Possible Revelation
The method has been designed so that you do not have to go directly from "think of a word" to writing down the word.
For example, you can first attempt to pick up a single letter – apparently get it wrong – and then reveal that the letter you wrote does, in fact, appear elsewhere in the thought-of word. Only then do you attempt to reveal the entire thought.
In the routine supplied, for example, the spectator thinks of BLODSPOR. The mentalist first picks up the letter L, before eventually revealing the complete word.
This allows you to turn the demonstration into a believable process rather than simply a single "hit" – while giving each performer plenty of scope to build their own presentation around the method.
Inspired by the Classics
The starting point was a desire to create a Danish book test offering the same convincing sense of freedom found in some of the classic English-language book tests.
A major source of inspiration is Ted Karmilovich's legendary The Mother of All Booktests, while the work also draws on ideas and principles associated with some of mentalism's great thinkers, including David Hoy and Tony Corinda.
Two Books – Even More Possibilities
The original concept was developed around a single book, but during the development process, the opportunity arose to take the illusion one step further. That is why the set includes two different books.
The spectator decides which one to use, reinforcing the impression of complete freedom from the very beginning.
For you as a performer, however, the second book also opens up additional possibilities. You can work with multiple participants and construct routines in which you apparently read several thoughts at the same time.
Both books also incorporate the extremely useful "Super Flashback" principle, allowing you to know the first word on any page without seeing it. This, in particular, makes it possible to hand the two books to two different spectators and read both of their thoughts – using two different methods.
You are therefore not restricted to the presentation supplied with the set. The method is a tool that an experienced mentalist can adapt, develop, and build upon.
What You Get
The set includes:
2 specially produced Danish novels
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Det syvende spor
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Før det bliver mørkt
plus a detailed instruction manual in Danish covering the method, handling, and complete basic routine.
As mentioned, only 24 sets have been produced, and the product will be removed from our website as soon as the final set has been sold.
