Well done and a bargain.

Reviewed by Mark Phillips in the October 2021 issue of Genii Magazine.

When I think of the magic I saw and learned while living in New York in the ’80s, what comes to mind are highly visual, multi-phase routines often with a twist or kicker ending. This was the style of Dingle, Roth, Latta, and numerous other contributors to publications like Kaufman’s CoinMagic, Apocalypse, and Richard’s Almanac. We are fortunate to have Geoff’s coin masterpieces collected in Hermetic Press’s The Long Goodbye. One of Latta’s early card creations was a variation on Vernon’s “Twisting the Aces,” from More Inner Secrets of Card Magic, using the Ace through Four of Spades. The cards magically turn over one at a time in order, with the backs of all four cards displayed before each twist. The cards then turn face up progressively; Ace, Two, and Three with the kicker of the Four being shown as the Four of Hearts. The routine is both logical and deceptive to magicians and lay audiences and the surprise ending is genuinely startling. Meir himself teaches the routine via a video link or download, and the instruction is clear and thorough as well as efficient. I am, like many of you, no doubt, becoming quite impatient with rambling, unedited instruction videos. Meir’s instructions begin with just a bare-bones explanation so advanced card magicians can more quickly learn the routine. Those who need to learn the necessary sleights Meir teaches first can then use the beginning of the video to review and master the sequences of the routine. Well done and a bargain.