27 November 2008

Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production by Lee Asher

Price: $13.99
Available from:
Lee Asher's website

I thought that I would post one of my rare product reviews. I'm not normally one to do them but I thought the magicians that read this (hello and thank you for reading) might be interested.

Recently, I got one of Lee Asher's PDF e-books – "Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production". I had seen Lee perform this a good number of years ago (possibly as many as 7 or 8 years ago!) when he lectured in Glasgow and was very impressed by how it looked. The effect is a swift barehanded one-at-a-time production of 4 aces. In the right situation, it could be an excellent opener to a routine.

Following an interesting introduction outlining the development of the routine, Lee takes the Tenkai Palm, the sleight that is a major part in the workings of the routine. His explanation is excellent and he also gives further references if you want to learn more about the sleight.

After the sleight, comes what Lee calls "Thunderbird's Five-Step Formula" which is the production of the aces broken down into, you've guessed it, 5 steps. This is where Lee's ability as a magical teacher and writer really shines through as he explains step-by-step how to perform the routine. This explanation is illustrated by a good number of photographs of Lee's hands performing the routine (there are well over 30 photographs throughout the e-book). There is also a link that will take you to part of the Lee's website where you can watch Thunderbird being performed, as well as a "behind the scenes" look at the routine being performed. Lee finishes the e-book off with some useful tips on the performance of the routine as well as a small variation which you might or might not prefer.

But there is more to this e-book than the routine. The e-book itself looks fantastic. Little touches like having arrows pointing to which photograph comes next in the sequence make the e-book stand out from the rest of the crowd. I only wish I could design things half as well as Lee can. Yes, I'm jealous!

Yes, this is a technical routine. Yes, it has some angle restrictions. However, don't let those points put you off. Lee's writing is very clear and if you're willing to put in the practice, you'll have a really eye-popping routine at your fingertips. This routine is worth investing in – both in terms of money and practice time.

Give Lee your support - you won't regret it. And tell him I sent you.

Hope you enjoy it!

Speak soon

The Cardman :-)

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