Williams - Miracles for Mortales Volume 1 Reviews
Outlet for Fun
Electrical Artlet is a hilarious effect that works well as an opener. The magician is beginning her set and discovers, to her dismay, that the sound system isn't playing music. The solution? The magi draws a picture of an electrical outlet on a pad of paper, plugs in the cord from the sound system and the music plays.
Williams' variation on a Fantasio effect is clever and funny. The cord actually plugs into the picture and controls the music on the sound system. One could perform a similar effect by using a timed sound track without setting up the sound system and pad of paper, but this one is a gem.
William's Uploopted offers a visual and mystifying horizontal card levitation that is ready to go at almost any time. Here, the card convincingly floats horizontally between the hands of the performer.
Based on a Larry Jennings effect, Williams' The I Hate David Copperfield Trick offers an astounding pass-through effect where one card visually melts through another one. This one is fantastic and only requires three playing cards to prepare and perform. I really like this effect, and I'm still a fan of David Copperfield.
Wanna Bet?
Omega Bet is based on a Karl Fulves effect and built on top of work by Bob Wagner. Here, a spectator shoves an indicator card into a packet of cards, and the magician is always able to predict whether the
adjacent card will be a match, for example, black and black or red and red, or not a match, black and red.
The bewildering effect offers five phases and Williams serves opportunities for strong audience interaction.
The effect takes some practice and memorization, but it's not overly difficult. It also requires a table. I
don't usually care for these kinds of card effects, but this one is well worth the time to learn and
perform. For this effect, Williams teaches his smear shuffle, a variation on an overhand shuffle that lends
itself to the trick.
In More Oil & Water, Williams offers his version of Sam Schwartz's three-phase, eight-card oil and water
routine that requires little sleight of hand. This one can be powerful if you have the personality to pull it
off. Miracle Coin Vanish offers a gimmick-based, disappearing coin. This one requires that the magician
wears a sportcoat, but the method is good and easily resets. Best yet, the attachment to the jacket is one that's easy to get on and off.
Tearing It Up
With the lengthy and descriptive title, Just a Bit More Ultimate than John Mendoza's Ultimate Torn &
Restored Card, Williams offers a torn and restored miracle that allows a magician to restore a torn card
that's been signed on both sides, and the method requires no complicated sleights. Williams brilliantly
leads into the torn and restored segment with a Chicago Opener routine. This one is another winner.
Williams' Invisible Deck Finesse offers advice and subtleties that improve on the standard Invisible Deck
routine. There are some excellent suggestions here. Forklift offers a metaphysical effect where you cause
a fork to move across a table without touching it. The method is always ready to go.
In the 4-Way Coincidence card trick, the magician pulls four of a kind from a thoroughly shuffled deck,
and the deck can even be borrowed. This is "jazz? magic" where the outcome, the four of a kind, is not
planned ahead and relies on the state of the shuffled deck. This easy trick is Williams' reworking of John
Murray's "Card Cavalcade 3."
The Bottom Line
Williams is an engaging and entertaining performer and he offers thorough and excellent explanations. There's also lots of advice and insight that show that Williams has long performed these routines. The video is well shot with first rate audio.
The only downside, the performance segments are done for the camera and don't feature any spectators or audience reactions. But this doesn't detract from a great DVD that serves some strong material.
In Miracles for Mortals Vol. 1, Geoff Williams offers an excellent set of crowd pleasers that isn't hard to
learn and perform. I'm looking forward to reviewing the next volume in his series.