The Elusive Illusive by Ben Daggers - Book

The best magic tricks are often created by those with endless fascination. Few magicians have a curiosity as fervent as Ben Daggers, who has tirelessly used inspiration from both inside and outside of magic to create truly remarkable magic effects. With help from Vanishing Inc., he is finally sharing his most cherished effects in The Elusive Illusive.

This beautiful hardback book is a must-read for any magician that appreciates strong, entertaining, and inspiring magic. As Pit Hartling perfectly summarized in the introduction, Ben's magic is pure and simple. The plots are clear, the effects are strong and the fun presentations make audiences want to be engaged.

Ben's success can be attributed to a lifetime spent absorbing as much magic as possible. From venturing to the Osaka Castle with Richard Turner to spending countless late nights soaking up the invaluable wisdom of Juan Tamariz during impromptu jams in his garden, Ben has never wavered in his attempts to capture the elusive beast known as an ideal magical effect.

The Elusive Illusive offers more than 200 pages of professional routines that Ben has refined in front of real audiences. In total, there are 12 one-of-a-kind pieces that are equally magical and entertaining, as well as several original techniques-including one of the most convincing full-deck false shuffles you'll ever see. Ben also shares three insightful essays that discuss the value of thinking like a layperson, his views on the classic force, and the importance of revisiting old material.

Nothing in this book is conceptual. These are real-world routines and techniques that Ben uses in his professional work both for private clients, as well as a weekly show he's been a part of for years. Some of these effects are hard, while others are quite easy. There is a good mix for every type of magician.

Those who enjoy pure magic will love "Technicolor", Ben's pseudo card cheating showcase which ends with you changing the back design of every single card as a tongue-in-cheek demonstration of "marked cards". Or "Tribute", a unique demonstration of skill where you blindfold yourself and attempt to shuffle and find all four Aces with just one hand before a kicker ending that will floor them.

If you prefer more theatrical pieces, then you will be enthralled by "Invisible Sleeves", a Coins Across routine where all the magic is seemingly made possible by an invisible jacket. Or "Babel Coins" a captivating and fun routine where, with the help of a special "elixir", you unlock the ability to visually transform coins.

While all of the magic in The Elusive Illusive uses cards or coins, it's not all close-up material. "Hands Off ACAAN" is a great parlor routine where a named card is found at a named number in an audience-shuffled deck of cards isolated in a wine glass. The spectators even get to count the cards themselves. "Uncommon Sense", is also the perfect example of Ben's creativity. You use all five senses to perform incredible feats of magic before leveraging some unorthodox props to help your spectator replicate them

Many of the routines work just as well in informal settings as they do in formal ones. Like "One-Track Mind", where your spectator becomes a card-tracking master that finds a named four-of-a-kind after just a quick glance at a shuffled deck, or "Triumph for Two", a race between you and a spectator to see who can more quickly sort cards that have been shuffled face up into face down by the audience. After instantly unmixing the cards with magic, and winning the race, you leave them stunned by magically making the leftover mess of cards they have in their hands sort itself.