Review: 20 Things Marlo Didn’t Publish

For those who haven’t read my previous reviews of Euans work, let me make a few things clear. You will get for the price of a few pints of beer a small ringbound booklet containing a number of effects and sleights, but be warned they are of an advanced nature. Euan however does a sterling job of providing both references and descriptions of the sleights used. I'm proud to say that my own library is now good enough to handle most of the references. All I have to do now is actually read and digest them all. If your a fan of Walton and Sadowitz then you'll like the thinking contained within, and there is much to be learned even for the not so advanced card worker (thats me by the way).

If you have taken the time to read my previous reviews of Euans work then you will know that his publications are not to be taken as a completed work but really a snapshot of his progress as he develops his ideas. For the avoidance of doubt, that is my interpretation, and not neccessarily the authors. I could imagine that this could be off putting to some who have a different expectation, but as someone who has read his previous booklets I find it an engaging method of exploring card work. It’s a refreshing style and is even more engaging thanks to his inclusion of a card problems section. The style is not so much a lecture but a discussion.

Can I suggest that if you are new to Euans work then this may not be the best starting point. Unfortunately I don’t really have any objective reasoning behind this. That isn’t to say that the writing is not articulate or that this booklet is not a self contained unit; I simply feel that one of the earlier booklets may be a better introduction. IMHO your best introduction to this mans thinking would be “Free From Filler”, which is again available from his website.

The booklet is A5 ring bound unit with Euans now standard layout of thoughts on sleights, followed by effects and now with the added bonus of a more comprehensive card problem section. At some 46 pages long there is plenty to think about.

It starts by describing a variation to his own rotary palm sleight (nice), two variations on a Lennart Green sleight, a tabled false shuffle and finally some thoughts on Erdnase. Next comes the meat of the booklet in the form of 10 effects, described in detail with his cunning communication breakdown.

My favourite effects being:

“What another Poor Piece of Routining” – A nice handling of C2P (pretentious .. moi). I instantly took this away and developed my own, which I rather think is part of the joy of these booklets. Its asking you to think!
“Sig Tig” – Signature Transposition.

To be honest I didn't get as much out of the effects in this booklet as I have the previous works. That is of course a matter of taste, and I am sure many will disagree. Of course this is similar to the comment I made about Cardboard Capers, which I now find myself going back to again and again. For my money the real value lies within the pages of the next section.

The final section covers a sequence of card problems and thoughts. From what Euan says this was popular amongst his readership, and I for one am glad to see it included. If your intested in developing your own ideas and variations, this is inspiring collection of thoughts and footnotes. Euan states at the beginning of this section that:

“this section was a lot longer, however I cut out a large chunk of text … I decided was pretentious crap.“

It’s your decision obviously Euan, but I can’t help but think I was short changed. I expect pretentious crap in my magic texts … infact I demand pretentious crap.

Overall:

IMHO not the best starting point to Euans work but a quality addition to his thinking. If you’re a fan of european card work then buy this; once you’ve bought all his other works of course. It is a valued addition to my growing library, and if like me you take this subject (too) seriously then you'll enjoy the work of this informed and imaginative author. If it doesn't inspire you to create something of your own, then your probably dead.

Its also nice to see Euan resist the urge to make any personal attacks and flag up the contribution that both Paul Gordon and Harry Lorayne have made to card magic.

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