Can you Follow the Ace?

This week, we released Distilled by Ryan Plunkett. The video above is a full performance of "Ace on Top," which is one of my favorite tricks in the book and I suspect it will become a staple in the repertories of magicians around the world.

I've known Ryan for many years and his magic is everything that I like. He creates interesting premises, unique presentations, and innovative methods. It was no surprise, therefore, that at Magifest 2020, he captivated a room full of one-thousand magicians, fooling them, for an hour. The book sold out there in just a few minutes there but is now available for you to get your hands on. And I thoroughly recommend that you do.

One of the great joys of being involved with the production of a new magic book is the manuscript. Before the book is laid out, we review the final manuscript. This austere-looking document is daunting at first. It's a lot of text. Every page has to be scoured over to check for errors. This is our last chance to make changes before "content lock". After "content lock", no further changes can be made, as the book is transferred to the design and layout stage.

Why on earth, then, would the manuscript stage be my favorite? That's simple. It's the first time that we get to read the book as a whole, learn the effects and get a feel for the character of the project. Without photos, some of the effects can be hard to understand but that's all part of the fun (don't worry, the final product is lavishly appointed with over 300 full color photos!).

I remember reading "Ace on Top" and immediately thinking that it's a fooler. Even now, when I watch the above video, I'm still partially fooled. The linear plot, combined with a wonderfully refined method, makes it a trick that you'll not only want to perform, you'll enjoy performing.

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