Notes From a Fellow Traveller

If you are serious about how a show should be built, this book should be at the top of your list. The wisdom and understanding Brown shares in this book is pure gold! Derren shares a lifetime's worth of experience. Actually, he shares more than that because he shares advice and lessons he learned from others. This is not for the casual magician, but If you are a pro, this is worth 10X the price!

Curt A.

Really enjoying the latest by Derren Brown. The book is really well written and there are some excellent tips on here around showmanship and putting a show together. If you are a Derren fan you will find a lot of nuggets in the book. I can highly recommend this fun, insightful and easy read. Highly recommended.

This book, is extremely great for what it is meant for. If you are purchasing this book to learn effects, you won't find it that amusing. Now if you are, looking for tips and hints, about putting together a show, from a road warrior. This is the book, that is full of great tips. I highly recommend this book. VI, also encountered some hiccups with customs, however in the great customer service that VI, has been known for. They did give a free download, for the delay. Now I myself had already purchased the download previously. Now I am extremely grateful for Vi. VI really, took care of me during some really tough times. I cannot say enough about the way Vi, has taken customer service to the stratosphere.

There's not enough stars to rate this.

This book is setting a really high bar if I use the word “Good”. It's really, really, really good. It's fantastic.

This book is NOT a magic book.

It is a memoir of his experiences during the 2021 through 2022 tour of his show SHOWMAN. Yeah – during COVID.

And it's also a look inside the thinking and processes used by one of the most successful magician/mentalists alive.

Now don't think you won't learn how a few tricks are done, because you will.

But as you read this book, you come to quickly realize that the 'secrets' of tricks don't really matter to Mr. Brown. The thinking does......the presentation does....the scripting does.

Heck, the show was called SHOWMAN!

Here's a partial review from the GUARDIAN.:
Having followed his stage work for years, I find it hard to take a word Derren Brown says seriously. That’s not a criticism: if his lips are moving, I assume there’s devious misdirection afoot, or some hokum designed to dramatise the next feat of jaw-dropping magic and mesmerism. But my scepticism makes things tricky when Brown moves into the territory of real feeling: love, loss, bereavement. Does he belong there? I felt a little uncertain as he conjured with the most delicate feelings of one or two audience members – and indeed with his own.
This is from REDDIT:
I didn’t find this show as impressive, however, I think Derren really wanted us to focus on the message of the show rather than putting on a grand, mind blowing performance like he typically does. Needless to say I was still very impressed with the card to box trick swell [sic] as the teddy bear one. ( That last one with the fish had me VERY stressed )This show felt very sentimental and made me extremely emotional as it did most of the audience from what I watched.
Does THIS SOUND LIKE A MAGIC SHOW? Not one that I do.
Does it sound like one I'd LIKE TO DO? Oh, you betcha!

Well, this book talks about what it was like putting on that show.

The trials and tribulations of rewriting entire chunks of the show for the NEXT show.

The staging, the lighting concerns, the technical issues, the post show review process, the pre-show “prayer” circle they do (which is hysterical), the writing process, the silent scripts, every little thing you can think of is touched on in this book.

Some in detail, some repeatedly, some barely. But even the barest mention by Mr. Brown makes me take notes.

His tip to take “hard to remember” passages of scripts and tie the words to different motions and positions on the stage was revelatory. Using muscle memory to help remember your words? How neat.

Or how – and why - to warm up before a show, both mentally and physically.

And his ideas on making photographs taken with people automatically help him remember their names, even after 2 decades was boggling. Sadly, this information is useless, because people RARELY want my photograph or even my autograph.

And to add extra whipped cream and cherries to the top, he's a good writer with an eye for detail and humor.

A brilliant read, a fascinating look at doing a live touring show, and a dip into the way this man thinks.

I am not someone who reads alot of books but I am really enjoying reading this book. I have been following Derren's career for a very long time and this book truly feels like I am getting an insight into how his brain works and his thinking behind his work.