Talk About Tricks: The Complete File

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12 years. 144 columns. 868 tricks.

For the first time ever, Joshua Jay’s beloved “Talk About Tricks” column from MAGIC Magazine has been compiled into a gorgeous, comprehensive two-book collectors’ set.

“Talk About Tricks” was a groundbreaking column that captivated magicians around the world for more than a decade. Every month, magicians would run to their mailbox to learn the latest and greatest effects from some of the world’s best magicians in the world like David Williamson, Lance Burton, Paul Harris, Jay Sankey, Pit Hartling, Darwin Ortiz, Jeff McBride, and others.

This column was also the launching pad for some of your favorite magicians like Daniel Garcia, Calen Morelli, Harapan Ong, Paul Vigil, and Asi Wind. As Danny Garcia put it, “Talk About Tricks” was “THE spot to have magic published” during its run. Which is why these up-and-coming stars could be found featured alongside magic legends like Martin Gardner, Brother John Hamman, and Larry Jennings.

Close-up magic has experienced many different revolutions over the years, and many of them can trace roots back to this column. Like the visual magic renaissance spearheaded by Calen Morelli, who first shared his magic in “Talk About Tricks” and had this to say about the column: “Joshua Jay made ‘Talk About Tricks’ a place for new talent and cutting-edge ideas. Josh has dedicated his life to help advance magic and this set is filled with some great ideas."

"I honestly cannot think of a magic column that has done more for today's young generation of magic creators than Joshua Jay's ‘Talk About Tricks’ column. It was a vibrant creative hub for magicians to publish their original material for the magic community, and so many of your favorite magic creators have literally started their publishing journey in ‘Talk About Tricks’. Thank you Josh for collating all 868 tricks in this monster set of books—it truly is a goldmine of priceless information to be treasured for generations to come." Harapan Ong

This complete collection of two absolutely stunning hardcover books is being offered in collaboration with MAGIC Magazine. Within the pages of these volumes, you’ll find every single trick from the column accompanied by crystal-clear photos printed on exceptional quality, low-gloss paper. The books themselves are wrapped in a translucent dust jacket that changes the color of the cover when removed. They come packaged in a bespoke, clothbound slipcase that you’ll display proudly on your bookshelf.

Talk About Tricks: The Complete File is a definitive collection of close-up magic that offers something for truly every magician. While there are, of course, card magic tricks and coin tricks, you’ll also find innovative magic tricks with everything from pens to pets, Christmas trees, and pretty much any other object you could find in your house.

Magicians of all skill levels can enjoy these books too because of the trailblazing format “Talk About Tricks” introduced. Prior to the start of this column, magicians would often waste time reading through a trick only to find out halfway through that it exceeds their skill level. The “Talk About Tricks” column instituted a visual guide that allows you, at a glance, to see how easy or difficult a magic trick is.

The scope of these books can be a bit overwhelming at first. They will definitely keep you busy for a very long time. Yet, we also would never expect any magician to learn and practice nearly 870 different magic tricks. The true value of Talk about Tricks: The Complete File goes beyond just new magic tricks as Joshua Jay very literally “talked about tricks” with the creators, diving into their creative process to understand the decisions that went into developing each effect. As the incomparable Rune Klan put it: “‘Talk About Tricks’ is a mountain of inspiration. It was my favorite trick column.”

There is also a special section called “Expertalk” where expert magicians share their insights or tweaks to existing moves or tricks. This is a true goldmine featuring discussions like David Williamson diving into the top change, Gary Plants exploring the bottom deal and Ken Krenzel tipping his work on the mechanical reverse. It’s like getting an expert lesson on every major sleight of hand move in magic.

Joshua Jay dedicated a substantial part of his life into crafting this column. It is a treasure trove of information that is worthy of study from any serious student of magic. Asi Wind, who first published “Time is Money” in the column, calls this two-book set an “Astounding collection of magic. A set you’ll be studying for years.”

“Weighing in at 144 monthly installments, "Talk About Tricks" was clearly the longest-running column in the magazine. It was also one of the most popular ones, partially because of the big-name talent Josh brought to the publication. Lance Burton, Harry Lorayne, Paul Harris, Phil Goldstein, Jay Sankey, and David Williamson — and that was just in his first column! Just as important, and possibly more important, was Josh's knack for introducing us to new talent, talent destined to become big names in our field! Over the years, I've lost count of the number of well-known magicians who have told me that for them it all started by being in the pages of "Talk About Tricks!" That's quite a legacy. Stan Allen, Founder and Editor of MAGIC Magazine

These books are available in limited quantities. Grab your copy of Talk About Tricks: The Complete File today!

Volume 1: 728 pages Volume 2: 612 pages

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Customer reviews for Talk About Tricks: The Complete File

Raymond J
All I can say is "Wow." I just received my TAT set today. The book sleeve is terrific, and the books with their "slipcovers" were beyond what I expected. Compared to the heft these carry, and the amount of info contained, as Josh said, these will keep me busy for quite some time. Just leafing through the first volume, the book will lay flat for practicing and/or easy-pace reading. Definitely worth it and looking forward to diving into these further. With as many tricks are included in these volumes, background, etc., I'm glad I purchased these.
Jean-Luc
What a gigantic and fantastic book set !
It is an encyclopedic set !
And quality of the book set with the case is just unbelievable!
So happy I bought it !
Un must have .
You must buy this now before it is gone.
Jean-Luc
Deryck
Wow! This set is Beautiful!
I have only just received them, but a quick browse before work and I am very impressed! This is a lifetime of top-notch Magic. Its litterally crammed full of effects. I can't wait to get stuck in. I own about 150 Magic books, and have had about 100 others in the past. This set is the most exciting I have ever bought. It has a new foreward by Joshua Jay, a rating system at the top of every effect (exactly the same as 'The Definitive Sankey' set) so you can decide how easy or hard the effect may be for you. A year by year 'Top 10' of Mr Jay's personal favourites. An 'Expert' column at the end of each months issue on various techniques. And superb colour (B&W for the first few issues) illustrations throughout. It does cost a lot yes, but you get a lot of bang for your buck! This is not to be missed! If it goes out of print, I can see it fetching high prices. The question shouldnt be can I afford this?, but rather can I afford not to?
Gordon
Look, I don't want to get anyone in trouble here, but I have it on good authority that these books were intentionally made from the finest paper and materials so that they would be heavy. Very heavy, in fact. It's part of Vanishing Inc's health care plan to increase the fitness of their warehouse staff. And, also, to build everyone's biceps so people stop thinking Joshua spends too much time in the gym.

So, buy them. Not only will you be doing the entire staff a favor, but you'll also have a couple of lifetimes of magic to study.
Joseph
Where to start? Well, with a claim that might appear lofty at first blush, but, trust me, it is accurate. This beautiful two-volume set will become as important as the legendary compilations in our art such as Apocalypse; it's THAT good! The physical product is built to last and the slipcase is designed to comfortably and safely house these two heavy volumes. Combined, this amounts to 15 lbs./6.8 kilos of very good to superb magic. While it looks like something a collector would put on the shelf, this set is really begging to be studied; there are two lifetimes of magic aching to be performed here, folks.

Yes it is dominated by card magic but that has always been the case in magic. Just look at Greater Magic and you will see that half of that towering classic is devoted to cards. But wizards, there is a wealth of magic for non-card practitioners as well including a brilliant Three Fly variant that does not require the use of worn coins.

Just as Apocalypse was a who's who snapshot of magic between 1978-1998, Talk About Tricks captures some of the very best from 2001 to 2013 plus a few additional columns. Names like Asi Wind, Simon Aronson, Caleb Wiles, Harry Lorayne, Christian Chelman, Mark Aspiazu, and MANY more grace these tomes. These are not mere pipe dreams nor are the effects theoretical exercises for move monkeys. Joshua has accomplished something truly amazing by applying his Occam;s Razor and the result is 868 routines plus all of the Experttalk portions of each issue. In fact, Experttalk could well have been its own separate volume, so, kudos to Josh for including these!

My only niggles, and they are small ones are the lack of a proper index and I would have liked it if Josh had chucked in a few of the necessary card gimmicks. Other than that my friends, this is a product that is destined to go down as one of magic's great achievements. The perennial question of desert island resources is appropriate here. For me, all I would need is Apocalypse, Talk About Tricks, and some cards and coins.

If you miss, it is at your peril! Superb work Joshua!!!
jonathon
Over the years I have magician magic magazine! But if you know any thing about Mr jay the work he has put in with in real art of magic you know you are going find key strengths in the pages of this 2 family book that will have all kinds of different types effect this like Harry lorayne's 4 book series! It has the magician from all round the world and tips and advice and guidance and theory as well fantastic beautiful effect that to day magician or mentalist will love to have on there bookcases.. because you enjoy the 3 books by jay Sankey that they did in early years of vanishing Inc you be very happy to + talk about tricks .. you will have so many different types effect that some time get lost over time! Or maybe a friend did an amazing effect but you have not been able to find it ! And maybe with in the specific pages you will find the right effect that may open up your mind to new ideas that you can never imagine you will enjoy becoming a major masters of the art of magic this is the best stuff the and students can study !materials will be old vintage style and new at the same time what ever level you are with magic .. you wow your family and friends and colleagues for years to come! Thank you for jay for making this a dream for all to study!
Mark
Beautiful books. Great content. Quality all around.

But it's the extra touches that make it even more special. Josh, Andi, George, and the team went all out. The books were boxed with special packaging to avoid any damage, even with the book name on the outside of the box! This was planned to be perfect in every way from the very beginning. As someone who lives in a rural area where mail processing can be rough on books, I was very impressed.

At around a quarter per trick, I am sure you will find plenty of use in this extraordinary set of books.
Connor
I've read about half of the set and I'm satisfied. A lot of card magic ( I would even say its 70% card magic material). There are many items that were historically released as stand alone items in the +$25 range so you already have great value in these pages. You could say that you won't need to purchase anymore material after this due to the large volume of magic (over 800 effects).

Production seems rushed as there were several spelling errors throughout the volumes. I was surprised to see these errors get by the VI editorial team since they've produced other outstanding publications. The box set is awesome but the books fit in so tight its hard to get them off the shelf. Also the pages do have gaff templates to cut out however in some instances you would destroy writing on the next page in doing so. However, the pros far outweigh the cons.

I was a big fan of the magazines so it was very nostalgic to re-read some material. There are many gems hidden deep in here that deserve some limelight. I found some great advice in the "expert talk" sections as well. I've re-added many routines from these pages to my repertoire that were since forgotten.

I'm very happy with this purchase. I would read other reviews before purchase so you know what you're getting.
Bruce F
FINALLY!!! I’m able to clear my bookshelf of Magic Magazines back to 2002 (missed Josh’s first 27 tricks). Talk About Tricks made Magic the best monthly available to finger flickers world wide in this century’s first plus decade. Josh rightly brags about his inclusion of some of the worlds greatest talents, but he’s also highlighted the work of unknowns who’ve brought new ideas to the art as well (check page 448 if I’m allowed to brag):-). The sheer amount of material, clearly marked for level of difficulty is especially useful for me when teaching and keeping young magicians excited and interested in the profession. Having also published a (non magic) column in a no longer published periodical I’m amazed and impressed at how difficult it must have been for Josh to legally and mechanically recover and publish a defunct magazine’s material. Talk About Tricks is a beautiful and expertly photographed work, with hundreds of well thought out and described tricks and will become known as the most important volume of magic to be published in the 21st Century… Trust me on that.
Brian
OK, this is a compilation of Josh Jay's "Talk About Tricks" column. This is a hefty price tag, especially since it is "just" a compilation. But I am not disappointed. First, I knew what I was buying. I wanted all of Josh's columns all in one place, even though you could get it from Magic Magazine's online publications. This is a handy, convenient compilation. The quality of the books and slipcase are top notch. One reviewer notes that the books are difficult to get out because they fit in the slipcase too tightly. To me, this was not a real problem to overcome because ... physics. You are going to get the books out if you understand gravity and inertia. I assume that the books will start coming out easier over time. The dustjackets are awesome, and the materials of the books are top notch as well. The value is justified, not only by the quality of the physical media, but also Josh Jay's efforts over a decade at getting the best tricks for the column. Columns like Talk About Tricks are only as good as the contributors. Josh started his column out with a bang, getting the best creators to contribute material. Over time, Josh was able to successfully solicit materials from the greats and the soon to be greats, as well as one hit wonders. I love my books. I love them. You're getting the columns, compiled. But the packaging classes them up as much as possible for convenient reference, justifying, in my opinion, the price. Now, if only Vanishing Inc. would reprint The Definitive Sankey volumes I through III, my life will be complete.
Marco
These 2 set book is a great puchase! I will point my reasons to say this: 1) first, having paid 227€ for this, it turns out that every trick costs 0,26€, which is a great price; 2) it's a selection of magic coming from diferent creators (this allows you to get a taste of their magic); 3) there's a great variety of magic in these 2 books: cards, coins, money, billets, envelopes, mentalism, etc - I would say there's something for everybody; 4) regarding the dificulty level, also there is something for the complete beginer but also for the experienced magician (the complete beginer can always come back to dificulter tricks as he gains expeciencein magic; 5) Last, all curated by Joshua Jay - so, all really good stuff!
Fabio
Wow. Very excellent material by a lot of excellent artists. The books arrived in their own box, so you will 100% receive it without any damage. About the books, they are very well made: glossy and full colored pages. Most of the material is very good, and even if I will not remember all of it (too much material!), I think that anyone will get something out of it. Even if there is a lot of tricks using props and mentalism routines, most of material is card magic (and I loved most of it). The price seems very fair once you manage to hold the books. The only reason I did give 4 stars is the index: it's very well made in many aspects, from topic to best tricks, but I found hard to find material of which I knew the name but didn't remeber the year, because the index is mede in chronological order and not in alphabetical order. I recommend this set to every magician
Gary
I have just received my talk about tricks two volume set and first let me say fast delivery from Vaninc as ever the packaging was great so no damage would come to the books. I have had a quick look through volume one and it is very impressive to say the least with coloured photographs and with over eight hundred tricks there is enough magic here to keep you learning for avery long time I give this set my highest recommendation.
juan etgar
Ok so let’s be clear , besides of you buying what I thinks is a collector item you are buying what can basically be an entire life of magic to perform , this might sound exaggerated but seriously you are buying around 800 tricks and moves , if you think you already have this because your bought L&L Publishing think twice because thats not even 20% of what you get with this collection , I’m filming one Trick of this books per night , not for social media , not to upload anywhere , just to have this in my phone and every one and then take a look again and remembers so Much strong magic you can find here , you are learning moves , theory and presentation ! Please if you want to expand your knowledge GET THIS !
Randy
I am a sucker for books about magic, can't seem to not buy them; this one is special, the collected columns by Joshua Jay, hundreds and hundreds of pages crammed with entertaining infro, a lot here for just about anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of magic. Highly recommended.
Skye
Likely the most overwhelming collection of magic in the history of magic books. Talk About Tricks isn't just an essential time capsule for the history of Magic Magazine; it's also one of most expansive collections of original magic by hundreds of creators, from established veterans to new voices. There is more than a lifetime's worth of material to explore here. Just make sure you have a strong enough shelf to handle the weight!
Christopher
I held off for some time before deciding to purchase the set of books. I have numerous books and tricks and a long list of more to learn. After reading numerous reviews and finally saying ok, I received them.

For starters, beautiful books and slip case! You can tell a lot of work went into the aesthetics alone. Josh's intro is very candid and open, which I greatly appreciate. Then, the material is presented.

There's gold here, absolute gold! I could not believe how many great effects and moves were put in the first 20 pages. But wait, there's a truckload of more stuff?? Yes.

If you want the newest latest thing that takes no work and is full of gimmicks, then buy that. If you want to study and learn and perform great material that's already been chosen, filtered and presented in a beautiful format where you'll actually have to read and practice (shocking, I know), these are the books for you.
Werner
These books are life changing. sits beautiful on a book shelf and is a joy to read.
I Had seen Joshua perform some of the items at conventions and remember thinking how insane some of these tricks are. now they are scattered in two volumes for us to rediscover. It does feel like a true homecomming story doesnt it?
So glad that Vanishing ic has finally released these two gorgious books, it will take you a lifetime to work through them, that said it made me realize how hard it was in the early 2000's to collect these tricks and make them available to us, maybe it is a sign to go back in time and look at previous publications/books and fall in love again with tricks that you grew up with. i think this collection is a treasure chest that was berried for far to long and i for one am so glad this is available.
i am not sure what Vanishing Inc has instore for the future regarding books but one thing is for sure the Bar is as high as can be.
Good job.....now if youll excuse me i need to time travel back in my mind to think where i was when Josh invented the indiscreet displacement move and try and finish the 17,000 pages.
Tony
Outstanding. The tricks are varied but all are excellent, and they are helpfully categorised by the level of sleights involved. The books are large and heavy - this is not one for stuffing into a jacket pocket to read on a train. But an incredibly rich resource, ideal for random dipping into.
Adam
This is, obviously, an excellent book. I got the ebook version and I've gone through all of volume 1 and some of volume 2 and there are a lot of absolute gems. The VAST majority is card stuff, but there's also some good coin work in there too. It's a bit light on mentalism and there's very little stage stuff, but if you're looking for close-up card work then you should definitely buy this book.

Unfortunately, there's also some filler which nobody will ever really use - whether it's impractical methods, excessive gaffs, or just not-that-strong effects. There are also some parts where you don't get things that came with the magazine - the overlap card accoutns for an entire issue and about a dozen more tricks throughout the books, but you don't get the card that came with the magazine, and you can't even buy it (VI used to do it but it's discontinued now). This is the only reason I've given it 4 stars instead of 5.
Joseph
Magic has seen many great journals and some of the very best magic is hidden away in them. Journals such as Mahatma, Ellis Stanyon's Magic, The Jinx, The Phoenix, The Gen, Spellbinder, Trapdoor, Apocalypse, Richard's Almanack and many more have contributed to the repertoires of magicians all over the world. While not a journal in the purest sense, Joshua Jay's Talk About Tricks deserves to be mentioned in the same long breath with the legendary resources I've mentioned.

This is not hyperbole sisters and brothers of the arcane. Just as the journals of the past featured the bleeding edge of magic in their time, Talk About Tricks captures the best in magic in its decade and a half run. One warning though: these beautiful volumes are heavy so, hit the gym!

Every move and effect is rated with a diamond system that gives the reader a sense of the difficulty of the material being taught. I like this addition though one could argue that any rating system is purely subjective. I am sure that someone like Jason England would find the most extreme knucklebusters no more difficult than something from a Fulves "self-working" tome. Still, it gives both the neophyte and the seasoned move monkey a sort of anchor point. This system was first used in The Definitive Sankey and I am chuffed that Joshua and Andi chose to retain it.

There is something for every magician in these behemoth books. Talk About Tricks is, like the great journals, an embarrassment of riches. I defy anyone to go through its more than 1300 pages and not find at least ten items that she/he would add to her/his repertoire.

The question of price always rears its head for works of this magnitude. Yet, how can one really put a price on knowledge? Well, for the pro and semi-pro, there are scores of fantastic routines begging to be performed. Joshua's discerning good taste in selecting material is quite evident. For hobbyists, there is so much to study as well. Your magical knowledge with broaden considerably.

As a matter of fact, Joshua could have chosen to publish the Experttalk articles as a separate work and I would have gladly paid for that. Joshua included everything! As far as cost, if you cannot pay the whole thing up front, don't forget that PayPal offers payment plans so money is no excuse for not purchasing this two volume library of magic.

You can certainly buy a few one-trick ponies or perhaps a smaller "flavour of the month" manuscript, but, you'll be missing out on truly spectacular magic waiting to thrill your audiences, your friends, and God bless 'em, your long-suffering magic objectified significant others.

Why are you still reading this when you could be reading Talk About Tricks??!! ;)
Omid
Do you seriously believe you can read both of these volumes?
If you’re a card worker, you’ll probably go crazy from all the different topics — and your eye prescription will skyrocket; you’ll definitely need glasses.
Something that took so long to write and compile will also take a long time to truly learn.
By the time you finish these two volumes,
we’ll be doing a show together at age 90
Then see u in next century 🤣
Oscar
One of my favorite parts is the simple difficulty guide, which lets you know instantly whether a trick fits your skill level, something I wish every magic book had. And even though there are nearly 870 tricks, the value isn’t just in learning each one but in seeing Joshua Jay break down the creative decisions and thought processes of the magicians behind them. The “Expertalk” section, where experts discuss sleights like the top change and bottom deal, feels like getting private lessons from legends. For someone like me who’s still growing in magic, this set is both inspiring and motivating, and I can easily see myself returning to it for years to come. As an amateur magician who loves learning new tricks but often feels overwhelmed by giant magic books, Talk About Tricks: The Complete File instantly became one of the most exciting magic releases I’ve ever picked up.

Community questions about Talk About Tricks: The Complete File

Have a question about this product? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.

  • Christy asks: Can you print out the ebook

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:It is in PDF form so you certainly can.

  • Christy asks: Hi there we think these books are great for improving my tricks. Bu5 we would need them pretty quickly are they coming back in stock soon/never if not is there any stores that we could get them from instead thank you

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:No plans to reprint them, but the ebooks are available. This means they are super easy to search, carry, and it's an instant download so you can get stuck in immediately!

  • Evan asks: Will this be reprinted for the physical version?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:We hope to reprint it in the future.

  • Luke asks: Hi, I was thinking about buying the ebook version as I missed out on the hard copy . I was wondering if it was set up so that you can click on individual tricks in the table of contents and go right to them or do you have to scroll. Thanks

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:It isn’t, you would need to scroll to the required page
    • 2. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:It isn’t, you would need to scroll to the required page

  • Philipp asks: The description of Chris Korns Backhand Transposition ends uncompleted on page 67. How do I get the missing content? I do have the printed version.

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:Please email us at wizards@vanishingincmagic.com and we can look into this for you

  • Sydney asks: When is the dvd download is going to be available again?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:Please email us at wizards@vanishingincmagic.com for assistance

  • Bruce asks: I spent 35 dollars for a year of online access to Genii which includes access to every single issue of MAGIC magazine. Is there something about this book that adds $200 plus value to what I already have access to?

    • 1. Bruce responds:To clarify, I have access to 85 years of Genii and 25 years of MAGIC magazine. Is there additional information in this book?
    Post an answer to this question

  • Blake asks: I heard there are a lot of typos, and even missing information, such as the trick on page 234. Is this true?

    • 1. Blake responds:I meant page 634
    Post an answer to this question

  • Danny asks: If there is a re-print of these books, will you go back and update the errors/omissions?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:If we end up reprinting, yes, we would do that.

  • Scott asks: I understand that the entry for Joel Givens' “Sweet Straw” does not tell what happens to the small straw. The original magazine article contained the final steps. Why was this left out of the book edition?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:With nearly 300 tricks and routines included, we made an honest mistake by missing this one, BUT a PDF is included with your purchase so you don't miss out.

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