Dare To Be Bold: E-Book by Peter Turner

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Dare to be Bold: By Peter Turner

Where to buy: http://www.peterturnermind.com/
Price: 25 GBP

Dare to be Bold is the second e-book written by Peter Turner. His first book, co-written with Kenton Knepper(see review here: ) was an excellent blend of techniques and presentations that would work for stage and close-up performers. I enjoyed that book so much that I became an immediate fan and decided to get this book. Overall I was quite happy with this book but I would like to caution, he doesn’t call this Dare to Be Bold for no reason. Indeed, you will need a certain swagger and chutzpa to believably pull this off. Don’t let that dissuade you from looking into this book, however! Even if you don’t think you are ready to perform some of this stuff yet I think you will appreciate the exploration of the methods. They will serve you well!

I hedged about whether this was a 5 or a 4 star book and decided on 4 ½. It is almost as good as his first book but his first book truly introduced me to some of these ideas whereas this one expanded upon some of these techniques. For that reason I still have a soft spot for “Devious Realities” but I am also confident that there will be many out there who could see this the other way around.
****1/2!!

Using this review: This review will be long so I recommend skipping to the 5th post and reading my overall thoughts. If that strikes a cord then you may want to come back and read about individual effects. Each effect description will be color coded based on my personal favorites. ( Red) as in red hot! This is an effect that has a clever method and delivers a powerful effect. The kind of effect that most people will find a place for in their show. (Orange) Hot. This is an effect that either has a really clever method or delivers a powerful effect but perhaps not both. Most performers will be able to use at least some part of this effect and tweak it to their liking without much trouble. (Green) (this was going to be yellow but you couldn't read yellow) Warm. This is a good effect but neither the method or the presentation will likely "blow you away." It will be an effect that some people will get a lot of use out of and others will not. Most people will "like" the effect but few people will "LOVE" the effect. (Purple) Neutral. This is an effect that some folks might like and some folks wont. It will all depend on individual styles.(Blue) Cold! This is an effect that I estimate most people will not like. It either delivers an unimpressive climax or the method used is convoluted or just plain bad.

 

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Effects:

Dual Reality: The first section of the book is largely composed of effects that use Dual reality is some way shape or form. Many have heard of this concept before but the clever ways in which Peter Turner employs this concept will likely please and surprise most of you.

Trust Your Instinct: A female and a male subject are brought on the stage. The woman is asked to think of a card and psychically send it to the male. The male is then given a deck and thumbs off cards until he gets a feeling that he is on the females card. She then says the name of her card out loud. The male turns over his card to find that it matches the card she was thinking of.

Thoughts: This is a good mix of principles to deliver a very clean looking effect. Some might not get really excited about the effect because, though it is an outstanding demonstration, it is ultimately a card effect, and some people just don’t mix mentalism and cards. I wouldn’t let that dissuade you from studying this effect, even if you don’t care to mix the two. With something as simple as swapping playing cards for business cards with names(cities, animals, whatever) on it you can adopt elements of this presentation in many different ways.

Dunnenger Vs. Anneman: Everyone in the audience is asked to think of a three digit number. One person in the audience is asked to come up to the stage. Another spectator is selected to come up to the stage. The second spectator is blindfolded and the first spectator stands behind him. They are asked to play a series of three games. The first spectator holding up fingers that correspond to the first digit in the number he/she thought of and the second spectator tries to “guess” the number of fingers the first spectator is holding up. The game is played three times, once for each digit in the first spectators number. The second, blindfolded, spectator guesses the digit correctly each time!

Thoughts: Depending on your style this could be a phenomenal “transfer of power” type effect. The method is both clever and bold and the presentation has a natural three phase build. Almost any mentalist should be able to find a place for this effect in their show.

Subject to Subject Book Test: Two different spectators are brought up on stage and each is asked to select a book. They then are seated across from one and other and each given a white board. They are asked to pick a page at random in the book they selected, open it, and find a word. They are then asked to write their word on the white board followed by the word that they think the other spectator has chosen. When the white boards are revealed we see that the spectators have correctly guessed each others word.

Thoughts: I know of no other subject to subject book tests and that alone sets this one apart from just about any other book test. That said, this one is as bold as it gets. Many people just won’t have “the mustard” to pull this one off but to those who do you probably won’t find a more baffling book test.

Simon Says Drawing Duplication: A spectator asked to come on stage is given a whiteboard and a news paper. He/she is asked to draw any picture they like and then cover their drawing with the newspaper. The performer then takes another whiteboard and tries to duplicate it. Once done he shows the audience his drawing and then takes the spectators whiteboard out of the newspaper and shows them that as well. The drawings are a match!

Thoughts: This is just a genius method for a drawing dupe. Not only will you get a guaranteed hit without any need for fiddly IMP pads or trying to disguise a peek but I can only imagine how much fun it will be, on a personal level, to pull this one off. Though I am trying hard not to tip methods in this review I think I can say this without revealing too much and knowing this might peek your interest in this effect. In this effect Peter Turner has come up with a way of stooging the entire audience! How does he do this? Get the book and find out! This one is a thing of beauty!

Lost and Found: One spectator is asked to come on stage and think of a name that no one else in the audience might know. Another spectator is asked to be a “judge” to ensure that no trickery is at play. The judge inspects an envelope and then signs it. The spectator thinking of a name then wispers the name to the performer and the performer writes it down on a card. The card is then placed in the signed envelope and another spectator is asked on stage. This third spectator will act as a “reader.” Four more envelopes that look identical to the one the judge inspected and signed are added to the judges signed envelope. The envelopes are mixed. Now a game of “reverse bank night” is played with the “reader.” With the judges signature facing the performer(away from the reader) the reader goes through a process of selecting the envelope that has the card with the name in it and the judges signature on the back. The first reveal is that the spectator was able to select the correct envelope. Then, the spectator is asked to say what they think the name on the card is. He/she guesses the name correctly!

Thoughts: Okay I realize that this sounds confusing and part of that is me trying to write the presentation as susinctly as possible. Try to see this effect in performance and I think you will realize that when performed this effect won’t appear quite as confusing. Nevertheless, there is a lot going on here. Three spectators, one thinking of a name, one acting as a judge, and a third guessing a name. This will play as a very clean effect and will appear as if the performer could not possibly have control of the situation but if you are looking for a direct presentation this one may be seen as a bit cluttered. It is a fantastic effect however and any presentational issues are more about a mentalists personal style choices than how this will play for an audience. Included in this effect are a series of methods that are definitely worth study. I feel confident that anyone who reads and considers the methodology will come away with something they can use. There is also an Andy Nyman idea included that, if you haven’t studied Nyman’s work, you will really love. So all in all, this is an effect that you will learn from even if you don’t choose to perform it as written.

Inside Intuition: In this effect a judge is asked to inspect and envelope and ensure that it is opaque and no slits, marks, or gaffs exist on it. The judge affirms this and then signs the envelope. A spectator is asked on stage and given a white board and marker. The spectator is told that inside the envelope is a picture and that they are to make a drawing of what they think the picture is. After doing this they show drawing they made on the white board and the performer opens the envelope revealing a picture that matches drawing.

Thoughts: This effect teaches a switch that is just brilliant. Even if you don’t present this effect as Peter Turner does you will use this switch. In addition to that the overall scripting and presentation is just clever. This effect is Turner’s favorite in the book and I can see why. Upon reading this one my own mind started churning with ideas of how to combine methods taught in this and in the “Lost and Found” effect to create my own effect based on the two.

 

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Peek Production and a Bobbin or Two: The second half of the book focuses on effects using peeks, switches, and productions to achieve the results

Peek- a-boo: The performer holds a stack of business cards behind his back and has a spectator draw a simple image or write a word on it. He then turns the card over, has it signed, placed in an envelope, and then proceeds to guess what the spectator wrote or drew on the business card.

Thoughts: This is a clever way to get a peek from something written or drawn on the back of a small card. It relies on a peeking method that Turner describes in his first book Devious Realities. He covers the method well here but it is described in a bit better detail in his first book.

Envelope Peek: A large envelope is produced and verified opaque by the spectator. Inside that is another envelope that is also verified opaque. Inside the smaller envelope is a business card that is verified opaque. The spectator writes a word or draws an image on the card and places it face down on the table. The card is placed in the small envelope and that is placed in the large envelope. The performer is able to divine what has been written on the card.

Thoughts: This is a good peek and it has that “nest of boxes” sort of feel to it, though in reverse. There are lots of great envelope peeks out there and I wouldn’t go so far as to say this one much better than others though it does have the advantage of allowing a pretty close inspection of gaffed envelope. That right there makes this one worth considering.

Prediction Production: A locked box has been on display since before the show. At the conclusion of the show a spectator comes up and opens the box. Inside the box is a black velvet bag. The spectator peeks inside and sees a handkerchief with writing on it. The handkerchief is pulled out and the writing is read by the spectator. It predicts several events that took place during the show.

Thoughts: I can’t believe no one thought of this before! This is such a brilliant idea for a finale “Confabulation” routine. With this you can use any locked box you like(no need for expensive gaffed boxes) and the switch happens right under their noses. The only real issue with it is that it is designed for shows that include an interval(intermission), or for use by people who have back stage assistants, as no methods for writing on the handkerchief are offered while under the noses of the spectators. That not withstanding, I’m sure many will already have some ideas or methods for writing things down on the sly that could be modified to work with a handkerchief. Indeed some ideas are offered in this book. Turner also offers some clever scripting to give other spectators the impression that the note was not written on the handkerchief but stenciled on it. Heck if you were going with the back stage assistant option and you knew someone with a stenciling sewing machine you really could stencil the message on the handkerchief. I digress. The key here is that Turner has created a devious switch that allows you to do a confabulation routine with any box. If you are the type who likes to “Mail” your prediction to the host of the event you could even do that. Mail the prediction and have the host put it in their own portable lock box. One of the simplest and best ideas in the book.

Rain Man Effect Map Test: A spectator comes on stage and is given a phone book. Another spectator is given a business card and asked to write down a page number and a number for entries down in the page he wants to go to. The mentalist reads only the page number and the entry number, asks the spectator with the phone book to look that up. The performer, without looking at the book, reads off the name, phone number, and address of the person in that position in the book.

Thoughts: This is a very clever method that requires little set up. It would probably benefit the performer to work on a few simple “real” memory demonstrations in order to use as convincers for this effect. It is not that the method will be seen through without these convincers but any time you do a memory test of some sort it begs the question.

Three Heads are Better than One: This is somewhat of a three way drawing dupe. The performer asks two spectators on the stage and tells them that one person will act as a sender and that the performer and the other spectator will act as receivers. Each person is given a white board and they draw the image in their mind. When the white boards are turned around they all match.

Thoughts: This is a clever blend of methods that creates a three way drawing dupe. It really comes down to personal style and preference. I personally love the methodology on this one but I’m not really crazy about the idea of a three way drawing dupe. Perhaps as my show evolves I may adopt this presentation but in the meantime my mind will be churning as to how I can adapt this methodology for a different presentation.

 

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Principles and thoughts: These are a series of thoughts principles and methods that Turner elaborates on throughout the book. I have separated them into their own section for the purpose of this review for fear that a chronological placement(as they appear in the book) would tip the methods for certain effects.

White Board Dual Reality: This is a subtlety that you can add to a sequence that uses dual reality. It can really help sell an effect. Though he calls it “White Board” dual reality the same concept will work with a large pad of paper.

Instant Stooging: Here it is….the dirty word…STOOGING! This tips the fact that several of the effects in this book rely on instant stooging. That right there will likely be a turn off to some. But Turner adds some thoughts here on why you should not be scared away by instant stooging.

Time Delay Principle: This is a way of further selling the fact that you were no where near a subject when they think of a word or object. This can be used bolster the believability of the use of a force or of an instant stooge.

My Opinions: This is a few short essays on the performance aspect of mentalism. Logic- Under this topic Peter Turner discusses how important logic and congruency are to a performance and why he believes the center tear does not make the grade. This might have Corinda rolling in his grave and perhaps some others foaming at the mouth but I personally agree with everything he says here. Trust- In this essay he covers ways of scripting so trust is built into the performance. Things like, not over proving a deck of cards is ungimmicked and other subtleties. There are some good tidbits of wisdom in here as well.

 

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Overall Thoughts on “Dare To Be Bold”
I have come across Dual Reality before(Luke Jermay, Banechek, and even Peter Tutner’s first book) but I have never really come across a book that explores Dual Reality in such depth. If you are bold enough to perform such masterpieces as “Touching on Hoy,” or “PK Touches,” and you are interested to see how some of those principles can be expanded to apply to drawing dupes, spectator as mind reader, and many other applications, then “Dare to be Bold” is a must have for your library.

Another technique explored in depth is the use of instant stooging. This might be a turn off to some. Some of the stooging techniques are very Annemann-esque. If you know what I am talking about you will probably groan at the thought of the ol’ “wink and a nudge” style of stooging Annemann would usually describe. A few things to keep in mind with that. First, even that style of stooging can be very effective for a stage performer. After all, how bad is it really in a group of one hundred if only one other person is in on the trick? If you play to even bigger audiences it can be even more effective. Peter Turner even PMed me a technique he uses to employ that style of instant stooging in a bar style, table hopping setting(sadly that’s not in the book.) Second, Turner has developed much more clever ways of instant stooging than I have come across before. Though there are a few effects that use very bold, “play along with me,” style stooging there are also effects in which he the stooges have no idea that they are being stooged! Stick with the scripts he gives and quite often that will be the case. Indeed his moment of absolute genius is when he cleverly structures a routine in which the entire audience is instantly stooged. So instead of being scared off by his use of this technique I would encourage you to get this book to learn all of the clever ways Turner has oncovered to use this technique.

The biggest weakness of some of these effects is not the stooging but the fact that many of them are “spectator as the mind reader,” style effects. Now that isn’t really a huge draw back but for some people it might not fit their character’s style and for others you won’t want more than one or two effects like that in a show. Indeed Turner himself points out that you won’t want to use more than one or two of these effects in a show. I don’t see this as a big problem since I rarely buy a book and expect to build an entire show around the effects taught within but, for those just starting out in mentalism and are looking for a single resource to build a show around, this won’t be for you. Stick to 13 Steps.

Who should get this book? Anyone interested in exploring Dual Reality and Instant Stooging. Anyone interested in creating seemingly prop free demonstrations. When we watch Derren Brown we see these ultra clean mentalism performances where he says, “think of a word,” and then he guesses it. We always assume that they edit out the moment where someone jots that info down on a billet. The kind of material Peter Turner creates gives you ways of making those kinds of demonstrations happen. In addition to his work in these two areas the back section of the book, “Peek-a-boo and a Bobbin Too,” teaches some great peeks and switches that are sure to please mentalists who prefer more straight forward, mechanical, and sure fire methods for achieving results. So in conclusion, I really thing that, unless you are a rank beginner, there is something(for me many things) that you will take away from this book that you will use. Another outstanding book from Peter Turner!

 

[D ICE R]

This is a very very clever book and defiantly worth the money. I actually prefer it to his first one.

 

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This is a very very clever book and defiantly worth the money. I actually prefer it to his first one.

I can understand why. I honestly think to a more experienced mentalist this will be the better book. I, however, am not as experienced so his first one is more applicable for me now.

This is a testimonial video for his bookings but on it, at about 2:40, you can see how he dressed up some of the principles taught in the book.
http://www.youtube.com/user/freepeaceguy#p/u/3/J2ag9gbeO98

 

[D ICE R]

The problem I have with the first book is the calculator method is Osterlinds from his TV magic series.

 

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The problem I have with the first book is the calculator method is Osterlinds from his TV magic series.

Well those were not exactly my favorite but more to do with plot than method or crediting.Mind Plant is outstanding however! So that is why I have a "soft spot," for that book.


BTW...which method? The first second or third? Just curious?

 

[D ICE R]

The cheat code for the calculator

 

[peter_turner]

Thanks for the kind words

The calculator principle is Bob Kings TOXIC principle and is very old (osterlind used it), I didnt really want to put that material in the book but Kenton loved it and he had majority say over all! (I got taught the principle by a lab pal)

I am glad you have embraced the things I portray, I think people waste too much time on thinking of methods, rather than presentations (I wont get into that now). I have some really awesome news which I am sure you will all hear very soon and is the reason all my videos have dissapeared online .

Me and Chris are talking frequently in relation to the new book that is going to be 20 odd chapters of cool things for people to sink their teeth into.

Again thanks

Pete

 

[Jr? Sweeney (the lost boy)]

What a fun book on mentalism and keys to places that no mind have bean befor! I love his book test and way he do some card magic ! But you got to move up to and test yourself toast level that you think yourself with in magic have not bean! What beautiful effects Peter have come up with for use all to use! I bean friends with him for 15 years now and he got to a place that no mentalism in the have bean befor what road map support mind magic!