Hi, I have very mixed feelings about this pdf. Reading Play you get the impression Myles Nazouki is an idiot savant; on one hand he has produced a pdf full of strong, visually stunning card magic that is truly ingenius, but on the other he has the literacy level of a five year old. I, like most people, commonly make mistakes when writing, and for this reason if I were putting out a pdf I would at least proofread it. I would also have a few friends look it over to see if the explanations make sense. Myles Nazouki doesn’t seem to have bothered doing either and the results are a giant pain in the a**. Really, if I had to choose between Brian Tudor’s Generation X and Play, I would have to put Tudor way ahead on coherency and lucidity of instruction, and that’s really saying something! I know I’m kind of coming off as a patronizing jerk saying all this, but you know, given all the unnecessary work I had to go through to get to the bottom of some of the explanations, I kind of feel entitled.
Onto the routines themselves. I feel completely different about the actual material; the routines themselves are as brilliant as the explanations are awful. Very visual and very stylish. That’s not to say they’re just eye candy, they’re very magical, too.
HDTV: I didn’t like this much when I first saw it – I thought it was a poor imitation of Hedberg’s Peak - but the more I practiced it the better I liked it. Like Lee Asher’s ‘Yo’, it just has a nice feel to it when you’re doing it. This can be seen in the On Demand section over at Dan and Dave’s site. It has a nice rhythm and looks better in person than in the On Demand demo.
Cull: Can’t comment as I use the Roadrunner cull.
Disseminate: A beautiful effect. If you’re going to modernize and stylize an effect by one of the masters, it may as well be one of Dai Vernon’s. .
Duplex: One handed double lift from the centre. Kind of an angled pop-over move from the centre, but with a double. Very elegant. Personally, I found this quite easy to do, though some have said this is the most difficult move in the notes.
Twenty3: This is easily the best of the routines. It’s similar to Allan Ackermann’s routine on Lee Asher’s ‘Hit the Road’, except done in the hands. This has both style and substance. I’m really jaded by sandwich effects, but love this. The bad news is the explanation for this effect is just diabolical.
Tumbler: can’t comment as I haven’t practiced this.
Eon: another favourite of mine. An inversion routine. Not dissimilar in effect to the inversion routine in Aaron Fischer’s Paper Engine (not sure, but I think it’s called Revolution) except this has an extra kicker at the end. Beautiful.
Blank: Can’t comment as I prefer not to use gaffed cards, so I haven’t practiced this.
Shifter: Supposedly fixes a discrepancy in the De Souza move, but I’ve never had a problem with the original so I don’t bother with it.
Subjugate: a triumph type effect. I love this; I’m a fan of the clipshift and the move is used a couple of times here (though a simple alternative is also taught).
Broadside centre control: one of those knacky moves that just looks like crap as you practice it, then something just clicks and you’ve got a beautiful weapon in your arsenal. This is a powerful, non-flashy control to top that doesn’t call attention to itself.
Something I like about these notes is that all the effects are done in the hands. Fans of the clipshift will love these too as it is used quite extensively throughout the routines (but always with an easier alternative for those not proficient in the move). On the negative side, something that really irked me is that the four card production shown in the trailer isn’t taught in the notes. When Play was released originally only the names of the effects were given in the ad copy without a run down of the actual effects themselves, so those buying had no way of knowing it wasn’t included.
All in all then, as I said at the beginning, I’ve very mixed feelings about these notes. The material really is gold, but it’s really difficult for me to recommend something that’s written so poorly. The pictures are good quality, but insufficient by themselves. Of course, I bought these notes when they were first released and it’s entirely possible Myles has revisited them for clarity’s sake in the meantime. If this should be so, don’t hesitate, buy them now. I should also say that I tried contacting Myles by email for some assistance in deciphering his attempt at explaining twenty3, but got no reply. I persevered with the routine however, and it was worth it.
yours,
a very conflicted guy