Max Maven was one of the greats. He was a legendary mentalist, one of the world's greatest magic historians, a phenomenal teacher, and both a friend and mentor to many. Throughout his illustrious career, he created a plethora of effects, and while some have gone on to become modern classics, there are plenty of hidden gems yet to be discovered.
Ansology collects the updated and revised texts of seven publications written and published by Max over a ten-year span. Together, they are known as the “Lisp” series: Thunday, Thequal, Amperthand, Doth, Fifth, Thavant, and Thabbatical.
Divine a thought-of travel destination without gimmicks or props. Stop a participant's deal “on impulse” at a first selection and name the second card aloud. Know every card in a freely chosen poker hand, or reveal a pair of freely selected cards with an expanded presentation for the Ultra Mental Deck. These are just some of the effects explained in Ansology, a collection of mentalism, mental magic, and card effects from the mind of Max Maven.
Over 80 effects from Maven’s canon are explained in his clear, unmistakable voice, including:
- “Contimental,” in which you name a thought-of travel destination without gimmicks or props. It can even be performed over the phone.
- “Zen Poker,” a multi-phase gambling routine that ends with the divination of a freely thought-of card.
- “The Centrifugal Variations,” which teaches you to divine each card in a freely chosen poker hand.
- “TWOULTRA,” an expanded presentation for the Ultra Mental Deck that reveals a pair of freely selected cards.
- “The Hawk,” in which, using an ungimmicked deck under test conditions, you stop a spectator’s deal “on impulse” at a first selection, then name the second selection aloud.
As Jamy Ian Swiss writes in his introduction, the effects in Ansology are “often multilayered to deliver extremely deceptive effects with a minimum of sleight of hand and a maximum of devious thinking.”
Together, these pieces form a complete repertoire’s worth of material and then some, all with a mental flair. The collection includes coincidence effects, predictions of many kinds, divinations, design duplications, and more. Several tricks use bizarre or mystic themes. Most rely on well-disguised methods, simple props, and no sleights whatsoever.
Each copy of Ansology also includes the special astrological forecast booklet for “Zodiagnostic,” a clean, clear, easy-to-do book test using astrological symbols. The spectator opens to a page, and you read their mind. It is that straightforward, with no forcing. This effect alone could easily stand on its own as a marketed product.
“...an astonishing variety of ingenious ideas.” —Martin Gardner
“I liken [Thabbatical] to a roller-coaster ride. The first ride makes you wonder if you will live. Once you realize you didn’t die, the second time is a breeze. Read this book, then read it a second time — it’s worth it!” —Chuck Fayne, MAGIC Magazine
“I still feel that Thequal was one of the most innovative books on magic I ever read — I was completely enthralled with it.” —Bill Miesel, The Precursor
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