Here are 34 books that Learn Magic fans have personally recommended if you like
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Magic hooked me at the age of eight and never let go. I began with a Mysto Magic Set, graduated to books and more books, joined magic societies, and studied with a true master, Tony Slydini, and finally began writing books about magic and magic lore (The Secrets of Alkazar,The Sorcerer’s Companion—A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter). What keeps my interest alive is the astonishing flow of invention that daily bubbles out of the magic community. And lucky me, I perform weekly at a fabulous little venue in the town where I live. This is a great time to learn and perform magic.
This is the first book I responded to in a big way when I was fourteen.
It had everything: close-up tricks, illusion secrets, magic history, an exposé of phony mediums and spiritualists, how to escape from ropes and boxes, pick locks, read minds, and walk through a brick wall.
And most important, it also had a hero I could identify with – Houdini, master magician, escapologist, daredevil, pilot, author, historian, and champion of truth and justice. And he was Jewish, like me.
I found the book incredibly rich on many levels. It confirmed in me that I wanted to be a magician and that magic was wonderful.
This early work by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young was originally published in the early 20th century and we are now republishing it. 'Houdini on Magic' contains a wealth of information on Houdini's approach to magic and the various tricks he performed in front of stunned crowds.
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Magic hooked me at the age of eight and never let go. I began with a Mysto Magic Set, graduated to books and more books, joined magic societies, and studied with a true master, Tony Slydini, and finally began writing books about magic and magic lore (The Secrets of Alkazar,The Sorcerer’s Companion—A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter). What keeps my interest alive is the astonishing flow of invention that daily bubbles out of the magic community. And lucky me, I perform weekly at a fabulous little venue in the town where I live. This is a great time to learn and perform magic.
With nothing more than 52 rectangular pieces of cardboard you can delight, amaze, astound, puzzle, and thoroughly enchant folks of all ages. This book is high on my list because it requires no sleight-of-hand skills (which take dedicated practice), which means the eager student can start performing serious mysteries from the get-go.
The very first trick in the book is a gem that will perplex any intelligent observer.
Card magic has captivated man for many centuries. Today, it remains the most popular area of legerdemain, accounting for half of all tricks performed by magicians. Now Karl Fulves, noted writer in the field of magic, has compiled a new treasury of foolproof card tricks, the definitive sequel to his popular Self-Working Card Tricks. This book contains a wealth of new material — captivating and baffling card wizardry that will amaze your audience and astonish even accomplished magicians. Fulves shows you how to perform such classic card maneuvers as Miraskil, The Open Prediction, Flip Top and The Jaks Two-Deck Trick.…
Magic hooked me at the age of eight and never let go. I began with a Mysto Magic Set, graduated to books and more books, joined magic societies, and studied with a true master, Tony Slydini, and finally began writing books about magic and magic lore (The Secrets of Alkazar,The Sorcerer’s Companion—A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter). What keeps my interest alive is the astonishing flow of invention that daily bubbles out of the magic community. And lucky me, I perform weekly at a fabulous little venue in the town where I live. This is a great time to learn and perform magic.
For anyone wishing to learn sleight of hand, this is the place to begin.
What makes the book so good are the more than 1500 illustrations combined with carefully written text. The book is loaded with more performance material than you’ll ever use, but so what?
The variety of magic taught is astonishing. Bill—a noted sculptor as well as a magician—became a dear friend long after he had written this book.
My wife and I once went to a magic convention with Bill and his wife Yvonne. The moment we walked into the main hall, he was surrounded by adoring fans who recognized him from his goatee and turtleneck and had grown up with his book by their bedside.
A new and simple learn-by-picture method that makes it easy for anyone aged twelve and up to perform all the classic sleights just as they are done by the world's greatest professional magicians. Long-time magician Bill Tarr has teamed up with Barry Ross, an illustrator famous for his instructional sports diagrams, for easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, so that with the help of more than 1,500 line drawings that capture each eye-fooling movement, you'll learn everything from simple sleights you can master in minutes to the great classics of magic. With ordinary objects -- a regular deck of cards, a coin from…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Magic hooked me at the age of eight and never let go. I began with a Mysto Magic Set, graduated to books and more books, joined magic societies, and studied with a true master, Tony Slydini, and finally began writing books about magic and magic lore (The Secrets of Alkazar,The Sorcerer’s Companion—A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter). What keeps my interest alive is the astonishing flow of invention that daily bubbles out of the magic community. And lucky me, I perform weekly at a fabulous little venue in the town where I live. This is a great time to learn and perform magic.
The first of five volumes, Card College Vol. 1, introduces the serious student to the essentials of artistic card magic utilizing sleight of hand. Much of the material requires diligent practice, often for years, but what a payoff when you master it!
All the latest techniques of card magic are here, accompanied by clear illustrations, a superb selection of tricks, and insightful essays on the psychology and presentation of magic.
Giobbi is an excellent teacher and I return to these books often. It will be a long while before anything replaces this series.
As an author of young adult fantasy and science fiction, I’ve read many books that fall within that rubric. This list captures the most exciting young adult novels I’ve read over the past few years. All have aspects of storytelling and themes I strive to capture in my writing. One thing I love about the young adult genre is the characters go on an adventure full of excitement and danger. The adventure is a metaphor for growing up. So if reads chock-full of death-defying odds, mystery, wonder, and a sprinkling of romance are your jam, the books in this list are for you.
The Witches of Vegas is a bewitching read that is hard to put down. Mainly, the narrative is divided between two high school-aged teens, Isis and Zack. Isis is a young witch kept in relative social isolation for her safety and the safety of others. The magic system in this world stems from emotion, and a young witch unable to control their feelings might magically lash out by accident. Zack is an apprentice magician, practicing card tricks and sleight of hand under his Uncle Herb's tutelage.
The Witches of Vegas is an enjoyable and quick read with a unique premise. I found Rosendorf's insight into how street performers pull off their tricks of particular interest.
Where can Witches and their vampire mentor practice their powers without being discovered or persecuted?
By using their magic, the Witches of Vegas become the number one act performing on the Las Vegas Strip—a great achievement for them, but not so much for the magicians—who can't possibly keep pace.
Isis Rivera is the adopted fifteen-year old daughter of The Witches of Vegas. Zack Galloway is the teenage nephew and assistant to the last magician left in the city. Although they should be rivals, when Valeria, a four-hundred-year-old witch with a long-seeded grudge against humanity arrives in Sin-City, both teens act…
Robert-Houdin, Houdini's first and greatest inspiration, famously said that a magician is an actor playing the role of a sorcerer. When I started out writing professionally, I quickly found myself drawn to characters who are at odds with themselves, living in their own shadows. There's a core tension in the stories these people inhabit that, for me, reflects the structure of a magic trick, with its misdirection and layered realities. I always try to incorporate the principles of magic into my writing, and the figurative masks my characters wear to function in worlds that alienate them are a major part of that.
I instinctively gravitate toward characters stricken with identity issues. It's one of the reasons I've spent years specialising in writing comics, where alternate personae and false realities are fundamental storytelling tools. Growing up, I first read the story of Robinson in a conjuring book, and it caught my imagination fiercely. Like Houdini, Robinson's commitment to maintaining his performance identity was full-blooded—to the point that the myths surrounding his death have virtually swallowed the story of his life. Steinmeyer navigates a complex tale of dual identities with the ease of a seasoned magician. Chung Ling Soo, one of the world's greatest vaudeville stars, died on stage in 1918 when a bullet catch trick went tragically wrong. William Robinson, however, had been fading away for many years by then.
In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, master illusion designer and today's foremost magic historian, Jim Steinmeyer, unveils the astonishing secrets behind the enigmatic performer Chung Ling Soo, the "marvellous Chinese Conjurer" , a magician whose life of intrigue and daring remains unparalleled to this day. He learned his art during a revolutionary era in show business, just as minstrel, circus, and variety saloons were being stirred together and distilled into a heady new concoction: vaudeville. Soo's infamous death in 1918 astonished the world: he was killed during a performance of "Defying the Bullets," his popular act…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I was reading from a young age, but I didn’t start devouring books until I found the fantasy genre. I firmly believe that there is a set of books out there that every person can love, even if they don’t consider themselves a capital-R, serious Reader. It would be a great waste for someone not to know that fantasy literature might be their special thing. If someone is searching for a genre of fiction that they could fall in love with, I sincerely hope that these books can open the doors to other worlds.
The public library in my hometown came through for me and happened to have what would turn out to be one of my favorite reads. Though this is a book smack in the middle of a series (book 8, I think?), I didn’t know that before checking it out, and it didn’t dampen my appreciation for the story at all.
It works just fine on its own, thank you very much. I was drawn to the conflict set up in the book, one of magic born not of spells and learning but powered through chaos, disorder, and fire! What’s not to love about that?
After Cerryl's parents are killed by powerful white mages, he is adopted by a family that notices that his father's keen magical ability has been passed on, and they eventually send Cerryl to the city of Fairhaven to find his destiny as a great magician, in the latest installment in the Recluce series.
I’ve always been drawn to locked-room mysteries, the baffling mysteries where the crime looks truly impossible. The mystery becomes not only who did it, but also how. It’s the ultimate puzzle. The best locked-room mysteries include gothic elements that make you wonder if something supernatural is responsible, but then are resolved with a satisfying rational explanation—like Scooby-Doo for adults. I’ve written more than a dozen mystery novels, but until now, I’ve only focused on locked-room mysteries in my short fiction. In my new Secret Staircase mystery series, I’m focusing on these puzzles in my novels. Here, I’m sharing some of my favorite locked-room mysteries that feature truly ingenious puzzles.
Multiple ingenious impossible crimes feature into the first Jessica Blackwood thriller by magician Andrew Mayne. A killer calling himself the Warlock claims to be using supernatural powers to perform deadly miracles, and only former stage magician Jessica Blackwood, now an FBI agent, can see through his tricks. Because magicians create misdirection for a living, they’re perfect characters to unravel seemingly impossible crimes. As a bonus, Jessica Blackwood is a terrific character you’ll root for.
Meet Jessica Blackwood, FBI Agent and ex-illusionist.
Called in because of her past to offer expertise on the mysterious 'Warlock' case, Jessica must put all her unique knowledge to the test as the FBI try to catch a ruthless killer.
Needing to solve the unsolvable, and with the clock ticking, they're banking on her being the only one able to see beyond the Warlock's illusions.
The first in a brilliant new series, Angel Killer will have you feverishly turning the pages, and in Jessica Blackwood, Mayne has created a complex, sassy and unforgettable new heroine.
I have been a huge fan of fantasy since I was a child, starting off with high fantasy before trying out urban. The genre helps me escape from the real world for a while and fires my imagination. I write fantasy books because there is no limit on what you can do with characters and storyline. I write for pleasure and I hope others get enjoyment out of my work. I read a lot, not to get ideas, but just for the pure pleasure of reading. There is just something about the feeling of turning the pages of a printed book you can’t get anywhere else.
This is the first book in a series that goes on and on, following the life of a couple of characters as the world changes around them. Spanning two different worlds, this first book builds up a number of characters you want to keep reading about. As the series continues through time, new threats to the two worlds introduce new characters. What I like most about this series is it keeps moving the worlds forward instead of stagnating.
In the westernmost province of the Kingdom of the Isles, upon the world of Midkemia, an orphan kitchen boy named Pug was made apprentice to the magician Kulgan.
Here starts an adventure that will span lifetimes and worlds. Discover where the story begins.
The world had changed even before I discovered the foreign ship wrecked on the shore below Crydee Castle, but it was the harbinger of the chaos and death that was coming to our door.
War had come to the Kingdom of the Isles, and in the years that followed it would scatter my friends across the world.…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I grew up in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., and have since lived in Arkansas and Virginia. My two novels are historical, set in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Virginia and North Carolina, and are heavily influenced by the great Southern writers. My books feature family dramas, how the land interacts with characters, questions of fate and personal action, and the decisions that change people’s lives. I love Faulkner, but you’ll find him on every list. He influenced every writer who came later, but there are plenty of other heavy hitters to choose from. Here are a few favorites.
Taylor is one of the authors who made me want to be a writer. He’s a magician of the short story, compressing events and characters from the upper South into luminous stories that can seem more real than life. He wrote longhand in poetic lines, usually drafting about a hundred pages for every ten he kept. The result is a rich reduction of scenes that move us to laughter and tears. Taylor holds the mirror up to life, and you can’t help but be drawn in.
From the grand master of the American short story, these fourteen tales of domestic life in the South during the thirties and forties explore that extraordinary world of manners, expectations and unspoken understanding. The reader is drawn as if by magnetic force into a world rendered in breathtaking, painterly detail. These stories are marvelous entertainments, rich with amusement, yet Taylor renders his characters truly and understands them in a profoundly meaningful way.
