Product description : ok, we've all heard of booktests before, they're a lot of variation on the market, gimmicked or not, impromptu or not, there is something for everyone ! I don't have a lot of them but wasn't satisfied with the ones I had, they were too simple and the books didn't feel as real as the one we'll be talking about here. The Abyss is a booktest with a lot of principles built in it : flashback, UF Grant principle and so on. But it has way more than you can think of, let's go into the review.
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at 225€ and you can find it in “Marchand de Trucs” website.
What you get : You get 2 things : 2 books ! The first one is the explanations, it is very well made, hard cover, and very well written. It explains in detail how each principle works as well as leaving you with an enigma you have to solve if you want to find a bonus principle, I love that approach ! The “pictures” are very nice, the whole story is like a journey into The Abyss, each chapter has a theme : Le Leviathan for example. Some memory work will be needed for some of the effects but nothing impossible and they teach you ways of getting rid of this work. The other book is the actual booktest, I've never seen anything made better than this beauty, it looks like something which could be bought at a book store ! People can read several pages without finding it akward, it feels like a real book, it is a real book !
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
Some memory work will be needed for several routine.
Its not cheap at all, I understand this is not something for most of you but trust me, it is worth it !
Staging is very important here, people have to believe you're reading their mind.
It's only in French, sorry for English people here, I still decided to write the review in English in case some canadian or people who speaks French are visiting my website ;)
THE PROS :
This is the ultimate book test for me. I don't think anything else should be added after that (but I will do because it's a review).
My experience with booktest is little but I don't feel the need to look for another one since this one is so versatile and so strong.
I love all the principles in play : the flashback is a nice way to begin your routine, they have added a layer of impossibility by not directly revealing the word, I love that ! Then, the UF Grant one is a classic but very strong and I think combining it with a dictionnary is awesome.
I love the effect in which, with only the page number, you can tell what the first sentence is about ! It's not magical, more a memory effect but you can follow up with another effect which is, from the spectator view, only mind reading, and blew them away.
One principle I love is reversing the role : you choose a word on a page and the spectator will find it. It's as simple as that, they read your mind, it's amazing !
The book feels like a real one, I couldn't tell it's a gimmicked one if you place a regular book next to it.
You can build a whole routine of 10 minutes just using this book.
Overall rating : This is something I will definitely use, one of the best product in the mentalism field I've seen in a long time, 4/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, memory work and staging, 4/5 stars.
Similar products : I don't have a lot of experience with Book Test, Babel by Vincent Hedan seems to be a good one, Close-up Booktest by Yves Doumergue also.