Product description : If you don’t know Etienne Pradier, I don’t know where have you been for the past 10 years ! It’s one (if not the most) of the most famous French/English (or English/French) magician who work as a professional a lot. He has released a lot of material and has now teamed up with Marchand de Truc to produce the fourth volume of the Anthologie which is a project of books. In this one, you’ll find many Etienne’s famous releases such as his “bureau de change” or “bottle through table”. If the book worth the price asked ? Let’s find out !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at around $75 (65€) and you can find it in the “Marchand de truc” shop in France. Maybe this will be sold through Murphy's later (if it’s translated from French into English).
What you get : You get a very nice printed book, the cover is soft and feels very good ! The editing done in this book is just fantastic, Benoit Drager is a wonderful editor, his job is always amazing. You’ll find a few routines inside, mainly card ones but you also get his bottle through table and his bureau de change routine, which are 2 perfect walkaround tricks. Each routine is really well taught, they are also illustrated so you can follow more easily. You also have an interview at the end so you can know more about Etienne work. Overall, the quality of the content AND of the book is outstanding, and well worth the price asked, I didn’t know in details the work of Etienne and I must say I’m not disappointed with it. Marchand De Truc brings again a wonderful release, and this fits perfectly into the Anthologie project.
Teaser : Since it’s a book, there is no real teaser or trailer for it.
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 :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The price is a little step, I must agree.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]If you already know the work of Etienne, you may not learn anything new within this book, but I think it’s a worthwhile addition to your Pradier collection.
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I will say it again but I’ve never seen anything like this considering the quality and the content of the book. They have succeeded to put together good routines, useful tips and a very nice layout.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I love the way the book is written, instructions are clear and it’s easy to follow. The routines are not that difficult and can be learnt within minutes after reading them.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]Etienne knows which trick fits perfectly for close up, walkaround or cocktail ! All of them require a regular deck in use, no extra gimmicks and often little space.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I must say the bottle through table is one of my favourite, you can see that Etienne has polished to a point it’s perfect ! Everything is justified, well executed, and impactful.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I like Etienne’s style, it’s sometime hard to not copy what he is doing because you find it perfect ! But the big plus of a book is that you can adapt the routine to fit your style and not be influenced by the patter of the magician or his moves.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]Let me warn you, you won’t be able to put the book down once you begin it ! It’s addictive and you will have a deck in your hands while reading it.
Overall rating : Even if you know Etienne work, I think this is worth your attention, I had a lot of pleasure reading it and I think I will use one or two routines I read, 4/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, most routines aren’t difficult, they just need a bit of practice, 2/5 stars.
Similar products : Every other Pradier’s release are also worth a look, I like his Barking Dog tool, very clever thinking.