Illusioneer by Carlos Vaquera

The Illusioneer was a critically-acclaimed smash success in its original French language, and we at Vanishing Inc. are proud to be the publishers of the English-language edition of this important work. Carlos Vaquera is a seminal force of European magic, and this is his opus. With more than thirty card effects, six coin pieces, and several essays on the practical theory of magic, The Illusioneer will inspire you to push harder with your magic.

Belgium's Carlos Vaquera has an unrivaled fluidity and elegance when he performs. He chooses plots that are clear and streamlined, and his versions are extremely direct; there is little repetition and almost always a punch at the end. His close-up style is visual and effortless, and in this book he takes you through his life's work in concise, step-by-step instructions.

Carlos was heavily inspired by his teacher, Arturo de Ascanio, and included in this collection are important essays on naturalness, music, and the performance of magic. He also includes the secret method he uses to organize his work and to fight off performance nerves.

With nearly 300 pages of instruction and beautiful illustrations, this book is a rare glimpse into the mind of one of Europe's real masters.

Hardbound. 298 pages.

"Absolutely fascinating. Chock-a-block full of card and coin tricks. I loved it."Shawn Farquhar

"An amazing book. A masterclass in card and coin handling."Paul Gertner

"A fantastic book."Liam Montier

"Delightful [and] amazing. If you want to learn elegant card and coin magic, this is the book for you."Jim Krenz

"Carlos [offers] the perfect combination of elegance, technique and storytelling. If you like well-thought out close-up magic, you will greatly enjoy The Illusioneer."Boris Wild

Contents of The Illusioneer

CARDS

• The Queens’ Shadows
• A Fine New Trick
• Franco
• Les Pensées
• Every Which Way
• Running Pack
• Black Jack
• A Hell of a Poker Game
• Clones
• Traveling Signatures
• Weighted Cards
• Cards to Pocket
• Damask
• The Queens’ Return
• Indifferent–Aces–Queens Transposition
• Countdown
• Traveling Aces — Invisible Palming
• Leading Ladies
• Day and Night
• Les Rouges et les Noires
• Colloc-Ace-tion
• Catch Collectors
• Speedy Sandwich
• Sandwich à Trois
• Delayed Sandwich
• The Takeover Card
• Topsy-Turvy
• Escorial
• A Melody for Two Playing Cards
• All Backs
• The New Phoenix Has Arrived!
• Jacks of All Trades

COINS

• The Traveling Coin
• Chiromancy
• Coins through Table
• Matrix — Premier
• Matrix — Deuxième
• Matrix — Troisième

ESSAYS

• On the Craftsman
• On Naturalness
• On Music
• On the Expert Teacher
• On Eight Tenets of Magic
• On Stage Fright
• On Creativity
• On Practice

MOVES

• My Fan Control
• The All-Square Control
• My Side Steal
• The Amilkar Side Steal
• My Add-On Moves
• Matrix — Quatrième