Beware. Mostly unfinished ideas.
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Beware, damn clever unfinished ideas

Although I have heard of Tom Stone and his reputation, it is only recently that I have become more specifically acquainted with his work. I found his books to be stimulating, entertaining and beautifully produced.

Snapshots contains more of his quality material. Some of the ideas are half finished, but they are not half-baked. They are the result of disciplined thinking.

Its fun to see the thought that has gone into these half finished ideas, because we can get a sense of the process, and perhaps gain inspiration and insight for our own work. What more could you want?

I especially enjoyed the photo of his crappy-looking prototype for the silk shooter. Use whatever you have at hand, with whatever skills you have, to bring your idea into reality and bring it one step closer to what we want. Good magic isn't always pretty.

It made me think of the photo in the Buatier deKolta book, where they show the crude tools with which he created his groundbreaking magic ... tools that he had made himself! A poor workman blames his tools, but a fine one doesn't need much to create something of beauty.

This book has lots of stimulating ideas...check em' out!

Carney hit the nail on the head. I'm working on an in depth review which I will post in a day or two, but John's thoughts mirror's my feelings when I was first introduced to Tom's genius.

More to follow...

I've been involved in magic full time for about four years now. Sometimes, to tell the truth, it gets mind-numbing. The lack of thought in some magicians' acts, the endless variations of tricks -- these things can lull one into a semi-sleep state where one Linking Ring performance looks just like another.

Then every once in a while Tom Stone comes along with a blast that's like an extra shot or two in your Starbuck's cappuccino, and he's done it again in "Snapshots", his new e-book.

Tom is self-deprecating in saying that the ideas are unfinished. That me be so, but they are certainly food for thought. Tom has made me re-think the possibilities of the Dancing Cane. He's got a great variation of a Billy McComb production box (and no, Bob Farmer, that's not a box that produced Billy McComb).

Perhaps the most useful thing for me in the book is something called "The Resonance Theory" which is nothing less than a possible way for you to make all your magic performances have a greater impact on audiences.

Along with a card effect, there's a silk trick which, although unfinished, is tremendous in concept. It's a variation of Raymond Beebe's 'Smart Silk' from the Rice's Encyclopedia, and it is a fantastic idea. And there's an idea about obtaining loads, as for a Cups and Balls finale, that is brilliant.

All I can say is that Tom Stone is a wonderful creator and reading his books will give you much to think about, no matter what kind of magic you perform.

Matt Field