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The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick - Book


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A beloved mentalism text is finally available again after being out of print for many years.

"One of the great unsung heroes of original and fooling magic."
- Derren Brown

The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick became an underground sensation when it was first self-released in the late 2000s. Hector's refreshing take on mentalism captivated the entire community. This book quickly sold out and, outside of some "revised additions" years ago, it has been out of print for a long time.

Due to unwavering demand from mentalists and magicians alike, Vanishing Inc. has worked directly with Hector to bring The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick back and make it better than ever. The routines have been updated and rewritten and new material has been added alongside new illustrations. In total, more than 50 pages of amazing tricks and invaluable essays have been included in this "definitive" version of The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick.

This book is written unlike any other mentalism book. It's not dry or dense. You'll find yourself enthralled by the clever thinking and sharp wit. It's no wonder that Derren Brown has entrusted Hector to help him write many of his best theatrical and TV shows. Don't let the light-hearted tone of the writing fool you though. This material is gold.

All of the included effects in this nearly 260-page hardcover book are practical and audience-tested. They're accompanied by fascinating essays that delve into some of mentalism's most important topics. His thoughts on equivoque are worth the price of the book alone. There's even one essay that might be the shortest essay on magic and mentalism ever printed.

Inside The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick you'll find:

  • The Paper Plane Chair Game: A completely open prediction revealing which of four different chairs randomly-selected audience members will sit in.
  • Equivoque À Deux: Using nothing but words and gestures, Hector shares how concrete equivoque language can be and will inspire you to rethink your approach to this classic mentalism technique.
  • Mars & Murrie: Another routine exploring how equivoque can be strengthened by examining and changing the ways in which we eliminate objects.
  • The Windsor Magnet: A gimmickless and propless pseudo-hypnosis routine in which the performer performs causes a person to lose their ability to lift the arm of someone much smaller than them.
  • Hector Chadwick's Tossed Out Q&A: Hector's distinct approach to one of the strongest effects in mentalism
  • And so much more!
What's new in The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick:
  • Two brand new tricks, including a captivating card trick that was previously only released in extremely limited lecture notes and an amazing new impromptu book test that can be performed from across the room
  • Five more essays on essential mentalism topics
  • More than 50 total extra pages
  • Updated Illustrations crafted by Hector himself have been added
It doesn't matter if you're a magician, a mentalist, or a bit of both. The material in The Definitive Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick is worthy of lifelong study.

"Hector's a phenomenon."
- Andy Nyman

"Genuinely the most inspiring, useful, and intelligent mentalism book I have ever purchased."
- Chris Cox

"Hector Chadwick is, in my opinion, the best writer in mentalism. His prose is always full of wisdom (without any pretense or posturing); it is witty, insightful and crystal-clear in meaning and description. When I'm asked what my 5 favorite mentalism books are, 'The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick' is always at the top of my list."
- Tom Baxter

"We had the genuine joy of reading The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick for the first time some eight years after we started performing magic together, and were quite cross that it had not been in our hands much, much earlier. We have no doubts that you will love this book just as much as we do. Which is a lot. A huge amount really."
- Morgan & West

"The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick is a Modern Classic. I perform routines from the book to this day, and reading the essays made me a better magician. It is such an important book to me."
- Andrew Frost (@sleightlyobsessed)

Hardback. 258 pages.

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The best book on magic and/or mentalism that I have read in years! Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 11th, 2022
This book is fantastic! I am very happy that they released it. The two effects based on equivoque are amazing, impromptu and prop-less, except for for some M&Ms and borrowed items. His essay on a equivoque is a must read. His comments on justifying getting your spectators to write down their thoughts are brief but extremely helpful. The airplane chair test could be the start of something big in your act. I am personally going to use the routine in which a smaller person steals the strength from a larger one. Once again, this is a prop less affect. This is $60 well spent. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
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Lives up to it's hype Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on August 4th, 2022
I was both really interested and really skeptical of this book due to the hype it's gotten. I shouldn't have been skeptical. It definitely lives up to it.

Mr. Chadwick (a pen name, btw) goes into great detail on several routines and techniques. He has some of the best work I've ever seen on equivoque, and a fantastic "essay" justifying using playing cards in mentalism. I put "essay" in quotes because it's a single sentence, but that sentence explains why cards are a viable mentalist's tool.

Long story short, even if you never perform a single routine from this book, and even if you never do mentalism, this is a valuable addition to your library.
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
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This is one of the best mentalism books I've ever read. Easily in the top 5. Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on September 8th, 2022
This book is filled with brilliance. It's opened my eyes. "Hector" includes gems in his scripts that are SO versatile and powerful, but he doesn't (unless useful) spend paragraphs drawing attention to how brilliant the words are. I feel extremely grateful that this mentalism gold is published.

On the subject of Equivoque — a deadly weapon in the right hands — I've read:

- Evoque by Docc Hilford (innovative and excellent, but I got away from doing it that way)

- Verbal Control by Max Maven (if you perform Equivoque, aka magicians choice, and have not studied Verbal Control, the performance invariably seems like a cute parlor trick)

- David Britland's book on Berglas (probably the best "Equivoquer" of the 20th century...had to read that chapter several times before it improved my understanding of Equivoque)

- Paralies by Joshua Quinn (chapter Deckivoque is outstanding)

After reading Hector Chadwick's thoughts on it, wow. It's so good.
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