Magic Tricks

Just when I thought I'd completed the coin magic section of my library with the Bertini and Latta books, bang! out comes this goldmine of superb coin ideas, procedures, and effects by Luis Piedrahita. Luis is a devoted student of Juan Tamariz, and it shows, both in his thinking and in his adroit use of verbal direction. But make no mistake: he is also a legitimate star in his own right. Luis is to vital, crowd-pleasing magic in Spain what Shim Lin is to vital, crowd-pleasing magic in the U.S.
Among other fine sleights, Luis tips his Huddle Palm and Timoteo Turnover. These are worth the price of the book, but it's hardly the end of the story.
After his provocative words on performance theory and utility moves, Luis presents detailed instructions for ten (10) multi-phase coin routines, any of which would repay your time and attention to learn, again easily justifying the price of the book. These include Luis's brilliant takes on standards (Coins Across; Coins through the Table; the Ramsay cylinder) along with his ingenious work on more novel effects, such as Doug Bennett's baffling Four Coins and a Sponge.
A bonus: nearly all these routines are right there on Youtube, performed by Luis on Spanish television. And no, American audiences won't burn out on this material before you try to perform it. The Youtubes are in Spanish, and they require some searching, so I suspect that they'll remain fresh for a long time, post-pandemic!
Two books that came to mind as I read this were The Books of Wonder (I & II) and Show-Time at the Tom-Foolery. Why? Because like these two gems, Coins and Other Fables fully embodies the man and his work. You read a brilliant philosophy which is integrally embodied in the magic itself.
This is not a book for beginners. If you're relatively new to coin magic, you'd do well to begin with Bobo, Richard Kaufman, and David Roth, to get a foundation. But if you already have a foundation in coin presentation, you will love Coins and Other Fables.