> Prodigal Aces by Cosmo Solano

A great ace assembly! Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 3rd, 2010
An effect almost NO ONE has heard of. The only reason I have it is because at the convention, there was a bargain box of sealed tricks on sale (where I picked up some Larry Becker, Dan Hauss, you know) but I bought this because I had an extra five and reached into the bottom of the box. When I came up, this was in my hand for five bucks, so I got it.

Before I start, if any of you don't know what an Ace Assembly is, it is a trick where you have four aces all laid on the table. Then three indifferent cards are placed on each ace. One by one, the aces go to one specific packet and vanish from the ones they are shown in.

Here we GOOOO!

First Thoughts:

I feel that this trick is definitly good. It has a lot of potential for bieng an awesome trick, but I don't really like the ending they give it here. None the less, the handling is fantastic and the gaffs are well made.

With no knowledge of sleight of hand and without altering the handling, the structure can be altered to make it more powerful.

If you own it or buy it, please PM me to know my handling additions. I will be glad to share if you can give me the code in the booklet to prove you own it.

Gaffs:

The gaffs are, as said before, well made. They are, oddly enough, the same gaffs used in another famous trick and several versions of it (which I won't say here). I don't however think they have ever been used in this context before, and they make one DARN deceptive routine.

The Booklet:

The booklet is about 12 pages long and is small. It is glossy and looks nice. It has black and white drawings to help you follow along with the handling.

The Teaching:

This booklet is SUPER easy to follow and I was performing this within 20 minutes of practicing. Really easy effect.

The Handling:

The handling for this is SUPER easy, can be done with a borrowed deck (if you have a moment to prepare and bring the gaffs with you) and is surprisingly versitle. I really like the vanishes used, but again, cannot varify it's originality for I don't own any other ace assemblies. This routine has I think two sleights. The rest is done for you and relies on subtulty.

The Vanishes:

These require no sleight of hand, and look awesome. No ackward movements. The ace is there, packet turned over, packet over again and the ace is gone. That clean. You end clean too, so the four aces can be handed out.

One Con:

I should mention the one thing that is bad about this. From some Ace Assemblies I have seen, Steve Draun's for example, the aces vanish and appear one at a time. In this version, the vanishes happen one at a time and visually, but the leader packet can not be shown until the aces have all gone.

Price:

This costs $13.90 on Penguin, but I only paid 5 bucks for it new at the convention. None the less, it is DEFINITLY an effect I will carry around in my wallet and start using in my close up show. Worth about $15 I would say, so yeah, buy it.

Video:

Here is a video so you can watch the effect performed. This is a fantastic effect, and that is really what it looks like. VERY nicely constructed and easy to do.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1163950/u ... igal_aces/

Video Instructions:

It comes with video instructions (a website with login information) as well. Only problem is that the website is temporarily down and I cannot review those instructions at this time. When it is back, I shall edit this review and review the video instructions.

Final Thoughts:

Please buy this effect. It isn't until I keep reviewing that I really realize how great and powerful this really is. I am really glad I bought it and it is definitly worth anything you will pay for it.

Man I love reaching in giant bins of tricks and pulling random ones out!

Probably the worlds fastest ace assembly. Buy it.

I rate this product, all in all, 4/5.

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