Neale, Robert E.: Life, Death & Other Card Tricks ©2000 Robert E. Neale, Hermetic Press, Inc., Seattle, WA Hardcover, w/dj, 402 pages ISBN: 0-945296-32-0

Image courtesy eBay seller NHSeller

Comments: Pre-illustrative Photography by Debbie Murray, Illustrations by Kelly Lyles, Decorative Art by Gregg Webb. Each effect includes a story line, sources, the full routine, and discussions of alternatives. Excellent examples on learning to create stories for your magic.

Contents:

vii Preface
vii When Is a Card Trick Not a Card Trick?
x Abstract and Symbolic Presentations
xii Less Trickery and More Magic

1 Chapter I: Jokes
3 Fly Sport: Dai Vernon's Twisting the Aces in a Samurai competition
10 Coincidence on Thirty-fourth Street: using Max Holden's Criss-cross force
13 Three Endings for a Ghost Story:
13 - First Ending, A Man, a Woman and Two Doors: one card of two vanishes between a sandwich
16 - Second Ending, Jack-in-the-Vault: another story with a similar plot
19 - Third Ending, Jack Sandwitched: one more
23 Pass It On: the magician passes on a curse with a stacked deck
27 Sailor’s Vision: an off-color joke as a card trick

35 Chapter II: Chance Destinies
37 S/He Loves Me...: old flower poem as a card trick
41 - Second Version
44 One Loves Me, Maybe...: a more "modern" version
50 The Five Gifts of Life: choosing death, riches, fame, love or pleasure
55 Micawber: Twisting the Aces to the message of hope
63 Twin Fate: a You Do as I Do effect
71 Death Does a Card Trick: an unusual card revelation
77 Card Dice
78 - Introduction to Construction: constructing the cardboard die
83 - The Uncut Version
84 - Money In the Bank: a bank-nite presentation
86 - Zeroed: card revealed in die predicts result
87 - Miko: using Harold Sterling's 3 1/2 of Clubs gag card
88 - Too-Way: uses a reverse-color card for a two-way prediction
89 - Fortune Dice: another bank-nite type presentation
90 - More: additional thoughts

93 Chapter III: Short Tales
95 Who’s in Bed?: a card change
100 Lost in the Fog: Queen and King turn face up and vanish in this story
104 Crystal: One card resembles three others, then becomes unique; uses Elmsley count
108 Unaware: cards turn face up and face down in this story of fate
111 William Wilson: duplicate card appears in vanish, in a story based on an Edgar Allan Poe's story
112 - Alternative Approaches
114 The King That was Not: A King appears and vanishes in a packet of cards
117 Once and Former King: another King packet trick
118 - Four-Card Routine
119 - Six-Card Routine
121 The Smiling Queen: a color change
127 Penthouse: a card vanishes, around a story of the 13th floor
130 - Basic Routine
132 - Penthouse With a Double-Faced Card
136 Thirteen at Table: a sort of 13-card repeat
143 Survivor: only one card survives the elimination
147 Perfected Segregation: a gender and sexual orientation based effect
153 Fable: with a concentration camp poem
162 Discussion of a Card Trick: Temple Patton's Counterespionage
163 - Patton's Effect
164 - Discussion of the Three Moves and Alternatives
170 - Presentation
172 - Characters and Meanings
173 - Outline for a Presentation, World of Chance
174 - Scenario for a Presentation, The God's Toy
178 The Convergence of the Twain (Joseph Fraher): the events of the Titanic

185 Chapter IV: Gambols
187 Wanting to Win: a poker deal with four spectator's winning
193 - Addendum, Beat the House
195 Six-card Deal: Magician wins a 3 card poker hand
198 W. C.’s Hand: a variation of the six-card repeat
206 Casino: A Casino Kid gambling demonstration
213 The Probability Pack: a lesson in probability, and the Gilbreath principle
221 The Game of Ten: magician always wins the game
225 Picking Winners at the Track: the cards represent a horse race, with the predictions correct

233 Chapter V: Odd Notions
235 A Trick for Children and Intelligent Adults: packet trick to "the man who wasn't there" poem; uses Elmsley count
237 Seeing What Seems: what two spectator's see isn't constant
241 Some of the Truth: another spectator observation test
246 Sleeping Brawn: a card trick for couples
252 Whose Dream?: Jack vanishes and appears with a Poem
256 A Horrible Hand: cards keep changing in a packet
264 The Joker Solution: another story using a Twisting the Aces approach
267 A Room for Death: a packet trick themed around Death staying at an Inn
271 The Devil and His Disciple: a spelling card match
276 Jesus Loves Me: self working Gospel card trick for R. Sid Spocane II
281 The Good Shepherd: spectator spells to the lost sheep (card)
286 Black Magic: a card changes value in the spectator's palm
290 His Best Friend: card sandwiched is found to be a 2nd selection
294 Immortal: selection vanishes from deck to be found at determined number

301 Chapter VI: Strange Sagas
303 The Suicidal King: with a Pinochle deck
311 The Kind and Gentle Stranger: one card keeps coming back and replacing the others
316 Four Brothers: a packet story with the Four Kings
330 Love’s Labour’s Found: a love story based on Carter/Eason's Anniversary Waltz
339 - Short Routine: a shorter version
340 Forever Friends: a Nazi Germany story with a transposing drawing on one of the cards
346 The Ultimate Cal: a story-line around a computer dating machine

357 Chapter VII: Stacks
359 Straight from Hell: a spelling trick to escape from Hell
364 The Arrangement: a story about order and disorder
369 Prime Choices: a stack of 13 cards and variations
376 Death in Its Place: presentation for the stack
380 Easy Elimination: discussion of various card eliminations
385 - Down And Under Number Deal
385 - Less Predictable Stacks
388 The Position Proposition: stack where only one card lies at its value when packet is cut
394 Invitation to the Dance: ordered cards are mixed and return to order