"Conjunction" by Joshua Quinn
Suggested Retail USD$25.00
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In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Conjunction", a booklet by Joshua Quinn, may not be the be-all-end-all solution to the linking card problem, but it surely produces the strangest result -- a genuinely linked pair of rings torn from a single business card -- and, despite some practicality issues, that makes "Conjunction" a piece of magic to be explored.

"Conjunction" really is a topological oddity: a business card is torn into two rings which are actually linked. No gimmicks, gaffs, props, sleights, psychology, or anything else except exactly that: two linked rings of paper.

Of course, it's all in the paper and how you tear it, and those are the problems you'll have performing this as a trick.

You see, the method for the tearing is simple once you do it a few times, but it's still time-consuming. Now, if you're familiar with origami then you're used to sitting down with a piece of paper for a few minutes to a few hours (a few days in my case because, well, I stink at it); an audience, being an impatient beastie, won't be much intrigued by watching a piece of paper be folded and torn and folded and torn for a couple of minutes (my personal best time, anyway) until they see the results. Quinn admits this in "Conjunction" but does nothing to offer a solution (other than your needing a "story" or a "spiel" while you're doing the tearing -- an obvious solution that would have meant more if Quinn had offered how he presents his creation) so you're own your own solving it. And you will have to solve it before taking this one out for a spin as a trick.

As an impossible object, well, that's another story. Pre-making this thing and giving it away is, perhaps, its niche. Using it as a prop inside of another effect would work as well. Regardless, once you get this thing into a spectator's hands, they're gone. It simply floors them and floors them solidly. Sometimes it creeps up on them, sometimes it hits them quickly, but it does hit and you will be remembered because they won't part with that linked card.

Okay, so you decide you've got a use for this or you've figured out how to kill time making it in front of spectators... then the other part comes into play. The odds are really against you that you can do this with your own cards. Although a lot of card stocks can be used, the best stock is not all that common. Quinn includes a small sample of it as well as sources for it, so you're not left entirely in the dark and can get going easily enough. But then the other thing rears its head: your text is probably placed incorrectly for the best presentation -- you'll be tearing through your name or your contact info or some other piece you'd like the spectator to be able to read clearly. Quinn, being exceedingly thorough, addresses this concern as well, offering some neat ideas as well as places for the text to be placed for optimum viewing.

To be honest, all the concerns with "Conjunction" are taken on by Quinn, even if only briefly mentioning ideas for approaching them or circumventing them. That's a huge plus in Quinn's favor with this one and I know I won't be the only one to appreciate that effort.

The big question I had going into "Conjunction" was whether or not my favorite linking cards routines were going to be tossed aside in favor of this method. The answer in my case is no, but I don't think it was Quinn's intention to try to replace "Immaculate Connection", "Osmosis", "Crabtree Connection", or any of the other versions out there. Quinn appears to have went into this to create something decidedly different and succeeded wonderfully. While I won't be tossing aside my other routines, I can definitely see "Conjunction" being used, well, in conjunction with those routines or even as simply an impossible giveaway all by itself.

Who knows? Maybe that's the perfect place for "Conjunction": a strange object that calls attention to itself with no magic in evident except for whatever was done to make it in the first place, and therefore calls magic to you.

Offhand, I can't think of a better use for a business card except to have people remember me and, with "Conjunction", they certainly do that.

"Conjunction" by Joshua Quinn
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 8
While this is more often than not difficult to pull off as a trick, it is an exceedingly clever method for producing an impossible object and to some that's worth gold. The problem lies in that chances are good you're not going to be able to perform this with your current business card, but Quinn has some good ideas regarding that particular issue.

Quality: 10
Quinn does a great job of explaining his method in exquisite detail.

Illustrations: 10
This booklet is loaded with photos, all very nicely done and expertly placed. A perfect match to the text.

Presentation: 10
This is what it is: a method for producing an impossible object. As such, it's definitely an attention-getter and a great giveaway.

Shane