"Lady Travels" by Kenton Knepper
Suggested Retail USD$25.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Lady Travels", an older effect of Kenton Knepper's re-released with video documentation, is a take on the classic "card to impossible location" plot, but contains some wonderful touches that make this a powerful and practical version easily worth learning and doing.

The effect is what you'd expect: a card is chosen, the corner torn and given to a spectator to hold onto, the now-cornerless card vanishes from the deck only to reappear wherever you decide.

But it's the finery around Knepper's version that really makes this all so much more.

To begin with, after the corner is torn off, the card is plainly seen by all. A magical gesture is made and the card is, simply, not there anymore, having visibly vanished from the deck. The deck is then dealt, a card at a time, and no torn card is found. That card is apparently gone, as gone as it gets. Then, after all of this, the spectator with the corner goes to some spot of your choosing and retrieves the card themselves, matches the corner to the card themselves, and verifies that you just froze their brain into a concrete mass.

It's those details, plus so many more little subtleties here and there, that make "Lady Travels" a hit with spectators, but what about the details they don't see but that the performer has to live with.

Well, the deck is normal and available for most other effects you might want to do. Put the gaff into the deck, make a tweak here and there, and you're good to go. There is no switching of corners, no palming, in truth very little in the way of sleights here. You can even have the spectator go through the deck if you'd like. All of that adds up to a very credible, very incredible, version of the classic.

The knee-jerk reaction among most of our number will be seen in the form of a question: "Do we really need another 'card to impossible location'?" My answer is the one I typically give at times like this: "Yes, when there's one that brings just a little bit more to the table."

Coming with great visual components and wonderful doses of cleanliness and openness in equal measure, "Lady Travels" brings a lot more to the table than a little bit; it brings a smorgasbord of fine thinking that makes this an excellent effect.

"Lady Travels" by Kenton Knepper
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Practicality: 9
The deck is normal, only requiring the presence of the special gaff and a bit of a set-up. Naturally, this leaves you with a deck that is easy to use with other routines. Throw in the absence of any switching, palming, or the usual suspects of sleights, and this is an extremely practical piece of work.

Workmanship: 10
The special gaffs are beautifully done and will work with a variety of USPCC decks.

Documentation: 10
Knepper does a fantastic job of describing the workings here, bombarding the viewer with handlings, tips, suggestions, and the like to make this easy to understand, easy to do, and, most importantly, easy to customize.

Effect: 10
While many magicians turn up their noses to the "card to impossible location" plot -- and, arguably, the derision is more often earned than not -- it still plays big with an audience when done well. "Lady Travels" is one that does, indeed, play big and gets solid reactions.

Presentation: 10
There's little to the plot that is remarkable... usually. Knepper scores big here with both a visual vanish and an extremely thorough proving of that vanish. These make "Lady Travels" a powerful presentational piece.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.