"The Card Idol Series Volume 1" DVD by Fenik
Suggested Retail USD$35.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"The Card Idol Series Volume 1", a disc by Fenik, is card magic at its finest. Artfully executed, elegant and sophisticated, this is some of the most beautiful card work around.

I have to admit I was hesitant about this one. Looking at the ad copy, all I saw was more of the same: ace productions, an ambitious thingy or two, even a sandwich effect for heaven's sake. I really wasn't expecting all that much but I knew there was a buzz around Fenik and I just had to see what it was about this guy.

Let me summarize what it is about Fenik: he's Good. I don't mean he knows his way around a deck of cards; I mean he has his own way with the deck. When he says a card vanishes, he means it vanishes away from the deck, between his two hands, and all is as clean as you can ask for. When he does a sandwich effect, that means one face up card between two Jokers and the rest of the deck nowhere in sight. And when he makes the aces appear from nowhere, he means it: just the four aces and his hands: that's it.

Fenik, in other words, has altered traditional card magic with his thinking that, apparently, just doesn't have the same boundaries as others. With a smooth execution, a graceful handling of all things which has to be seen to be appreciated, Fenik sets himself apart from the crowd wonderfully. In short, the man's a pleasure to watch and learn from.

His methods are also completely devastating.

Let me give you a short example:

One of my favorite pieces here is "Completely Gone". In it, a card is held on the palm of one hand and covered with the other for just an instant. The fingers are spread and the hands separated -- the card is gone. The hands are shown openly, both sides. That card really is gone. It's then reproduced from the pocket. Now, the first thing I thought about -- and therefore, it's been my experience -- what that I was about to get a really great lesson in sleeving. It would have been, too, because I never saw it happen, never saw an indicator of it. When the explanation started, Fenik has his sleeves up. Okay, that got me. Still the card went bye-bye. When he taught the actual method, I was stunned. Completely stunned. He had taken an old gambit coin workers themselves seldom use and turned it into a card worker's dream.

And with that, I was hooked.

The next piece I watched carried the same theme. Fenik took the "Three-Fly" plot and adapted it to four playing cards which travel from hand to hand while held at the finger tips. Once again, cards for coins and it works and works magnificently. In this routine, I saw so many little touches, so many subtle workings in play, that I was almost shocked. Considering my level of jadedness, that's saying a lot.

All the pieces are like that. I always hesitate to use the term, but everything on this disc is a killer, a true piece of visual art that strikes right to the core of what visual card magic should be.

There's a price to pay for that, though: this is also some of the hardest material to master around. Your palming has to be spot-on and your pass quicker than lightning and completely bullet-proof, and that's just for starters. Don't even think about going near this one if you're not already a very advanced, near-expert card worker. True enough, you can grow into it but you'll need the all the patience in the world because the material is so good, so awe-inspiring, you'll want to do it as soon as possible and, regrettably, that's a lot later than you may think.

As you can tell, this is one collection I'm high on. Fenik's work is simply magnificent, regardless of the difficulty level. If you're either a highly experienced card pro, or close to it with the patience and fortitude to work at it, "The Card Idol Series Volume 1" is a must-have. Do not let this one pass you by or you'll be kicking yourself later.

"The Card Idol Series Volume 1" DVD by Fenik
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 10
Some of the most beautiful card magic in the world today resides on this disc. Gorgeous, artful, striking... the adjectives go on and on. That most of the material here will confound even seasoned pros is a given. But brace yourself: this is also some of the most difficult material to master around.

Practicality: 8
Most of the material here requires no real set-up and, for those pieces that do, it's extremely simple. In short, the only drawback you'll see consistently is in angles: watch those, manage your space, and the rest is cake.

Quality of Production: 10
This is a beautifully produced piece of work, rivaling at at times surpassing the best in magic.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Fenik does an incredible job of teaching his material. Very concise and smooth, there'll be no problem picking things up.

Presentation: 10
It's all about visuals here and Fenik goes to insane levels with them. That striking, elegant look is what sets the material here apart from pretty much anything else out there. Wonderful stuff.


Shane

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