"Prodigal Aces" by Cosmo Solano
Suggested Retail USD$14.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

"Prodigal Aces", a trick by Cosmo Solano, is an interesting, if tepid, entrant into the assembly plot with a simple handling and, regrettably, little else.

I'll leave off explaining the effect except to say this is an "all-at-once" (or "shotgun") assembly as opposed to a "one-at-a-time" (or "staggered") version. Otherwise, it's what you'd expect: aces, indifferent cards, packets, poof, assembled...

I don't meant to blow the plot off, of course. Assemblies have always been among my favorite plots. Shoot, my one and only commercial release was an assembly. I love the thing. From "MacDonald's Aces" to Ortiz's "Hitchcock Aces" and everything in between, I'm hooked on 'em. The plot is everything a magical effect should be: easy to follow, straightforward in execution, and surprising. The better ones are exceedingly clean and the realy masterpieces are as open as you could ever hope for.

I am, really, blowing off "Prodigal Aces".

Certainly not because "Prodigal Aces" is bad, though. Actually, it's pretty nice. It's simple to do (only one real sleight to worry about and it's a minor one that any card worker deserving of the name already has in their arsenal) and, in the tradition of the best of such things, looks clean, isn't confusing, and is unexpected.

It's just that there really isn't much to recommend it over all the other versions out there, even the venerable "MacDonald's Aces" original. Visual? Not really, no more so than other versions. Clean? Yes, it does look clean, but so do other versions. Simple? With only one sleight, yes, it is, but so are others. Fast? Yes, it is, but others are over just as quickly, especially when you stick with the shotgun approach.

There are no presentational pluses here to make this one special, no innovation in theme or method that makes you sit up and take notice. Is it good? Yes, it is. It is enough to warrant a recommendation to any but the neophytes who are simply hooked on this one after seeing the video? No, it's not.

Even then, for those nophytes, my recommendation would be to start from beginning and grab L&L's "World Greatest Magic: MacDonald's Aces" video and gaff set, learn those variations, and go from there.

"Prodigal Aces" just doesn't have enough different going for it.

"Prodigal Aces" by Cosmo Solano
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

Practicality: 5
You'll need to get rid of the gaffs if you want to get the most of this, and it requires quite a stack which makes this one work best as a packet trick. It is pretty easily reset, though, and the three gaffs keep this one relatively light to pack around.

Workmanship: 10
The gaffed cards, on red-backed Bike stock, are well-made and look great.

Documentation: 10
The documentation -- in the form of a small printed booklet -- is excellently produced and very well illustrated. More, there's an online explanation available to those that want or need it. A great touch, that.

Effect: 5
This plays pretty well, though the all-at-once assembly doesn't usually play as well as the one-at-a-time version. The effect diminishes with the need to get the cards out of play quickly, but it still plays.

Presentation: 5
The handling is pretty straightforward, the cleanliness okay, but there's no real meat here. It's a long set-up for a little pay-off and nothing really worthy going for it. That doesn't make it bad, just a bit lackluster.

Shane

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