"Total Vanish" by Etienne Pradier
Suggested Retail USD$15.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 1 Out of 10

"Total Vanish", a new trick by Etienne Pradier, is so unworkable for many that it will only make your money vanish.

How's that for short and punchy?

Look, the ad copy for "Total Vanish" consists of a single sentence, thirteen words: "A single playing card held at the fingertips visually melts away into nothing." Gotta admit, that's pretty catchy. Gotta admit, I was extremely interested. Gotta admit, I shoulda known better. I'll put it simply:

The gaff kills this one right from the start.

Not that there's anything wrong with the idea here. The first time I read about the gaff was in a trick by U.F. Grant, published in The Phoenix. Martin Lewis took it and ran with it, giving it a technological slant. Others as well as played with it from time to time. But the implementation as given by Pradier just doesn't do it.

First, you're going to need some seriously sized ham hocks to use this one. If you haven't got large hands (and thick fingers), you're not going to be able to do this one. Second, the gaff is only usable once. That's right: once. Vanish one card and you're pretty much done. Now, to be fair, you may be able to use it again, but I didn't have any success with that at all. Third, the way it's used you've got angle problems and -- depending on your appendages -- lighting issues.

If you some how manage to accomplish the herculean task of beating the problems with this one, what do you have? You still don't have your "visually melt" effect. What you have is a card held at the finger tips, covered with the other hand for an instant, and then it's gone. Whee.

Sorry, but that's been done to death and done much better. Think about it for a second, would you? If you didn't come up with at least three ways of doing that off the top of your head, then this may be of some interest to you (but I'd argue that you need to spend your money on "The Amateur Magician's Handbook" instead), otherwise let this go.

Me, I'll stick to the pure-sleight method I learned from the Fenik DVD and put this one on my shelf, prominently, so I remember not to be ripped-off like an amateur again.

Forget about this one.

"Total Vanish" by Etienne Pradier
In a Blink: 1 Out of 10

Practicality: 1
Watch the angles, watch the lighting, be prepared to change the composition of your skin and the size of your hands... oh, forget it. This one isn't worth any of that trouble.

Workmanship: 1
The gaff is an old one and has been done better by others. It's a shame you're only going to be able to use it once, most likely (well, twice if you count once for each hand).

Documentation: 3
The instructions are quite bare. You'll be able to get an idea of how to perform this, but you'll run into nothing to help you overcome the problems you'll encounter.

Effect: 1
If you can somehow manage to get away with this one, you'll probably be the first.

Presentation: 1
Visually melts away? Nope, not here. And with a very dirty ending and too much risk of your audience management going awry, this is one that need way too much help to work.


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.