I just got an email from Peter Duffie advertising his new ebook Perplexities. I have never bought anything by Mr Duffie so I went out to his site and saw a lot of his ebooks.

I figure I would try one out. Does anyone have a favorite ebook by him that you would recommend? or maybe a favorite effect?

your input is appreciated.

You really can't go wrong with any of Peter's offerings. He is an outstanding creator who puts out outstanding stuff. Among some of his stuff I have and can recommend are Leeway, Vaporise, Effortless Card Magic, and the Mind Blasters series (which are compilations of material by various creators). I would be stunned if you bought anyhting of Peter Duffie's and didn't feel you got much more than your money's worth.

You could even start out with his Kolor Killer, a great rendition of Oil and Queens, just to see what his stuff is like.

And then maybe a Scott Guinn book or two

I'd suggest 'Card Conspiracies 1 by Duffie / Robertson', it's got loads of interesting things that cover a good range of things to keep you occupied and thinking. And if you like it, there's a CC2 also.

I'll post a review of his latest ebook shortly.

Assuming you perform mostly for laymen, in my opinion you'll love Duffie's material if you fall under one of the following categories:

- Enjoy Roy Walton & Alex Elmsley.

- Enjoy different approaches to classical card magic themes like the elevator, lie detector, Diamond cut Diamond, the Hofzinser Ace problem as well as his royal marriages.

- Enjoy card tricks as intellectual exercises and problems to solve. This is in specifically what makes his easier material shine. Many easily fool magicians.

- Know how to justify and entertain with procedures. Many of his self-working effects involve down-under deals, spelling, reverse faros and the like. I personally dislike many of the justifications provided ( "13 is a magical number" )

- Know how to get in and out of setups and various deck stacks. While you don't get much magic out of the big setups, if you can get to them on the fly some of them are definitely worth trying.

Personally I find the best Duffie tricks are ones that involve sleight of hand. They're very reminiscent of Jerry Sadowtiz who's work is typically very good. It would be great if all of his hardcore sleight of hand material collected under one single ebook. I've been working on doing Larry Jenning's Visitor without using the table. I've checked many versions and I'm convinced his version is the most direct one to date, though you need to pull off cover passes.

If you had to buy one book get his Card Compulsions if you can find it. His ebooks however are reasonably priced, I generally prefer the newer ones. His packet tricks are strikngly creative if you're into them. I also recommend any of the ebooks containing other performers work ( MindBlasters, CardMagic USA .. etc )

7 and Hooked on Cards are a couple of favorites of mine.

I bought Mind Blasters and Mind Blasters USA direct from Peter and would love to study these works again. I found the download link but this no longer works, the original downloads were on a defunct computer and the email address for Peter no longer seems to work.

Is anyone able to help me out or help me contact Peter?

Thanks

Neil