Enjoymagic Amnesia review

Here is the independent review of my book Amnesia on the German website enjoymagic-store.com

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Anyone who comes across this book will probably have the following lines catch their eye first:
Can you perform Mnemonica miracles WITHOUT memorizing the stack? Vincent Hedan proves it’s possible with his amazing book Amnesia.

All you need to do is arrange an ordinary deck of cards in the order listed in the book and then follow the step-by-step guides.
It is primarily the statement “…All you need to do is…” that bothers me, because it can easily give the impression that this book mainly consists of self-working card tricks. However, anyone who actually studies the book will quickly discover that this assumption is hardly accurate!
The book is divided into the following three sections:

1. Preparation
Although Juan Tamariz’s stack can easily be found online, I appreciate the fact that Vincent Hedan does not simply assume that everyone already knows the order of the cards.
Hedan explains step by step how to go from a deck in New Deck Order to the Mnemonica stack. For those who find the procedure for getting into stack too difficult—for example because of the Faro Shuffle—or for those who simply do not feel like learning it, the complete stack is also illustrated, showing the position of every card.
Since the original Mnemonica stack is not actually used until the final section of the book, Hedan then explains how to get into Vincent Hedan’s modified stack, which is used for the effects in the main routine. Once again, this procedure can be skipped if desired, since an illustration showing the position of every card is also provided.

2. Routine
In this section of the book, the author uses his modified stack to present a routine consisting of the following five effects:

In “First Chance,” you find a selected card thanks to an unlikely but fortunate coincidence.

“Feminine Perspective” is an effect in which the spectator changes their perspective and, working together, you manage to produce the four Queens.

In “Four Amnesiac Errors,” the spectator appears to make a mistake before it is revealed that, in an unexpected way, they have cut to the four Aces.

“Kingdom Hearts” is presented as an apparent gambling demonstration in which you produce all the Hearts in numerical order.

“Bored Amnesia” is an adaptation of Simon Aronson’s classic “Shuffle-bored.”

Each effect is clearly described, so there should be no unanswered questions while learning the material. In addition, since the order of the stack naturally changes after each effect, the new order is shown again in an illustration.
This also makes it possible, if desired, to perform each effect from the routine as an individual trick. The routine can also be shortened by starting with the second or third effect.
The first effect in particular is really not easy to perform.
“The deck is repeatedly divided into two piles until only the spectator’s selected card remains.”
The effect itself is certainly not bad, but it demands a high degree of entertainment skill from the performer in order to keep the other spectators from becoming bored. Personally, I would also not use this effect as the opening of a routine, simply because it takes too long.
This is one of the reasons why I questioned the phrase “…All you need to do is…” at the beginning of this review. Anyone wishing to perform the entire routine—or even just part of it, such as the final three effects—must understand that the routine as a whole allows no room for error.
In other words, if even the smallest mistake is made during the performance, or if the position of a single card is altered, you can forget about performing the rest of the routine.

3. Bonus
The final section explains four effects, each performed with Juan Tamariz’s original Mnemonica stack, but without having memorized it.

“Amnesiac Tut Tut” is a sandwich effect adapted to Mnemonica and based on an original creation by Michael Close.

“Amnesiac Blackjack” allows the spectator to make any player of their choice win at blackjack.

In “Murphy’s Amnesiac Spelling,” the spectator attempts to find their previously selected card by spelling and counting. What initially appears not to work ultimately ends with a surprising climax.

“Amnesiac Joffe Poker” is a Texas Hold’em demonstration in which the spectator controls both the number of players and the dealing of the cards. You never touch the deck, yet you will win every time.

Conclusion
Vincent Hedan took on a genuine challenge here and mastered it brilliantly.
The routine in particular, with its five effects, is an enormous achievement that took years to develop before he was finally able to share it with us in this book. Even though I personally do not like the first trick in this section, as already mentioned, it can simply be omitted and the routine can begin with the second trick instead.
The four effects explained in the bonus section are also very good and, when properly presented, highly entertaining.

Nevertheless—and yes, I know I am repeating myself, sorry—you can forget about “…All you need to do is…”
That claim is purely a marketing statement and is never made by Vincent Hedan, either on the cover or anywhere in the book.
You should always keep in mind that you are working with a stack here, and even though you do not have to memorize it, a stack allows NO mistakes.

From a technical standpoint, you should also be aware before purchasing the book that some of the effects can only be performed using techniques that can be quite difficult, such as a perfect Faro Shuffle.
For this reason, the book is not suitable for beginners. However, anyone with a solid foundation in card magic will certainly enjoy this book.

The book also includes a link to a BONUS DOWNLOAD containing 13 additional videos demonstrating various procedures to make them easier to understand.
The book contains 217 pages.

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Read the original article in German here:
https://enjoymagic-store.com/buecher/amnesia/