The Particle System

(This is an independent review. I bought The Particle System and I was not asked to write this article.)

Joshua Jay recently released his own stack, system and ideas in The Particle System, a massive book accompanied by videos of him performing and explaining his material.

I’ve been using my own stack since 2004, creating my own routines while also reading about Aronson’s and Tamariz’s systems—and even meeting them in person to share some of my work on the subject.

I’ve studied the general literature on stack work, published a book about Mnemonica in 2020, and I'm currently working on future books about my own stack. Some of my blog articles discuss stack ideas, and I’ve also reviewed John B. Born’s stack book on this subject. When I perform, most of my card magic revolves around stack work.

I know Josh; he studied under Simon Aronson and was a close friend of his. He used the Aronson stack extensively for years. So, when he released this project, I was excited to see his approach to creating and using a stack, since it’s such a central subject in my own repertoire and research. For these reasons, purchasing the limited Deluxe Edition made sense to me.

However, after watching all the videos and reading most of the book, I would say that his Particle stack might not appeal broadly to future adopters.

If you already have a memorized stack, the Particle System likely isn’t worth switching to—unless you want to adopt most of his stack repertoire and style of course. That said, the videos and the book still offer some excellent routines and ideas you can adapt to any stack.

If you don’t already have a stack, I wouldn’t advise adopting the Particle System. Although Josh’s repertoire is cool and the production quality of the videos and books is excellent, I remain unconvinced by the stack itself.
As I explain in my 2013 article, “Which stack should you choose?”, Juan Tamariz’s Mnemonica is hard to beat due to the quality, variety, and quantity of its associated material. So, my recommendation remains to adopt Mnemonica as your stack.

Once again, the production quality of Josh’s project is excellent. Vanishing Inc. has done a fantastic job in offering a beautiful format for both the videos and the book. In the Particle System, Josh also explains sleights, tips, and presentations that will benefit any stack user—or indeed any card magician. I’m definitely adding some of these tools to my own repertoire.

But in terms of the stack itself, I have doubts about its future adoption rate. Still, you can explore the non-Deluxe version of the Particle System now or later, especially since many of Josh’s effects can be performed with—or adapted to—any existing stack.