793.8 is one of the freshest and most powerful books about presentation for magicians that I have read in a very long time. Your thoughts on connecting with an audience are so powerful that they literally woke me up to being a better performer. Thank you so much for this fantastic work. - Richard Sanders

I just thought I'd say thank you. I love your 793.8 book and decided to enter my societies entertainment competition with 'I need a hero.' I won! I had performed it a few times and was only really using the competition as another opportunity to iron out any issues but it worked well. - Paul Rae

Jeff Stone's 793.8 asks us to discover where the magic is in our methods, effects, presentations, and in our lives. Perhaps we do not care or think we know, but Jeff lightly and joyfully keeps at us with his tricks and reflections until we are moved to wonder more broadly and deeply about our experience of magic. The result is a book of thoughtful entertainment and perhaps even magic itself. May we allow ourselves to wonder along with it. - Robert E. Neale

I'm an enormous fan of the philosophical perspectives flowing through this book [793.8], but make no mistake, these pages also document many powerful, clever, commercial magic effects. Among my favorites are 'Leaving Decks', 'Martika', and the extremely intimate 'Ode to Charlie.' - Jay Sankey

Jeff Stone has quietly published a series of excellent magic books that are well-worth your time and money. His latest one, 793.8, is all that again, but raised to another level. His deepest interest is to help you tap into the magic in your magic—those moments of deep, true astonishment. Between Jeff’s thoughtful essays and excellent routines, you will find yourself inspired to create more magical magic. Highly recommended. -Lawrence Hass, Associate Dean of McBride’s Magic & Mystery School

793.8 is a Game Changer.

Presentation is where it's at. The connection between you and the audience is the true source of real magic. Gone are the "Put and Take" so called "presentations" of so called "magic." How do you connect with your audience? How do you find the magic in your effects? 793.8 turns magic, presentations and effects on their heads, and on many levels rebuilds them from the ground up cutting out the superfluous and bringing to the table the lean and mean necessary components of a true magical experience. Then from that foundation, we build and we build. 

Through thought experiments, exercises, essays, presentational ideas, scripts, and over a dozen effects ranging from basic ideas to fully fleshed out and complete routines right out of Jeff's repertoire, you'll transform right before your very eyes. Your presentation and performance skills and ability to capture and truly "move" your audience will be like none other. 

You'll be taken on an emotional ride from laughter to loss for words, from surprised to shivers. You'll be moved emotionally as you read the 270 pages of creativity and concepts found in 793.8. You will truly learn to remember what magic is supposed to feel like as you are taken down a path that leads to wonder and astonishment.

EFFECTS:

Spectator's Choice:

Magician's choice without the magician's choice. The spectator makes up all the rules and procedures. Yet in the end, you still were able to predict what ESP symbol they would choose.

What's the Deal with the Down Under Deal:

Take this utility move and use it in a way that gives meaning to the move and gives the feeling that you truly are clairvoyant as you merely sense (by touching the cards) which ESP symbol they are thinking of.

Luke and the 15 Force:

A brand new technique for forcing a range of numbers and building a true and meaningful connection with your spectator at the same time. This technique has endless applications.

Forces of Nature and Book Test Subtleties:

These two concepts change the book test genre and take it to a new realm. Move beyond merely "guessing" the word they looked at in a book. Instead, use the spooky revelation (of which you have photographic proof) given to you from "the other side." Over a dozen pages dedicated to ways to give your spectators the chills with a simple book test.

Twinkie Picker:

Give the spectator a Twinkie for helping out. Then borrow a dollar from them. It vanishes and reappears inside the Twinkie they've been holding since before they loaned you the money. The Twinkie is completely sealed, and they can hold it and open it themselves. The presentation and script are designed to flow with built in humor and timing. It's a simple and beautiful presentation piece.

Leaving Decks:

A deck is shown to be normal and mixed. The spectator can shuffle the cards. The deck is tossed into a paper bag and shuffled about. Yet you can (blindfolded if you wish) reach into the paper back and remove their chosen card. Only one deck is used. No palming, no peaking and you can even do the trick naked.

Martika:

An audience interaction piece that plays solemn and serious. A fake military battle is played out on stage. In the end, you've predicted the number of survivors in a poignantly written letter that the General (your volunteer) must read to the soldiers' families.

I Need a Hero:

A staple of Jeff's stand up act for years. A silly battle of the superheroes involving as many as 8 spectators that concludes with a powerful and completely unexpected hilarious prediction of the outcome. Included are the actual printable props that Jeff uses for his show.

Ace Re-Revisited:

An update in presentation of a Larry Becker effect published here with Mr. Becker's permission. This takes a simple dictionary book test and makes it portable (for strolling) and lends itself to a logical presentation and a powerful outcome for both close up and stage.

No ESP Cards, No Problem:

A powerful effect using 5 borrowed business cards and nothing else. This effect is Jeff's go to effect when someone says "show me something." It brings together simple props with a simple principle that feels like real magic and leaves the audience member believing that you can read their mind.

Gemini Shopping:

A fun routine that involves several spectators, a whole bunch of foreign currency and your collection of postcards from your "world travels." The spectators make all the decisions, yet they are somehow able to magically figure out what money you spent (and where) while on vacation. This one's just plain fun.

Memory Relapse:

A presentational and slight methodological update to Jay Sankey's Memory Lapse. Published with Sankey's permission, this effect is so baffling and so powerful that the spectator will walk away a changed person, questioning reality. Simply put, you cause them to forget a thought, and you have proof. The audience is your proof. The audience remembers everything, yet the one spectator does not. There are no stooges.

Tower of Babel:

Cause your spectator to speak in tongues. Yep. She has no idea how it happens either. Cause her to speak a language that she has never spoken before. Further, if someone in the audience happens to speak that language, they can verify what she is saying. There are no stooges, and the spectator really does speak in another language for a brief moment.

Ode To Charlie:

When Jay Sankey read this effect, he a) said that it actually gave him the chills and b) "dared" Jeff to use this effect as the closing piece to the book. Jeff did just that. This is another effect straight out of Jeff's close up repertoire for the past 25 or so years. Simple put, a coin vanishes. It re-materializes later when the spectator is alone and by herself. The coin can be signed, and you truly are no nowhere near her when the coin "comes back."

Much More:

This only scratches the surface of the powerful effects found in this epic volume of magic.

Download Teaser (includes table of contents and chapter overviews)