The rather groovy limited edition Bicycle Apollo Deck

The elegant Crown Deck

(also available in Green and Blue)

The beautiful Erdnase Decks (on Bee stock).

And a number of Ellusionist decks including the Second Edition Artifice Deck

They stock many other favourites too. So many decks, so little time…

In the meantime, BBM are offering an amazing pre-order deal. If you order before the release date (June 20th) they will throw in 2 free DVDs. The list of options includes the 52 vs Joker project (which we reviewed here), Welcome to the Firm, Wicked World of Liam Montier Vol 1, 4×4, CTW, The Cullfather, Casanova Concept, Elegy Shift, 10 Below Zero, Connected, McBride Classics. It is probably technically only available to the BBM mailing list, but I’m sure if you email sales@bigblindmedia.com to say what you would like they won’t say no. But the freebies are availalable on a first-come first-served basis, so get pre-ordering…

The previous ‘Lava‘ edition still available from MagicNevin for £8.49 or only £7.34 at DiscountMagicExtra (though watch out for shipping rates and times here).

Please note – the Cheapest Bicycle Card Finder is based on a single pack purchase – so there may be cheaper options when making larger orders.

They are both ‘Chinese’ themed decks. Here’s the Zodiac case:

It features a red and yellow version of the standard rider back and various zodiac elements on the faces – more details when they hit the UK.

Here’s the Gong case:

It was released in celebration of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit. Full title – the Gong Xi Fa Cai deck – which I understand translates to ‘Wishing you prosperity’. This new deck features a Metallic Gold Tuck Case, Metallic Gold Rider Back Design with Special Ace’s.

I don’t know how broad the appeal of these decks will be in the UK – but if they make it here we’ll let you know…

Update! I’ve just spotted that Merchant of Magic are listing these – though I imagine they may be ’special order’ – Bicycle Zodiac Deck £4.95
Bicycle Gong Xi Fa Cai £4.95

The Externals

It’s a nicely produced, slim (85 pages) black hardback number with elegant silver embossed writing on the front and spine and comes complete with a specially printed (Bicycle) card which you will use in one of the routines. The text is clear and of a good size, and Tony Dunn has made an excellent job of the illustrations.

Variations on a theme…

If you’ve spent any time on this site, you will know that I love the process of creating and developing magic – and so for me one of the joys of this book is the organic way in which the different effects are linked together. It is like a worked exploration of how a clever card magician travels down an evolutionary path – with each effect representing a branch of the main stem – if you’ll allow me to mix my metaphors. And the ‘parent’ of all of these is an unpublished idea by Tomas Blomberg.

At this point, it must be made clear, that we are not really in the territory of pure ACAAN. The seed-idea from Blomberg was to involve a second card (and number) in the process – which is a more or less obvious subterfuge in the different presentations.

Three of the routines require a stacked deck – and some calculation work. If you are really a lover of our art, this shouldn’t put you off! All the routines require some sleight of hand – which is well explained in the text – and it is all within the scope of the majority of card magicians. I would hope that the sleights, and the ‘journey’ the book takes you on, would both lend power to your own creativity and stimulate further ideas on the theme.

The highlights

I don’t intend to do a blow-by-blow analysis of each effect in the book. If you want that kind of detail I would recommend the more erudite review by David Britland from Genii magazine.

For me, my favourite effect is Caan Kicker – where a spectator follows a series of instructions on a (provided) printed card to reveal a named card at a chosen number. The ‘move’ is justified by the routine and it all seems very fair. It even explains how to make your own version of the necessary card in case you lose the one provided!

All in all, a book to enjoy. I agree with David Britland that the pure ‘mentalist’ would prefer a more hands off approach than the one detailed. But Caan Craft will stimulate the card magician, and will probably provide you with a routine or two to enjoy.

I am not aware of any UK stockist yet – but you can purchase direct from Gordon Bean for $35 + $10 international shipping.

UPDATE 5/2/11 – Now available in the UK from Merchant of Magic – CAAN Craft by J.K. Hartman – £22.50

Here at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk we’re still wondering whether these will become the new card of choice, or how the Phoenix deck will do. Any thoughts?…

But I’m conflicted.
Let me come clean about a few things. I have had this nagging suspicion with some of the other Karnival decks that they might not appeal to every audience. This is probably a sign that I’m not cool enough – and I guess with any special design like this you are going to find some people who won’t like it. But the dragon design on the Ryujins seems to me a bit more classy and more widely appealing.

On the other hand, the rather tastefully designed new Joker is not going to suit some people. It is elegantly done, and in no sense explicit, but it does feature nudity. So that will put some people off. Although it must be said that most of the magic I do with cards could be done without any Jokers in the pack – so you could always remove them if you were bothered by this.

The ace of spades is very striking with intertwined dragons and the rather classy gold ink used for the back design. You also get the apparently obligatory ‘prediction’ card (‘you will choose the 5 of diamonds’) – which I feel is rather spoiled by the advertising on the back of it. Rather nicer is the 9 of hearts ’spiked’ under the sword of one of the Jokers. There’s also a barcode reveal on the tuck case if you like that kind of thing. A matching blank-faced card is also supplied which is always useful.

The Ryujins are printed on regular USPCC stock and so handle as well as you would expect them to. There does seem to be quite a lot of ‘border’ on the back design, and on my deck these are slightly unbalanced leaving a pronounced ‘one way’ effect. I am not sure if this is intentional or is just a USPCC printing problem – you see it on normal Bicycle Decks from time to time. However, I don’t think a layperson would notice.
Ed note: having checked with BBM – there is a subtle one-way effect in the actual design; the off-centre printing is a bonus!

Bottom line – this is a nice and visually striking deck which handles well. But pick your audience carefully…

BBM are still doing their pre-order deal (buy 3 or more decks and get a free Renegade chucked in) – head over to their pre-order page for more details.