Safwan Papers

THE BLURB:
This eBook has finally been released, & contains several of
Bryn’s latest mentalism routines and utilities.

Perhaps you know him from his some of his other separately
released effects such as The BusinessCOIN Prediction, $: THE
Serial Number Divination, ESPnvelope, or his DOUBLE-DOWN
casino cards effect, which was recently featured on Richard
Osterlind’s DVDs No Camera Tricks.

These effects primarily rely on psychological and verbal
manipulation, as opposed to focusing on props or gimmicks.
They are designed to be performed almost anywhere, at
anytime, with either none, or very little, preparation.
While the routine names may have been altered to so as not
to tip any of the methodologies utilized, here is a brief
description of each of the items:

SEVEN – A one-card variant of the Kolossal Killer genre of
effect…with one big difference: there are NO outs. NONE. The
one-and-only prediction you place on the table before the
routine begins will match the card the spectator envisions.
Bold, raw, and almost always works. And in the rare
occasions it doesn’t, you still get credit!

BCK - By using real psychometry (and a clever subtlety) you,
and perhaps a participant, will be able to determine the
outcome of an experiment of several runs of “object placed
under one of several items.” And if you want, you may show
you predicted in writing the exact results. NO gimmicks at
all, and everything is borrowed.

YOUR LUCKY NITE – Hopefully, all are worth more than the
price of admission, but this one seems to shine with a
little more luster: an anytime-anyplace routine with a Bank
Night flavor. Those whom I highly respect have said the
following about this effect:

Impossible to backtrack, no sucker ending, and participant
shines as the star….and easy to prepare!

BOHT: My pet. Please read my story why in the book. A subtle
cultural difference has been refined & exploited to make the
“Which Hand” type of effect a perfect success…but only once
per performance…..THE perfect out for when mechanical,
physical, or psychological outs and tells may fail….and it
stands as a methodology all on its own!

******STRING: Figure out the “asterisks,” if you will, but
you will still enjoy the storyline and thinking behind it: A
participant is brought back in time to an ancient carnival
scam in which an entertaining story is told. By eliminating
4 out of 5 colored strings, she wins a very nice prize for
the performer through her own FREE choices. No Equivique at
all. NONE. In the interest of full-disclosure, SOME of you
may have to buy a $20 prop, but most already have it. It is
perfect.

$4 Billet Index – It is what it is…The least you will ever
spend on an invisible 8/16 billet index that renders all
specialty Predator-type wallets unnecessary. Complete with
photos on how to build one!

Here is what others are saying about THE SAFWAN PAPERS:

RICHARD OSTERLIND:
“Bryn Reynolds is one of the most exciting creators I have
come across in many years. Whenever he sends me something it
is top notch and is usually an item I add to my repertoire.
THE SAFWAN PAPERS is the latest batch of material to peak my
interests. Developed in Iraq, for his fellow soldiers, the
material is dynamite! (Or C-4 given the situation!) There
are great routines, gadgets and gimmicks that will become
standard items in your act and just plain, good ole
straight-thinking behind powerful effects! One is already
slated for my next set of DVD’s. I highly - very highly -
recommend this book!”

BANACHEK:
“You know how to take an idea or effect, make it your own
and add a wonderful twist to them. Wonderful thinking and
inspirational. Keep up the great work; we need more original
thinkers like you in our ranks. Well done.”

MOSHE BOTWINICK:
“As in much of Bryn's work, these ideas, ploys, and
psychological refinements should be kept a military secret.
Reclassify these papers as Top Secret.”

CHUCK HICKOK:
"The Safwan Papers has several very clever ideas for the
serious mentalist. The emphasis is on language ... not
props. Your Lucky Nite could be sold as a separate routine."

MY COMMENTS:
Bryn Reynolds has quietly become a mentalism creator whose
work I always look forward to and highly recommend. His
thinking ranks right up there with the best of them and his
material is always recommended, if not in the must-have
category. The material presented here certainly holds up to
that expectation, and at least two of the six items (Your
Luck Nite and $4 Billet Index) could have been sold as
stand-alone effects or manuscripts at the single price of
this entire booklet.

"Your Lucky Nite" is an ingenious version of Bank Nite. The
routine, as written, doesn't play like most bank nite
routines where the participants select all the items but
one, which the performer keeps. However, it is still very
strong. With Bryn's permission, Richard Osterlind will be
including this in an upcoming set of DVDs. I haven't made a
"$4 Billet Index" yet, but I certainly will. This is a
great utility gimmick that every mentalist can use. It
won't take that much time to make and can be used with any
billfold wallet. "BOHT" is also very strong. It's more of
a technique to use in a "Ring of Truth" or "Kurotsoke" type
routine, but it's well worth knowing. "***** String" and
"BCK" are also very strong. Each requires a specific prop
that you probably have in your magic drawers. If not, they
are easily obtained for various prices, some of them
cheaply. "Seven" is a very unique take on Knepper's
Kolossal Killer. The thinking is top-notch, but I don't
think it's quite as versatile as Greg Arce's Scorch. Still,
it's definitely a worthy addition to this collection and
several top performers have already said they think very
highly of it.

If you're looking for strong, tested material that you will
use, then I can't recommend this highly enough. 56 pages.
(This is also available in a $30 comb-bound book which is
available directly from Bryn Reynolds at:
http://www.mindmagic.myfoolmoon.com/whats_new.html )

NOTE: Shortly after I looked at this, I received Nimrod
Harel's SHALOSH: STAGE WORK. He has an effect in there
called A Clean Game. The presentation is slightly
different, but is essentially the same. Both books
are recommended and I'm sure this is a case of
independent invention.