Chris Philpott's "Tossed Out Book Test"

Gazzo called David Hoy’s Tossed Out Deck
“The greatest trick in the history of card magic.”

Now, Chris Philpott's Tossed Out Book Test
makes this a show-stopper of mentalism.

"Frankly, if this had been mine, I would not have sold it, but kept it for myself."
- Richard Osterlind

Five classics of literature - War of the Worlds, Frankenstein, Peter Pan, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Heart of Darkness are tossed out to the audience. They are invited to examine them carefully, even flip to their favorite passages. Then, they are asked to choose a page at random, read a word, and remember it. You ask them to sit down if you say their word.

You say five words - and four people sit. You turn to the last person standing, concentrate for a moment -- and then without a question, tell them their word.

Tossed Out Book Test Plus includes a bonus kicker:
When one person remains standing, you show another spectator a grid of letters (like for a word search puzzle), ask them to glance at it and find the first word they can see. While the audience can see no obvious words, instantly the spectator sees a word and says it -- and it turns out to be the same word the other spectator is thinking of!

(If you already own and have registered your TOBT, you can get the bonus effect absolutely free!)

Just as with the original TOBT, the books are so subtly and artfully gimmicked, someone can actually read them without noticing the gimmickry. Even people who know the books well won't be able to see it.

Months of careful work went into making this a thing of beauty. Chris Philpott's Tossed Out Book Test Plus will become a showpiece of your act.

"What a tremendous effect this is!... The books are top class and look like the real thing. They are gimmicked in a very convincing and clever way... The instructions really blew me away! Chris is a professional screenwriter and director. It shows in this work. As I read the book I kept thinking, this is a totally perfected, professional routine that could have sold privately for thousands of dollars... Every time I re-read the book, I found something else of great value.

This is the way mentalism should be. This is totally top class all the way. I salute Chris for this effect and recommend it no matter what the price is. Frankly, if this had been mine, I would not have sold it, but kept it for myself."
- Richard Osterlind (read Richard's full comments here)

"The Tossed Out Book Test is more than some clever ideas. It's a pathway to amazing possibilities."
- Max Maven

"Incredibly powerful.... Deviously simple to use.... The only negative consideration that I have for this is that Philpott should have kept this to himself and a few others, like ME!! Frankly, this is really too good to have available commercially so that anyone at any level can do this killer effect....
- Jheff, Marketplace of the Mind

"What I love about the Tossed Out Book Test is that it is straight to the point. No prodding process that bespeaks trickery. They open to any page, look at a word, and you nail the words with a group of people, without pumping. That's direct!"
- Kenton Knepper

"Every so often a classic magic principle gets turned on its head with wonderful results. This is that trick. A proven method put to brilliant effect. The props are so ordinary, and the handling is so direct, it may be the most natural book test I've seen."
- Pete McCabe, Scripting Magic

"A lovely routine that gets a lot of the audience involved… filled with subtleties that could make this a real showpiece for you… Top-notch, well-scripted… clever and sophisticated… the quality and methodology of TOBT is excellent. If you're a pro mentalist who works for large audiences and wants a book test that plays really big, TOBT fills the bill and has the potential to be your finale."
-Danny Orleans, Genii Magazine

“Take a page from Chris Philpott’s book and perform his book test. You’ll be glad you did…. All of Philpott’s books will withstand extremely close scrutiny, even by well-read audience members who might be familiar with these titles… has the potential to be staggering… It’s hard to imagine anything more direct… the purchaser will not just receive a devilishly gaffed set of books and a few routines to try out, but he will also be getting a useful tool that could spark his own creativity.”
- Jared Brandon Kopf, Magic Magazine

“This is very powerful stuff. I’m actually upset with you that you released this – I’d have much rather have spent $20,000 to have kept it off the market for myself and a few other people to use.”
- Joel Bauer

"TOBT is a stunner… I will be absolutely adding this to my show… Most book tests have one person, one book (usually unknown) and one word... while this has five people, five well-known books = More Involvement and "PLAYS BIGGER"… It is also unusually clean for a book test… This effect is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED…. It will fry their minds."
– Ben Cummings, creator of Conversations with Mind Readers (on Magic Café)

* * *

The Tossed Out Book Test has bonus effects and special handlings, including...

Tossed Out Max, which adapts Max Maven's ingenious Tossed Out Tech to the book test (used with permission).

Pseudo-Seafire, drawing from Richard Osterlind's classic Seafire Sequence to create a multi-phased, highly dramatic routine (used with permission).

The "Fifty Shades of Grey/[or insert popular title here]" version, in which a hot bestseller (ungimmicked) is included as one of the five books handed out to the audience.

The Travelling Light version, where only a single pocket book is used.

The One Word, One Person version, where you can read a single word chosen by a single spectator, working from any one of these classic texts.

It also includes suggested presentations for tying in the magic with the themes of one or all of these books. Was this miracle the result of some Dr. Frankenstein-style mad experiment exploring the no-man's land between life and death? Or was it all done with pixie dust by a magical boy who never grew up? Does it require the performer to peer into the heart of darkness and glimpse the horror? Maybe these strange powers all explainable by science -- just not earth's science. Or was this all accomplished by Holmes-like observation, ruthless logic and brilliant deduction? It's all up to you -- and your audience's imagination.

These books are on the curriculum for schools all over the world, so this is perfect for schools, libraries, and book fairs.

Includes 5 gaffed books and 32-page instruction booklet.

Tossed Out Book Test - US Only
$300 plus $15 shipping