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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
The world of magic, 14 Feb 2006
On Terry Pratchett's Discworld, there are eight colours in the rainbow. The eighth is The Colour of Magic. Like the other colours, its intensity may be measured - using a thaumometer. On our world, as Paul Quarrington depicts here, magic is measured with a bank account book. Its practitioners are showmen not wizards. They are sleight-of-hand artists, illusionists well versed in the motto 'the hand is quicker than the eye'. They are highly competitive for audiences and recognition. The issue of selecting routines for their performances looms large, both for the sake of the audience and thier competitors.Performance magic relies heavily on deception and devices. Quarrington relates how little novelty there is in this trickery. Manuevers and mechanisms are frequently handed down over generations to apprentices or favored associates. In The Spirit Cabinet it is a collection of material derived, almost inevitably, from the greatest magical showman of them all, Henry Houdini. Assembled from such diffuse origins as Germany, Switzerland and Saskatchewan, a melange of conjurers gathers in Las Vegas to acquire a collection of Houdini memoribilia. Quarrington takes great pains in demonstrating the trade draws unusual people. Jurgen and Rudolfo are an unusal couple, in more ways than one. A rarity in the craft, they are a team. Most magicians, such as Kaz and Preston the Adequate [his father was Preston the Magnificent] work alone, or with no more than a decorous assista |
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