THE NEAT REVIEW is an ad-hoc journal published only now and then, exploring the crossovers between the worlds of magic and other arts. There is a fascinating dialogue that exists between the creative worlds, and magicians seem privy to the most unlikely interminglings of those worlds. The contributors have magic as a hobby, but work professionally as photographers, visual artists, writers, graphic designers, teachers.
It is called a journal but actually it is more like a book with around 200 pages. Each issue is set in a different city around the world.
ISSUE ONE - London - sold out
Includes five essays, three tricks, two card sleights, and a 26-page interview with quite possibly the best mind reader in the history of magic, Derren Brown. 192 pages.
ISSUE TWO - New York City - sold out
Ricky Smith and Benjamin Pratt take us on a walking tour of New York City. Hacker Éireann Leverett chats about the parallels between hacking and magic and the nature of deception. Underground magicians Eric Hu and Tatanka Tan talk about 'pipe dream' tricks, and the experience we can offer an audience. Ricky, Eric and Tatanka then share an eclectic mix of card moves. 208 pages.
ISSUE THREE - Tokyo
Through the lives and work of several of Japan’s best magicians, we explore cultural effects on the practice of and appreciation for sleight of hand. Issue Three is about magic and sleight of hand, of course, but it is also about language, culture, aesthetics. Issue Three is about people. 224 pages.
ISSUE FOUR - Everywhere & Nowhere
The location for Issue Four is EVERYWHERE & NOWHERE. Contributors from all over the world bring us a whirlwind of eclecticism in the wake of an artificial existence. Guy Hollingworth, Helder Guilmarães, Dennis Kim, Liu Bolin, Brad Fulton, Pierric, Will Houstoun, Robert Gill, Shawn Desouza-Coelho… 176 pages.
ISSUE FIVE - Paris
Walk the streets of Paris with us. These are the most inspiring magicians we have met in a long time. Bébel performs nightly on the streets of Saint-Germain des Pres. Arthur Chavaudret studied and taught at CNAC, the circus school in Paris. Father Alex is a Catholic priest in Montmartre and one of the best at gambling sleight of hand, mucks and table work we have ever met. Manu Jo runs a chocolate factory and shares with us a kickback ace hold-out routine. Mael Adler is a young and brilliant card magician, shares a fooling triumph routine. Yoann Fontyn works with lasers and has an entirely unique aesthetic for card magic. Alice Pailhès shares work from her Doctorate on the psychology of magic performances. 272 pages of Paris.
