Once upon a time, in a small village nestled between the rolling hills and lush green forests, there lived a young boy named Caleb. Caleb was no ordinary boy; he possessed a magical ability that had been passed down through generations of his family. Every time Caleb touched something or someone, he could see into the past or the future. Caleb's magical talent had always fascinated and amazed the villagers. They sought out his guidance and wisdom in times of trouble or uncertainty. He would touch their hands, and visions would flood his mind, unraveling stories or showing glimpses of what was yet to come.
This is a layman killer. The demo on the project shows just how good this is. The layman he performed for was stunned, and was genuinely awestruck at the end of the performance. What more could you ask for? It leaves them with a unique souvenir and it is dead easy to perform. No gimmicks, just a deck of cards and a sharpie needed. There is a very slight setup which can be performed on the fly.
Each letter from CASE then reveals a property of their card C for color, S for suit, E for even or odd, A for amazing finish In essence, these are blank face cards. My one issue with it is that the kicker is significantly stronger than the main effect so much so, that I believe it will feel like the main effect was really just a way of getting into the kicker ending haha.
He would touch their hands, and visions would flood his mind, unraveling stories or showing glimpses of what was yet to come. Despite his incredible gift, Caleb remained humble and kind-hearted. He refused to use his abilities for personal gain or manipulate others.
The magical Caleb
This is a fabulous project. I first found out about Caleb with his release of 26! Which I was in love with. When I saw this new product, I had to have it. All of the routines on this project are super easy to do, and very hard hitting. You can tell these are the routines Caleb has worked relentlessly. They are all hard hitting laymen foolers with an interesting premise to have them intrigued from the moment you begin.
Here’s an effect by effect break down:
All Signs Point to Yes: A spectator selects and signs a card. It is lost in the deck. A black eight is shown and a magic eight ball is drawn on the back of the eight. The performer shakes the black eight as he asks “what color is the card?” The black eight visually changes into a red eight. The performer shakes it again as he asks “what is the suit of the card?” The red eight changes into the other eight of their suit. Finally, the eight with the drawing on the back is turned face down and handed to a spectator to shake as they ask “what was my card?” When they turn it over, it is their signed card.
This is a layman killer. The demo on the project shows just how good this is. The layman he performed for was stunned, and was genuinely awestruck at the end of the performance. What more could you ask for? It leaves them with a unique souvenir and it is dead easy to perform. No gimmicks, just a deck of cards and a sharpie needed. There is a very slight setup which can be performed on the fly.
Clue: There’s a lot going on in this one. Four cards are presented. Each card has a letter drawn on the back. The four cards spell the word “CASE.” The spectator selects a card (an ace). Each letter from CASE then reveals a property of their card (C for color, S for suit, E for even or odd, A for amazing finish) In essence, these are blank face cards. Each card has the two (or four) options written on it. Depending on how the spectator turns over the card changes which result they end up with. Ultimately, the spectator unknowingly reveals their card. The A is turned over and it IS their card. The case is then shown to have a representation of their card. The other letters are then rearranged to spell “ACES” and are turned over to reveal they are now all the four aces.
As I said, there’s a lot going on with this one. In my opinion, it’s a bit too much and perhaps plays a bit flat compared to how involved it is in terms of set up and requirements. I think it would play nicely for an audience, but in my opinion, this was one of the weaker routines on the project. Don’t get me wrong, it works. It just isn’t my PERSONAL favorite. That said, it’s fairly simply to execute being practically self-working except for two moves.
Make a Wish: This is Caleb’s solution to a birthday card trick. This is perfect for restaurant workers. An envelope is introduced. Inside is a birthday card for the spectator. The spectator selects and signs a card. The envelope is opened and out comes a playing card with a cake drawn on the back (complete with lit candles.) The card is turned over and it is the spectator’s signed selection. The card is then handed to the spectator. They are instructed to make a wish and blow out the candles. They make a wish, blow towards the card, and turn it over to find the candles on the cake have been extinguished. The card is put into the envelope and given to them as a souvenir.
This is a restaurant worker’s dream. Caleb has thought this one out to give you a workable routine which feels very personal for the birthday person. You can go into it in a moment’s notice. Caleb has made the necessary set up part of the presentation which happens very naturally meaning you can be in the middle of your set with a shuffled deck, someone can tell you it’s their birthday, and you can immediately go into this trick. It’s super easy to do, it requires one very common gaff. The reactions you’ll get with this will greatly outweigh the amount of effort required on your part.
iDeck and Replicator: iDeck: A deck of cards is introduced as the first computerized deck of cards. A card is chosen, remembered, and lost into the deck. It isn’t on top or bottom. With the press of a button, the card is now on top. The card is put in the middle and a key is pressed and the card rises to the top. The cards is put in the middle again and the spectator presses the button and it comes to the top. The performer shuffles the card into the deck, inserts an indifferent card into the deck halfway, “reprograms” it and it comes back out as their card. The card is shuffled in once again. The delete key is pressed, their card is no longer in the deck. The deck is spread facedown and the selection is “typed” into a “google search.” The spectator tries to find their card but fails. The failed card is shaked and turns into their selection. The card is then copy and pasted and now the three mates of their card are on top as well. Replicator: A card is selected, signed, and a 4 digit number (as a fake pin code) is written on the card. The deck is spread and a card of the wrong color is found (red card in a blue deck.) It is a “virus.” It is placed face down on the table. The selected card is lost into the deck and two jokers are introduced (geek squad) to fix the virus. The red backed virus card is turned over and it has “stolen the identity” of the spectator’s selection (AKA it is their signed card.) Their card is put between the jokers and the virus scan is activated. Their card is now back to it’s original colored blue back. But now the virus has spread to the jokers. Both of them are now red. As soon as the jokers touch the deck, the entire deck becomes “infected” (AKA they are all red.)
SO! These are two routines that go together with the premise of the computerized deck. The first trick (iDeck) is FASIU. It is clearly an ambitious card type of routine with a four of a kind ending which is quite nice. Caleb says this is perhaps his most performed routine. It has a nice economy to it. It is very easy to do, and it has some great visual moments in it throughout. The second trick (Replicator) is clearly a color changing deck routine with the premise of the computer deck. It works nicely and has a lot going for it. It starts off as an odd backed mystery card type of plot then becomes a color changing back of a card and ends with the whole deck being changed. There’s a lot of magic that happens in this routine. As a routine with the two effects combined, they work nicely together within the same premise and are what feels like a marathon of magic. It is magic moment after magic moment without letting up. They are both great. I don’t think I’ll use the routines, but they are quite good and I can see people getting a lot of milage out of both of these routines.
Reswindled 2: A gambling demonstration. Four jacks are removed from the deck and placed halfway into the card box. Four black number cards are removed from the deck. The black cards are invisibly switched for each one of the jacks one at a time. In a flash, the four jacks change back into the black cards. The four cards are removed from the box and they are shown to be the four jacks. The jacks are IMMEDIATELY changed into the four aces.
You need a gimmicked card for this. It’s not a gimmick that’s readily available, but it can easily be made at home if you can split a card. The gimmicked card is naturally rung in during the presentation in a very nice way. Even though there’s a lot of magic in this routine, it is quite easy to do. There are some nice visual moments throughout. The change into four aces at the end comes as a real shock, and it’s about as clean as it gets. This is a great routine which will deceive all who watch it. Very nice indeed.
Semi-Automatic Luck Test: A deck is handed to the spectator and they cut and shuffle the deck into three piles. They reassemble the deck. They call out a lucky number and deal that many cards from the top of the deck. The remainder of the deck is cut by the spectator and marked and placed aside momentarily. The cards the spectator dealt are dealt into two piles saying “lucky, not lucky.” They end on a “lucky” card. It is shown to be a king. The top card of the other pile is shown to be the matching king. Each pile is then picked up and “KING” is spelt one card for each letter. The “G” of each pile is the other two kings. The remainder of the deck is brought back over and the cut to card is shown to be an ace. The other three piles left on the table are shown to have the other 3 aces on top.
This one is much simpler to follow than it may read in text. It is kind of difficult to describe what actually happens. But this is a virtually self working production of 2 four of a kind. Kings and Aces. It all happens in their hands. There’s only one move the magician must do and it is super easy and natural and will be forgotten about immediately. I really like this one. I think it’s a very clever use of the different principles. The kicker is that the spectator shuffled the deck at the beginning which really leaves them clueless. I like this one a lot. It’s easy to do, and leaves quite an impact. There is a little set up involved, but I think it is a totally manageable set up to do casually before the trick begins. The whole trick is presented as a luck test, ending with an obviously very lucky spectator having found the kings AND aces.
Travelers for Jack: This is perhaps my favorite trick of the project. It begins with a story of your magic mentor and the first time you showed them a trick. You show the audience the trick you showed him. You cut to a random card and turn it over (it’s a king.) You put it down on the table and say you will find the other three kings. You give the deck a cut and turn over the top card: it is another king. You do the last two at the same time with one quick move and they are the other two kings. They are put on the table with the others. The performer goes on to tell what advice the mentor gave him. It was essentially: don’t do all the showy magic moves, real magic looks like no moves. At which point, the performer picks up the kings, waves his hand over them, and they are now the four aces (to demonstrate what his mentor did.) The performer recants how he asked where the kings are. The mentor taught him three lessons. Lesson 1: learn how to manipulate the deck at which point the deck is spread to reveal a king face up in the middle. Lesson 2: learn how to manipulate your surroundings at which point a king is fairly removed from the left jacket pocket and the right jacket pocket. Lesson 3: learn to manipulate people’s perception at which point the aces that the performer has been holding are turned over to reveal the final king. The performer then recants how he asked his mentor where the aces went and the mentor reminds him of the three lessons. The deck is spread to reveal an ace face up in the middle. An ace is removed from the left and right jacket pocket, and then the entire deck is squished down to reveal an ace in its place leaving just the four kings and four aces in play.
This is another that’s a bit difficult to write up, but there is SO much magic in this routine for hardly any work at all. Only one palm is used in the whole routine (Really a gamblers cop) and Caleb teaches a no palm version which I actually think I prefer to the palm version. You get the production of four kings, a change of kings into aces, the kings traveling all over, the aces vanishing, the aces traveling all over, and the deck vanishing! That’s a TON of magic in this one routine. This is the type of routine you’d have to end your set with. It’s too powerful not to. I really love it. It’s so flipping easy and packs such a massive punch. Every product has the “it was worth the price of admission” trick… I think this trick is the one.
Armchair Mind Reading: A spectator freely cuts to a card and remembers it. They immediately shuffle the cards they cut off and box the other half of the deck. The cards in the spectator’s hand are spread face down on the table and the performer picks up some cards and shows the faces to the spectator (without looking at the face of a single card) and after going through most of the cards, the performer is able to name the freely selected card.
This is such a great routine. It requires a bit of set up, but once set up, it is absolutely as clean as it sounds above. When watching the performance, I thought for sure he was using a marked deck, but no! It is a totally ungimmicked deck of cards and makes for one of the cleanest mind reading demonstrations with a deck of cards. I like it a lot. Very fooling.
Cross-Eyed Triumph: FASIU. The spectator names any card. The performer spreads through and removes their card. It is inserted face up halfway down in the deck. The performer demonstrates a gambling move where he riffles through quickly to memorize the exact place of the face up selection. The deck is immediately cut and somehow the performer has cut to the spectator’s freely named card AS WELL AS all of its mates. The performer offers to do it the hard way. He now turns half the deck over and fairly shuffled face up into face down with the four of a kind getting lost as well. With one cut, the perform has found the three mates, but the selection still isn’t there. The deck is spread and it has somehow righted itself with every card being facedown except the face up selection.
This is ANOTHER great routine. I love it. You get to use a freely named card, it is an interesting premise of this gambling move, it makes sense, and theres a great economy where the first phase sets you up for the second phase. The four of a kind production used is very unique. I had never seen it before. It instantaneously finds the four mates in a flash. The triumph here actually makes sense as to WHY you’d be shuffling them face up and facedown so I love that logical through-line. All in all, this is a great routine. It’s also very easy to do.
Elimin-ace-tion: The spectator names any four of a kind to use. The performer removes them from the deck and hands them to the spectator. They mix the four cards face down and name any suit. The spectator then freely eliminates three of the four cards one at a time. The card remaining is indeed the spectator’s selected suit. The other three mates which were fairly eliminated and fairly placed down on the table are turned over to reveal three blank cards. When the spectator looks back at their selected suit, it is also blank now. Of the value are revealed to be in different pockets. For the final one, the deck is vanished leaving just the final four of kind proving that this was all done in their imagination.
Believe it or not, this is another great one. I like it. It does require four blank cards, obviously. My one issue with it is that the kicker is significantly stronger than the “main effect” so much so, that I believe it will feel like the “main effect” was really just a way of getting into the kicker ending haha. And perhaps that’s okay! It’s basically the second phase of “Traveler’s for Jack” without all of the extra beats. If you think this would suit you better, it’s a great option. It’s very easy to do and the kicker is worth it.
Here a Move: Four aces are removed from the deck and shown. They are placed facedown on the table. The perform drops the deck onto the first ace and pushes the imaginary “up” button on the deck. The ace rises to the top. The next ace is placed on top and the imaginary “down” button is pushed and the ace melts to the bottom of the deck. The next ace is inserted into the middle of the deck and travels to the top. The last ace is inserted in the middle, the deck is placed on the box, and the spectator presses the imaginary “down” button. But the ace isn’t on the bottom. Something didn’t work… or maybe… they open the case that the cards are resting on and the final ace is seen to have penetrated all the down “to the basement.” The deck is put aside an the aces are now used for a trick. With a twist, the ace of hearts turns face up. With another twist, the ace of hearts is back facedown and the ace of clubs is now face up. With another twist, the ace of diamonds turns face up. The cards are turned back facedown and shown. The cards are counted again, and now the ace of spades has turned… COLORS! The back of the ace of spades is now a different color. It is placed down and the ace of clubs changes colors to match it. The ace of hearts and diamonds also change colors to match it. But now the four aces don’t match the deck. So with a mild shake, the aces all change back to their original color back.
This is ANOTHER great one! Sheesh, I’m tired of saying that. The economy of this routine is killer. It effortlessly introduces the necessary item in a sneaky way. This is another trick where you get so much magic. The first routine of the elevator aces is Joshua Jays and it is a great version of the classic. So much magic happens there, but then the deck is put away and even more magic happens just with the aces! It’s phenomenally structured and really makes for some hard hitting magic. I can’t wait to give this a shot. And P.S. it’s very easy to do.
Little Fella Grows Up: The performer talks about their being two ways to cheat at cards: on the deal and on the shuffle. Four kings are removed to represent a good poker hand. They are put on top of the deck and four cards are dealt in typical style to the spectator the the performer. Each person should have two kings. However, the spectator’s cards are shown to contain no kings and the performer’s hand has all the kings. He proceeds to teach them how it’s done. The kings once again go on top. The performer reveals that he does a center deal every time he deals to the spectator and takes the king off the top every time he deals to himself. He demonstrates this but the performer’s center deal is impeccable and absolutely indiscernible. Yet, he continually shows he is dealing them random cards and himself kings. At the end, the performer shows the four kings in his hands. All the cards go back on the deck and the performer demonstrates the other way of cheating: on the shuffle. The gives the cards a quick shuffle and explains the best thing about cheating on the shuffle is that you don’t have to deal the cards. The cards are handed to the spectator and they deal two hands of five in the typical fashion. The performer turns over his first card: it’s a king. The second card: it’s a king. The third card: it’s NOT a king… but that’s okay because there are five cards. The fourth card: it’s a king. And the last card: it’s NOT a king. Oh no, the performer turns over the top card of the spectator’s pile and it’s a king. The performer didn’t quite get the shuffle right. The performer looks at the spectator’s hand and low and behold, they have dealt themselves a royal flush! It begs the question, who’s really the card cheat amongst them??
This is KILLER. I love love LOVE this routine. I’m not big on gambling demonstrations because I think they are often laborious. This isn’t the case for this one. You demonstrate it once, then explain what you’re doing (all the while, the spectator is baffled at your ability to do the move so effortlessly) and then you get the additional hit of the royal flush at the end. Caleb teaches how to go into this FASIU and I love that idea. Basically, I’m in love with everything about this routine. Best of all: it’s DEAD EASY. Not a single center deal is actually performed, but your spectators would swear they were seeing the world’s cleanest center deals. I can’t say it enough… I LOVE THIS.
Lucky shuffle: A lot of process/involvement in this one. Some cards are removed from the deck and ripped in half. The halves are continually cut and shuffled by the performer and spectator. The performer and spectator then deal their halves of half cards into two piles. The last card of each pile matches. The cards are mixed some more and the spectator touches a card in the performers half. It is turned face up. The performer deals the spectators cards and the performer’s cards one by one at the same time showing that none of the cards match. When they come to the face up card, the card that is at the same position in the spectator’s half matches perfectly. Finally, the cards are gathered up and mixed one final time. The halves are distributed in pairs all over the table. The spectator points to a pair, it matches. But it turns out, every pair on the table now matches.
This is a great matching routine utilizing 11 cards. It is incredibly fooling and feels impossible throughout. The spectator is constantly cutting and mixing their cards, it just seem absolutely impossible that they could all match at the end. This is a great one and I can’t wait to try it out.
Paparazzi Pack: Two envelopes with cameras on them are introduced. A deck of cards is dealt face up. The spectator calls stop at any time. One envelope is inserted directly where they stopped. This is repeated for a second spectator with the second envelope. The cards above the envelopes are removed with each envelope. The rest of the deck is turned face down to show that every card has the name of a celebrity written on the back. The first envelope is opened and shown to contain a picture of Angelina Jolie. The card where the spectator stopped is turned over to reveal Angelina Jolie on the back. The other envelope is opened to show a picture of Tom Cruise inside. And you guessed it, the back of the card where they stopped says Tom Cruise.
Obviously, this is a version of the ever popular gemini deck principle. I think this is a very fun and logical routine and I think it will be a lot of fun and quite impressive for everyone involved. Obviously, it requires you to carry around an extra deck set up for this, but if you like the routine, it is worth it. Personally, I won’t be using this because my favorite version of this trick is from the jerk blog. To me, it has a bit of a longer lasting impact. But this a good option, and I certainly think it’s better than the original.
All in all, this is a killer project. The material on here is all top notch and there are absolutely no fillers and no fluff. Again, you can tell Caleb has worked these and improved them to this refined level. I highly recommend this project, and I think it would impossible for anyone to purchase it and NOT feel like they can use at least one of the routines taught. The best thing about all of the routines is that they are well within the grasp of any practiced card magician. They mostly rely on elmsley counts and double lifts, and that is the best thing about them. Simple to do, and very effective and hard hitting. Don’t hesitate! Order now. It is truly a project destined for success.
Instead, he used his powers to help those in need and improve the lives of his fellow villagers. One cold winter's day, a severe drought hit the village, drying up their crops and leaving them in despair. The villagers turned to Caleb for guidance, hoping his magical touch could bring relief. Caleb sat cross-legged in the village square, surrounded by worried faces. One by one, the villagers approached Caleb, extending their hands so he could touch them. As Caleb touched their hands, he saw glimpses of rain falling from the sky, rejuvenating the fields and nourishing the parched land. With each touch, his visions grew clearer, giving him hope that rain was imminent. Days turned into weeks, and still, the drought persisted. People's patience wore thin, and doubts began to cloud their minds. Caleb, determined not to give up, continued to touch the villagers, searching for answers in his visions. One fateful afternoon, Caleb touched an old woman's hand, and his mind flooded with images of a hidden spring deep within the forest. Excitement filled his heart as he realized the key to ending the drought lay before him. He immediately gathered the villagers, telling them of the hidden spring and leading them on a journey through the dense forest. After hours of hiking, they arrived at a secluded clearing, a shimmering spring nestled among tall trees. The villagers watched in awe as Caleb dipped his hand into the water, closing his eyes, and spreading his fingers wide. Suddenly, raindrops began to fall from the sky, growing heavier with each passing moment. Cheers erupted among the villagers as they felt the rain quenching their thirst and nourishing their crops. Gratitude filled their hearts for Caleb, the boy with the magical touch. Through his selflessness and unwavering determination, he had saved their village from the grip of the drought. Caleb's story spread far beyond the village, reaching neighboring towns and even distant lands. People came from far and wide seeking his guidance and marveling at his extraordinary gift. Caleb, however, remained true to his humble nature, never letting his newfound fame get to his head. The magical Caleb continued to use his gift to help others, bringing hope and joy to countless lives. His legacy lived on, reminding the world of the power of compassion, selflessness, and the magic that lies within each of us..
Reviews for "The Legendary Caleb: Fantasy or Truth?"
1. Sarah - 2/5 stars - I personally did not enjoy "The Magical Caleb" at all. The plot seemed to be all over the place and lacked cohesion. The characters were underdeveloped and it was difficult to connect with any of them. Additionally, I found the writing style to be quite repetitive and it became tiresome to read. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it.
2. John - 1/5 stars - "The Magical Caleb" was a complete waste of my time. The story was incredibly predictable and offered nothing new or exciting. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, and the characters were cliché and one-dimensional. I found it difficult to stay engaged throughout and had to force myself to finish it. I was hoping for something magical and intriguing, but unfortunately, this book fell flat in every aspect.
3. Emily - 2/5 stars - I had high expectations for "The Magical Caleb" based on the reviews I read, but it ultimately left me disappointed. The pacing was incredibly slow, with very little happening for the majority of the book. The plot twists were predictable and lacked any real impact. While the concept seemed interesting, the execution was lacking, and I found myself losing interest as I read on. I wouldn't recommend this book to others looking for an engaging and captivating read.
4. Michael - 3/5 stars - I had mixed feelings about "The Magical Caleb". While the concept was intriguing, I found that the writing style was difficult to follow at times. The transitions between scenes were abrupt and confusing, making it challenging to fully understand the story. However, I did appreciate the author's attempt to create unique and imaginative characters. The world-building was also well done, but overall, the execution fell short, and I was left feeling underwhelmed by the end.