ORION Bronze by Phedon Bilek

Orion Bronze by Phedon Bilek, with a bit of help from Phill Smith and printed by Haresign Press, has caused a bit of a stir in the mentalism scene. It came with a lot of chatter, but unlike most things that get hyped, it's actually lived up to it, even bagging a Book of the Year award.

This book's a hefty one, over 600 pages, and it's packed with tricks that don't need any props. No nail writers or impression pads to be found, just over 100 methods to make folks think you're peeking into their thoughts. I'll be honest, some of the routines took me longer than I'd like to admit to make look like I wasn't just waving my hands around.

Phedon shows you how to pull meaning from just a word or name, with full scripts to get you going. The methods are straightforward and flexible enough to fit however you perform. If Sibyl rings a bell, it's a bit like that, modular and adaptable.

Orion's not just a collection of tricks, though. It's Phedon's idea of what mentalism should be: personal, engaging, and very human. The Bronze Edition pulls everything together into one volume, with essays and scripts that might just make you rethink a few things.

There are over 20 pieces ready to roll and a bunch of techniques that'll probably give your brain a workout. Plus, there are 10 discussions that dig into the philosophy behind it all, definitely worth a read if you're into that kind of thing.

Folks like Neil Scryer and Jerome Finley have given it high marks, calling it a masterpiece and a goldmine, while others like Richard Webster and Bill Cushman have praised its originality and simplicity. So, if mentalism's your cup of tea, Orion Bronze might just be worth diving into.