mental epic

“Epique is truly epic.”

I have seen Nique Tan evolve over the years from a talented and immensely skilled sleight of hand wunderkind to a sophisticated and knowledgeable mentalist, ala Gary Kurtz. In this well laid out monograph, he shares with us his brilliantly thought out parlour version of Hen Fetch’s venerable Mental Epic.

Using innocuous everyday minimalist props, his version plays for maximum visibility and impact. He eliminates the inherent inconsistencies in the usual artifices for both the selection of the three choices and the subsequent three revelations. He also shares with us his patter story line, which I found most valuable. It is an approach that is logical, eliminates the heat on the selections and reduces the risk of inadvertent awkwardness caused by difficult spectators. This makes the process relatively stress free and extremely direct.

Nique uses index cards and is extremely thorough in explaining his handling of the index cards with all the little touches and nuances that elevate the routine into a true worker. It is obvious that this is no pipe dream but a working gem that Nique has honed and refined so that it flows elegantly and seamlessly.

The handling is well within the ability of most mentalists and Nique explains everything in detail including finger positions. If you can do a double lift, you should be able to perform Epique with some practice. Nique also explains the sightlines, angles and blocking needed when performing, which is straightforward in execution.

As a caveat, Nique suggests using existing published methods for the third selection and gives clear references for his preferences, so the purchaser with have to do a little research, though it is likely that anyone purchasing a professional routine of this calibre will already have their own preferred method.

In a nutshell, Epique is truly epic and is a particularly worthwhile addition to the canon of mental epic variations and mentalism in general.

Highly recommended.