Final FlashBack by Larry Becker, Lee Earle

Larry Becker & Lee Earle-This combination of three books provides several reveals if you can remember and keep up with the instructions. The Band of Brokers book has Flashback words that use homonyms instead of identical words (“flower/flour,” “bases/ basis,” “way/weigh,”etc), It also has three banks of Duplicate Page numbers so you can have the book opened anywhere and use those page numbers to Force one of three Pages in Stained Justice. Those Force Pages have similarly-worded first paragraphs so you can describe the scene that the participant is reading. In those first paragraphs there are also several long words and a short word that follows.

The short words are synonyms, so you can give the definition of any of them. When you get confirmation of the actual word, you use that to check against the Crib on the back of the first book so that you can get a page number.

You tell the participant to look at that page in the third book, a dictionary, and on that page is the long word from the second book, but located down the page by a number that is equal to the last digit of the page number from the Crib on the back of the first book.

Effect: This brand new 3-book Final Flashback set achieves the supreme benchmark against which all future book tests will be measured.

In Book #1, the time-tested Flashback principle has been upgraded to make it as invisible as a ghost in the night. Yet it’s still the fastest and easiest one-word revelation ever. Within moments, you’re doing miracles.

Use Book #2 and knock them for a loop. They can silently read full paragraphs on their selected pages yet you will infallibly reveal the details of the images they form in their minds! And you haven’t asked a question, seen or heard a page number!

Continue with a statement (just like Mother used to make), “Find a challenging word, the longer the better, anywhere on the page.” With no pumping, letter hints, or phony miscalls, you can reveal that word (and much more) using a brand new principle and strategy that you’ll love.

For your sizzling finale, Larry Becker’s standing ovation, drop-dead climax is now yours to use as well. Give them a page number, column, and location in Book #3, a brand new, easy-to-use, large print, Webster’s Dictionary. When they turn to that spot, there’s the word that had existed only in their minds!

Every book has a different page count, a unique size & layout, and a gorgeous, full-color, real world cover.

Final Flashback delivers the top features of the world’s greatest book tests, wrapped up in one three-volume library, plus routines, tips, and instructions as only Larry Becker and Lee Earle can provide.

Larry Becker released the original Flashback about 20 years ago. The book test (which was inspired by a Danny Tong effect) allowed a mentalist to immediately know the word a spectator was merely thinking of. Over the years Larry has continued to refine and enhance the effect, and now, in cooperation with Lee Earle, he has released Final Flashback, a four-phase book test that is remarkable in its ingenuity.

The mentalist hands out three paperback books – you can see the titles in the graphic above. The spectator with the copy of Band of Brokers comes on stage. The mentalist riffles through the pages of the book and the spectator calls stop at any time. There is no force. The spectator thinks of the first word on the top line of the page he is staring at. The mentalist divines the word. (This uses the original Flashback principle.) The spectator then inserts a business card into the book and notes the page numbers at the spot the card was inserted. He thinks of either of those numbers, and then he whispers that page number to the spectator who holds the Stained Justice book. The second spectator opens his book to that page number and silently reads the first paragraph. The mentalist gives his impressions of the scene that the paragraph describes. The spectator reads the paragraph aloud. The mentalist is correct again. Now the second spectator scans the page he is on and places his finger on any long word he finds. The mentalist attempts to divine this word, but he is unable to get a clear impression. However, he is able to get an image of the word that is next to the long word. Again, he is correct. Suddenly, the mentalist gets a strong insight and writes something on a business card. This card is given to the spectator who holds the dictionary. The second spectator announces the long word he was thinking of. On the business card is written a page number and a word location, for example Page 264, 4th word from the top. The spectator with the dictionary opens to that page and counts down to the designated word. It is the word that the second spectator thought of.

Final Flashback packs a serious punch. The apparent failure on the long word provides dramatic tension, and the routine plays very big. There is little memorization required, since one of the books cues everything you need to know. Although all three books are gaffed, it would be almost impossible for the uninitiated to discover the preparation. The routine requires no digital dexterity, but audience management skills are necessary to make sure that the assisting spectators do their jobs properly.

I’m very impressed with Final Flashback. It’s not inexpensive, but to some who wants to add a high-powered piece of mentalism to their show, I think it is worth every penny.

(Michael Close – Magic Magazine, November 2004)
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