SUCOP SUCOH
Thru the Mirror of Time by Paul Kieve
A review by
Joel Moskowitz MD   
August 2008
Magic Currents Ring 76, San Diego

Not to be confused with the book of the same name published in 1634, this Hocus Pocus authored by Paul Kieve is a Scholastic Press publication (2007) targeted for the nine to eleven years old, which is when many magic obsessions begin. Daniel Radcliffe, in his introduction, praises Kieve as one who taught him some tricks. Kieve may be less widely known than the stage name of Radcliffe, Harry Potter. Now that is impressive credentials! (read more)

Kieve also assisted with the special effects wonders in the Potter movie Prisoner of Azkaban and has provided magical effect support for myriad theaters world wide. Norm Nielsen, famous for his magic poster collection and source, receives Kieve’s gratitude. Some of the Nielsen collection of famous magicians adorn the outside cover, as well as the inside front and back cover. A bonus packet of three postcards each are reproductions of a few of the posters of the great magicians of the past, and three illusions. Beyond this ‘gravy’ there is the romantic tale where Kieve writing as a young enthusiast is mesmerized as a poster of Alexander, morphs into life. Kieve muses “What might it be if the posters on his walls mutated into such as The Great Lafayette performing with his menagerie of animals; What joy to see Robert-Houdin demonstrating his famous mechanical man? Houdini, manacled and handcuffed suspended upside down in a tank of water escaping. Ching Ling Soo astounding audiences with his bullet catching effect. And for the purposes of this story, they do!” And much more!  

Paul Kieve loves magic and you, the reader, forever young, will smile at the refreshing verbal illustrations and pictorial representations (Peter Bailey, Artist) which enchant and educate the student wishing to become a magician him/ herself. The interchanges while fictional reminds those who are of sufficient vintage of the TV show, “You Are There”. The theme of that much watched show was that viewers were presented with notable interchanges between luminaries of yesteryear. Kieve does it in this book.   Professor Hoffman, famed authority of early magical texts, disputes with Alexander, the mentalist who represented himself as “He Who Knows”.

David Devant enters the fray. As the novice who tells the story (and you the reader) travel though the pages you learn that Alexander, a mentalist with a turban, might these days have been dismissed as simply a fellow with a concealed Blue Tooth in his head wrapping from which he was able to ‘divine’ messages. The Great Lafayette, described by some contemporaries as ‘unsociable to the point of rudeness’, we learn, poured his affection on his dog, Beauty, in whom he invested some superstitious attachment. These personal anecdotes and descriptive accounts of performances satisfy Kieve’s childhood wish that he could have seen and known the master magicians of the past. Within the narrative are some revelations of the methods (Ooooo).  

Also included are simple time honored tricks similar to those which litter the pages of beginners books found in most public libraries. These add little but presumably the author/editor felt an obligation to teach some magic along with the historical fictional albeit fascinating tales. Most of these bonus tricks have been much repeated and might well have been ‘old’ at the time of publication of the original Hocus Pocus. But that they persist may be some evidence of their appeal. Would you believe that this hardback tale, published by Scholastic Press (2007) 301 pp, is a mere $14.99.

This is not simply a recipe first book for wanabee magicos. It is a loving fascinating story of the personalities who delighted the public. The reader is promised to be delighted as well. It is not only for 9 to 11 years  

[Dr. Moskowitz is a member of Ring 76 in San Diego and this article was first published in the Ring 76 Magic Currents - Editor: Don Soul]