Magic Is Dead

My Journey into the World's Most Secretive Society of Magicians

By: Ian Frisch

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

In the vein of Neil Strauss’ The Game and Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein comes the fascinating story of one man’s colorful, mysterious, and personal journey into the world of magic, and his unlikely invitation into an underground secret society of revolutionary magicians from around the world.

Magic Is Dead is Ian Frisch’s head-first dive into a hidden world full of extraordinary characters and highly guarded secrets. It is a story of imagination, deception, and art that spotlights today’s most brilliant young magicians—a mysterious club known as the52, who are revolutionizing an ancient artform under the mantra Magic Is Dead.

Ian brings us with him as he not only gets to know this fascinating world, but also becomes an integral part of it. We meet the52’s founding members—Laura London, Daniel Madison, and Chris Ramsay—and explore their personal demons, professional aspirations, and what drew them to their craft. We join them at private gatherings of the most extraordinary magicians working today, follow them to magic conventions in Las Vegas and England, and discover some of the best tricks of the trade. We also encounter David Blaine; hang out with Penn Jillette; meet Dynamo, the U.K.’s most famous magician; and go behind the scenes of a Netflix magic show. Magic Is Dead is also a chronicle of magic’s rich history and how it has changed in the internet age, as the young guns embrace social media and move away from the old-school take on the craft.

As he tells the story of the52, and his role as its most unlikely member, Ian reveals his own connection with trickery and deceit and how he first learned the elements that make magic work from his poker-playing mother. He recalls their adventures in card rooms and casinos after his father’s sudden death, and shares a touching moment that he had, as a working journalist, with his childhood idol Shaquille O’Neal.

“Magic—the romanticism of the inexplicable, the awe and admiration of the unexpected—is an underlying force in how we view the world and its myriad possibilities,” Ian writes. As his journey continues, Ian not only becomes a performer and creator of magic—even fooling the late Anthony Bourdain during a chance encounter—he also cements a new brotherhood, and begins to understand his relationship with his father, fifteen years after his death. Written with psychological acuity and a keen eye for detail, Magic Is Dead is an engrossing tale full of wonder and surprise.

Not what I expected

This is mainly an autobiography. Nothing against the author, but I expected more about the world of magicians and how they performed their illusions and less about his personal life.

excellent

an awesome look into the world of magicians and magic. one of the best books I have ever listen to.

A Masterpiece

This is one of my favorite books of the decade, and literally in my top 2 of all time best Audible listens (and I've done 150).

The NARRATION IS OUTSTANDING---truly one of the best readers Audible has to offer.

A beautiful and personal story

I know Ian. So I won’t pretend this review is unbiased in any meaningful way. What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that Ian can write! And this book was so infused with whimsical narrative that it’s easy to forget we’re real people he’s writing about. But then he grounds each of us in the realities of our day to day lives, and makes us look and feel human again. And that became the best part for me; riding along with him through all of it. Seeing this World of Magic through his eyes had the very strange and unexpected effect of making it even more magical for me. Well done, Ian.

Wow.

Not to come across as over zealous, but this book hit me in the feels. As a learning magician to hear that feeling of pride when providing that experience for someone, that moment of amazement. It took me for a ride.

I wish that Ian had narrated so you could feel more in the voice. But all in all, amazing book!