“ Oh , those reviews were great !” Steinmeyer says with a laugh . “ But they were indicative of the controversy . Many illusionists ignored the book , because the material didn ’ t fit the usual formulas . When magicians encounter something really different , they pretend it isn ’ t there . Some told me that the ideas couldn ’ t work , that I ’ d invented impractical tricks . And then , a small proportion of illusionist quietly used the material in their performances . Interestingly , the most successful illusions were the ones that , I ’ d been told , ‘ didn ’ t work .’
“ So , as much as I wanted to gather together a lot of the material I ’ d been working on for the last year , I also couldn ’ t figure out the formula for the book , how to thread the needle for magicians , in general , and illusionists who were doubtful about new material .”
Modern Art Ilusion
Listening to his plan , I suggest that the ideal solution is an arcana , an actual book of hidden secrets . “ It really is an arcana ! A modern arcana !” Steinmeyer says . “ One day I just realized that I ’ d been thinking about the book all wrong . We ’ re magicians ! Of course we know how to deal with secret material , how we share secrets and how we protect secrets .