The engine this book discusses has fifty-two parts. Its gears and pistons are spades and clubs. It is lubricated with hearts and diamonds. It is fueled by skilled fingers and deft imagination. And when it is started it carries its passengers to fantastic lands. It has had countless operators during the six centuries of its existence. This book follows the innovations and fine tunings of one of its newest exponents, Aaron Fisher.

The Paper Engine begins with a thorough explanation of Aaron Fisher’s handling of the half pass, a handling unlike any other in that there are no broad turns, sweeps or squaring of the cards used to hide the sleight. Aaron Fisher’s gravity half pass is done in the small motion of raising the deck from dealing position to the fingertips. There is no other perceptible action—and the sleight is invisible from all sides. The details of this one move have been wondered about and coveted for years.

The Paper Engine is Aaron Fisher’s first book, and for it he has chosen only what he considers his top card material, to which he has added two exceptional tricks by Gordon Bean that use his techniques. Aaron Fisher and his co-author John Lovick have striven to provide a text that teaches clearly and succinctly on many levels. They are aided in this by Damon Webster who supplies 160 state-of-the-art photos. The result is a work that, rather than spinning its wheels in well-worn ruts, drives the craft of card magic forward into the future.