By Darkness Influenced
by Kotah (a.k.a. Ron Dayton)

This is a wonderful sequel to Ron Dayton's first book, 'A Darker Light'.

REVIEW by Larry White.

Ron Dayton and his AKA, KOTAH, have produced a second book published by Leaping Lizards Magic, BY DARKNESS INFLUENCED and I recommend it highly.

Unlike his previous volume, A DARKER LIGHT, which contained mostly inspirational stories and poems into which a creative magician could easily weave magic, this book includes the magic. And there is a lot of it  FIFTY-THREE marvelous story-telling routines in all!   What a bargain.

The tales run from humorous to downright gruesome.   Most have just a single piece of magic to accent them but, in true Dayton fashion, the magic trick is startling, effective and simple.    Here are a few examples:

THE LEGEND OF EGG EATER MCPHEETER uses the Eggs From The Mouth trick, but done backwards!

THE DOUBLE HANGING uses the Grandmother's Necklace method but offers a logical reason for using two ropes.

NOW I LAY ME DOWN employs the Dirty Hand Towel gag, except the dirt on this one is blood!

WALKING BARE FOOT uses Jay Marshall's gag of producing one's own shoe from under a table napkin.

ORIGAMI ORACLE is a marvelous detective tale that uses, of all things, the fact that you can only fold a sheet of paper in half six times.

IMPURITIES AND LIES uses the single key ring from a set of Linking Rings, but to hold a real door key.

Got the idea?   Ron takes some very old chestnuts and redresses them to play very different roles in his tales. You will find some very clever, inspiring ideas in these pages.   You may even find yourself using Ron's tricks to create your own original stories.

In honesty, not all of the tricks are explained. Some are marketed and Ron
does not disclose the methods but describes what it does. Clever folk can
substitute easily.

Besides the wonderful stories and tricks there are two other things that
appeals to me about BY DARKNESS INFLUENCED. Ron includes sources for locating some of the more unusual props on the Internet --- Western style playing cards, live butterflies, skeletal bones, etc.

Second, there is a tendency for storytellers to tell long stories. Hey, it's
their job. But occasionally the situation only allows for a short tale which,
then, must be compelling and hard-hitting.   With few exceptions, all of the
tales in this book are short, which explains how Ron is able to offer you 53 of them in 123 pages.   Here's an example: MAY THE SQUIRCLE BE UNBROKEN is told in exactly 11 sentences and yet those lines, spoken solemnly, will touch the hearts of any audience.   And, all you are doing is a simple self-working paper tear.

Reading this book was a genuine pleasure.   The stories are short and
extremely creative. The magic has lots of Dayton twists. The print, though an unusual font was used, is large and easy to read.

I sincerely believe you will enjoy BY DARKNESS INFLUENCED too, and it
certainly belongs on your bookshelf if you enjoy storytelling magic and creative uses for tricks you probably already know, or should know.

The cost is $35 plus $5 postage in the US. That's less that $1 per routine.
When was the last time you bought a good trick for a dollar?   I'll bet some of us have spent more than $35 for a single trick that is not as good as many of the ones in this book. Books, good books, are always the best investment. 
Especially in our limited field of magic where both tricks and books are rare.

Larry White.

BY DARKNESS INFLUENCED, 

PRICE WAS $35 plus postage.