MAESTRO

MAESTRO is the long-awaited first book by renowned magician John Shryock, published by 3 Monkeys Publishing in 2025. The idea for the book was born after a breathtaking live performance at the Magic Castle, where Shryock’s precise timing and effortless mastery led the editorial team to liken him to a conductor — thus the title Maestro.

This book is not just a collection of routines but a deeply structured journey into the mind of a seasoned performer who has dedicated decades to both stage and close-up magic. With routines honed in venues like Caesars Magical Empire, The Magic Castle, and Warren & Annabelle’s, MAESTRO is an ode to discipline, elegance, and meaningful sleight-of-hand.

Main Objective: To preserve and transmit a repertoire of powerful, elegant, and practical magic that John has refined over thousands of performances worldwide, combining technical brilliance with artistic intent.

Thematic Focus:

• Card and coin magic

• Cups & balls and stage routines

• Artistic philosophy

• Performance psychology

• Real-world practicality

MAESTRO is a beautifully illustrated and meticulously explained volume that blends powerful routines with personal stories, structured theory, and honest advice. Each effect is a visual and psychological composition, crafted like a musical score. With over a dozen complete routines, step-by-step sleight explanations, and insights into the life of a professional magician, MAESTRO is a must-have for any magician serious about performance magic. Its timeless routines, subtle refinements, and lyrical approach to presentation elevate it far beyond a simple trick manual.

Each effect in MAESTRO is designed for real-world performers:

• High visual clarity — effects unfold clearly for laypeople.

• Audience engagement — many routines are structured around laughter, participation, and suspense.

• Strong finales — routines build and conclude with emotional and visual punch (e.g., color changes, jumbo coin, fruit loads, etc.)

• Practical setups — methods rely on accessible gimmicks or no gimmicks at all.

• Examples of Captivating Effects:

  • A signed card rises to the top, vanishes, and returns as the only blue card in a red deck.

  • A borrowed ring travels into a walnut inside an egg inside a lemon.

  • Three coins transpose between hands — and reappear under tabled cards with no reset.

These effects astonish because they layer surprises — the magic is always one beat ahead of audience expectations.

MAESTRO is not just a magic book — it is a career distilled into print. Whether you're a working pro looking for audience-tested material or an intermediate magician seeking inspiration and structure, MAESTRO offers depth, clarity, and soul.

With fully choreographed routines, real-world insights, and a tone of generosity and humility, this book is a love letter to the art of magic and the dedication it demands.

A new standard in structured, professional magic. Not to be missed.

Table of Content

Rather than grouping by tricks or essays, the book is a succession of structured, nameable routines and interviews, including:

• Ambitious Triumphant Color Changing Deck: A triple-phase card miracle combining Ambitious Card, Triumph, and a surprise color change. Highly structured and visually astonishing.

• The Winning Hand: A card-to-coin visual transformation that sets the stage for a matrix routine. Emphasizes invisible palming and seamless transitions.

• XIRTAM: A reverse matrix performed with no gimmicks — only four coins and four cards. Each disappearance leads to an impossible final restoration.

• Royal Aces: A progressive transformation of Aces into a Royal Flush with narrative construction and visual revelations.

• JS One Coin Routine: John's opener for over a decade. A coin vanishes, travels, and transforms, concluding with a jumbo finale — all done standing, with one coin.

• Coin Currency Connection: A restaurant-style visual penetration using a borrowed coin and dollar bill. Fast reset, no smoke — maximum impact.

• Spellbound Nation: A triple change spellbound routine with only one coin (gimmicked). Changes include silver, copper, and Chinese transitions.

• Cards-R-Us: A multi-selection routine that controls several cards and reveals them in progressively impossible ways — under glasses, in pockets, and under a drink.

• Mini Cups & Balls: A variation developed from using smaller cups, packed with clever phases and a surprising triple-load finish.

• Order and Chaos: A compelling "Sympathetic Cards" routine using wine glasses and custom double-facers — concludes with a full mirrored match despite audience shuffling.

• Copper, Silver, Brass Trio: A strong table routine adapted from Gary Kurtz’s original — multiple transpositions, a kicker revelation under spectator’s hand, and a clean finale.

• Ring in Walnut: A stage-ready adaptation of the classic Lemon, Egg, Canary plot, ending with a ring nested in a walnut inside an egg inside a lemon.

• Classic Cups & Balls: John’s elegant, music-driven closer, performed silently to classical music. A full routine built on classical structure, misdirection, and musical precision — ending with large fruit loads.

• Interview with John Shryock by David Kuraya: A candid, heartfelt interview covering philosophy, creativity, family, music, and the discipline of performance.

Highlights

Originality & Refinement:
Every routine is a product of decades of live performance — they are refined, not experimental.

Pedagogical Clarity:
Each method is broken down with careful attention to hand positions, patter, misdirection, and rhythm.

Versatility:
Includes routines for strolling, stage, formal close-up, and parlor. Many effects are modular and reset quickly.

Theatrical Integration:
Strong emphasis on scripting, blocking, music, and timing. Shryock’s routines show how sleight-of-hand can become theatrical art.

Philosophical Depth:
The final chapter is a treasure: Shryock speaks candidly about stress, family, rehearsal, music editing, sincerity, and community.

MAESTRO is the long-awaited first book by renowned magician John Shryock, published by 3 Monkeys Publishing in 2025. The idea for the book was born after a breathtaking live performance at the Magic Castle, where Shryock’s precise timing and effortless mastery led the editorial team to liken him to a conductor — thus the title Maestro.

This book is not just a collection of routines but a deeply structured journey into the mind of a seasoned performer who has dedicated decades to both stage and close-up magic. With routines honed in venues like Caesars Magical Empire, The Magic Castle, and Warren & Annabelle’s, MAESTRO is an ode to discipline, elegance, and meaningful sleight-of-hand.

Main Objective: To preserve and transmit a repertoire of powerful, elegant, and practical magic that John has refined over thousands of performances worldwide, combining technical brilliance with artistic intent.

Thematic Focus:

• Card and coin magic

• Cups & balls and stage routines

• Artistic philosophy

• Performance psychology

• Real-world practicality

MAESTRO is a beautifully illustrated and meticulously explained volume that blends powerful routines with personal stories, structured theory, and honest advice. Each effect is a visual and psychological composition, crafted like a musical score. With over a dozen complete routines, step-by-step sleight explanations, and insights into the life of a professional magician, MAESTRO is a must-have for any magician serious about performance magic. Its timeless routines, subtle refinements, and lyrical approach to presentation elevate it far beyond a simple trick manual.

Each effect in MAESTRO is designed for real-world performers:

• High visual clarity — effects unfold clearly for laypeople.

• Audience engagement — many routines are structured around laughter, participation, and suspense.

• Strong finales — routines build and conclude with emotional and visual punch (e.g., color changes, jumbo coin, fruit loads, etc.)

• Practical setups — methods rely on accessible gimmicks or no gimmicks at all.

• Examples of Captivating Effects:

  • A signed card rises to the top, vanishes, and returns as the only blue card in a red deck.

  • A borrowed ring travels into a walnut inside an egg inside a lemon.

  • Three coins transpose between hands — and reappear under tabled cards with no reset.

These effects astonish because they layer surprises — the magic is always one beat ahead of audience expectations.

MAESTRO is not just a magic book — it is a career distilled into print. Whether you're a working pro looking for audience-tested material or an intermediate magician seeking inspiration and structure, MAESTRO offers depth, clarity, and soul.

With fully choreographed routines, real-world insights, and a tone of generosity and humility, this book is a love letter to the art of magic and the dedication it demands.

A new standard in structured, professional magic. Not to be missed.

Table of Content

Rather than grouping by tricks or essays, the book is a succession of structured, nameable routines and interviews, including:

• Ambitious Triumphant Color Changing Deck: A triple-phase card miracle combining Ambitious Card, Triumph, and a surprise color change. Highly structured and visually astonishing.

• The Winning Hand: A card-to-coin visual transformation that sets the stage for a matrix routine. Emphasizes invisible palming and seamless transitions.

• XIRTAM: A reverse matrix performed with no gimmicks — only four coins and four cards. Each disappearance leads to an impossible final restoration.

• Royal Aces: A progressive transformation of Aces into a Royal Flush with narrative construction and visual revelations.

• JS One Coin Routine: John's opener for over a decade. A coin vanishes, travels, and transforms, concluding with a jumbo finale — all done standing, with one coin.

• Coin Currency Connection: A restaurant-style visual penetration using a borrowed coin and dollar bill. Fast reset, no smoke — maximum impact.

• Spellbound Nation: A triple change spellbound routine with only one coin (gimmicked). Changes include silver, copper, and Chinese transitions.

• Cards-R-Us: A multi-selection routine that controls several cards and reveals them in progressively impossible ways — under glasses, in pockets, and under a drink.

• Mini Cups & Balls: A variation developed from using smaller cups, packed with clever phases and a surprising triple-load finish.

• Order and Chaos: A compelling "Sympathetic Cards" routine using wine glasses and custom double-facers — concludes with a full mirrored match despite audience shuffling.

• Copper, Silver, Brass Trio: A strong table routine adapted from Gary Kurtz’s original — multiple transpositions, a kicker revelation under spectator’s hand, and a clean finale.

• Ring in Walnut: A stage-ready adaptation of the classic Lemon, Egg, Canary plot, ending with a ring nested in a walnut inside an egg inside a lemon.

• Classic Cups & Balls: John’s elegant, music-driven closer, performed silently to classical music. A full routine built on classical structure, misdirection, and musical precision — ending with large fruit loads.

• Interview with John Shryock by David Kuraya: A candid, heartfelt interview covering philosophy, creativity, family, music, and the discipline of performance.

Highlights

Originality & Refinement:
Every routine is a product of decades of live performance — they are refined, not experimental.

Pedagogical Clarity:
Each method is broken down with careful attention to hand positions, patter, misdirection, and rhythm.

Versatility:
Includes routines for strolling, stage, formal close-up, and parlor. Many effects are modular and reset quickly.

Theatrical Integration:
Strong emphasis on scripting, blocking, music, and timing. Shryock’s routines show how sleight-of-hand can become theatrical art.

Philosophical Depth:
The final chapter is a treasure: Shryock speaks candidly about stress, family, rehearsal, music editing, sincerity, and community.