The Best Mentalism Books — Where to Start and What to Actually Read

The Best Mentalism Books — Where to Start and What to Actually Read

Mentalism is cheating. In the best possible way.

Card magic audiences know they are watching tricks. They enjoy trying to work out how you did it. Mentalism audiences are not sure what they are watching. They think it might be real. That gap — between what they know rationally and what they feel in the moment — is where all the power lives. And the books that teach you to exploit it are a completely different category from card magic books.

Here is what is worth reading. Some of it we sell. Some of it we do not. You are getting the honest list either way.

The Stuff We Do Not Sell (But You Should Still Read)

13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda. Written in the 1950s. Still the most comprehensive single-volume introduction to mentalism available. Still essential. Billets, blindfolds, telepathy, cold reading, predictions, stagecraft — all of it, in one book, explained with unusual clarity. We do not stock it. Get it from a major magic retailer. Read it before you buy another mentalism prop.

Completely Cold by Banachek. Banachek spent years convincing professional researchers that he had genuine psychic ability. This book is where he explains how. Not effects — performance psychology. How to carry yourself, how to handle sceptics, how to make the whole thing feel real rather than performed. Also not in our catalogue. Also essential.

The Stuff We Do Sell — and Why It Is Worth It

Astro Signs by Mike Austin

If you have read our guide to self-working magic books, you already know the argument: when the method is built into the structure of the effect, you can put 100% of your attention on performance. Astro Signs is the mentalism version of that argument, fully realised.

Zero fishing. Zero equivoque. Zero stress. You reveal a spectator's star sign in a way that makes people genuinely uncomfortable — not upset, just unsettled in the way that very strong mentalism makes people feel. No props. No setup. No off nights, because the method cannot fail.

It is the kind of effect that makes people ask if you are actually psychic. That is not an accident.

Get it here: Astro Signs by Mike Austin

Weapons of Mass Deception by Dee Christopher

A different animal entirely. Dee Christopher's approach is grounded in understanding how audiences process apparently impossible events — and then using that understanding to build effects that feel genuinely inexplicable rather than just impressive.

This is not a beginner book. It is for performers who have some experience and are ready to think seriously about why their mentalism works when it works and why it does not when it does not. The effects are strong. The thinking around them is better.

Get it here: Weapons of Mass Deception by Dee Christopher

Mentalissimo

Broader range, more methods, more prop types. A good companion to Astro Signs once you have that one performing reliably and you want to expand what you can do. Solid throughout, nothing that collects dust.

Get it here: Mentalissimo

Self-Working Mental Magic by Karl Fulves

The Fulves methodology applied to mentalism effects. Predictions, mind-reading, number work — all self-working, all built on mathematical principles rather than psychology or fishing. Unglamorous. Reliable. Part of the broader series covered in our Karl Fulves guide.

Get it here: Self-Working Mental Magic by Karl Fulves

Browse the full range: Magic Books at Big Blind Media

The bottom line: Read Corinda first — get it from a major retailer. Then come back here for Astro Signs. Do both before you spend money on any mentalism gadget. You will thank us later.

Questions We Get Asked

Is 13 Steps to Mentalism still relevant?

Completely. It was written in the 1950s and it still has no real competition for breadth. Some of the props and presentations feel dated, but the principles are timeless. We do not stock it — find it through a major magic retailer — and read it before you buy another mentalism effect. It will save you a lot of money.

Where do I start if I have never done mentalism before?

Astro Signs by Mike Austin, available right here. It is completely self-working, requires no props, and lets you reveal a spectator's star sign in a way that looks genuinely impossible. No fishing. No equivoque. No stress. You can be performing it within an hour of opening the book. That is a good place to start.

Do I need special props?

Not for the best stuff. The strongest mentalism tends to work with borrowed objects, everyday items, or nothing at all. Astro Signs needs nothing. Weapons of Mass Deception is largely propless. Resist the urge to buy gadgets before you have the fundamentals. Gadgets cover for missing knowledge, and you end up dependent on them.

What makes mentalism different from card magic?

The audience is not sure you are doing a trick. That is it. That is the whole game. Card magic audiences enjoy the puzzle. Mentalism audiences feel something they cannot quite explain, and that feeling is what makes the effect stick. Getting that gap between what they know intellectually and what they feel emotionally — that is what mentalism books are really teaching you to create.

What mentalism does Big Blind Media carry?

Astro Signs by Mike Austin, Mentalissimo, and Weapons of Mass Deception by Dee Christopher. All three sit at different points on the spectrum — Astro Signs is pure self-working, Weapons of Mass Deception is more performance psychology, Mentalissimo covers a broader range of methods. Between them, you have a solid working mentalism library without leaving the site.