Todd Gipstein

Magician's Choice Todd Gipstein

This historical fiction novel follows the story of Guy, a young man coming of age in the 1930s and 1940s. As a birthday present for his thirteenth birthday, Guy's mother takes him to see the great Harry Blackstone Sr.'s 1001 Wonders Magic Show. Guy helps on stage, meets Blackstone, gets a magic set, and decides he wants to become a magician himself. Seeking his destiny, Guy encounters some of the great figures in magic of the era including Blackstone, Lou Tannen and Dai Vernon. He joins a carnival where he has adventures with an oddball assortment of colorful characters. Guy's journey features the Garde Theater and other locations in New London, Connecticut; small towns of the South; the deserts of Africa in WWII; and the theaters, magic stores and night clubs of New York. Along the way, there are guest appearances by Albert Einstein and Ella Fitzgerald. "Magician's Choice" is an exploration of youth and age, fame and betrayal, vengeance and compassion, love and forgiveness. As it transports readers inside the world of performers, the story explores themes of free will and fate. "Magician's Choice" is a tale full of surprises, secrets, and wonder. A story where things and people are not always what they seem to be. With a foreword by Harry Blackstone Sr.'s daughter-in-law Gay Blackstone.