What you'll take away
- 01 The professional crossover, six principles from two thousand years of performance craft (attention, memory, choice, restraint, trajectory, framing) and what they teach anyone who stands in front of a room.
- 02 The philosophy of magic, wonder versus puzzlement, and the art of filling impossible moments with something genuinely human.
- 03 The performer's responsibility, the line between entertainment and manipulation, and why it matters far beyond the stage.
He learned the craft. Now the craft asks, what does it mean?
In the first volume of Late to the Table, Felix went from a deck of cards in a hotel room to a foundation in practice science, cognitive psychology, and performance craft. He could do the moves. The shows worked. The audiences reacted.
And then, sitting on the edge of another hotel bed after another technically successful performance, he felt something he did not expect: nothing. Not failure. Not dissatisfaction. Just a question forming in the back of his mind that craft alone could not answer.
What am I actually doing?
This second volume follows the journey from competence to meaning. From a performer who can execute, to a performer who understands why execution is not enough.
What you will find in these pages
- The professional crossover, six principles from two thousand years of performance craft (attention, memory, choice, restraint, trajectory, framing) and what they teach anyone who stands in front of a room.
- The philosophy of magic, wonder versus puzzlement, the art of filling impossible moments with something genuinely human.
- The performer’s responsibility, the line between entertainment and manipulation, and why it matters far beyond the stage.
- The business of wonder, what magic teaches about entrepreneurship.
- The life. Vulpine Creations, the partnership with Adam Wilber, the integration of magic into keynote speaking, and the reckoning with what it means when a hobby becomes a calling.
This is the story of what happens after you learn the moves. When the question shifts from “Can I do this?” to “What does this mean?” When the art form stops being something you practise and starts being something you are.
The journey started in a hotel room at midnight. It ended somewhere he never expected: home, on stages with Adam Wilber, inside the magic shop they built together, and in the front rows of corporate keynotes where the cards still come out at the end.
If you have read Strong Magic or Maximum Entertainment, this is the volume that goes past competence into the questions craft alone cannot answer.
The table has room. He never left.
Endorsements
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I have spent most of my life in magic, and I have read more books about the craft than I could possibly count. Most teach you what to do. A few teach you how to do it better. Back at the Table asks a far more important question: why does any of it matter? Felix has written something genuinely special. This is a thoughtful, deeply researched exploration of what separates simply fooling an audience from truly moving them. It is about wonder, attention, restraint, meaning, and the responsibility we accept whenever we stand in front of other people and ask for their time. The ideas are intelligent without ever becoming cold or academic. This book did not simply give me new information. It made me stop, reflect, and reconsider parts of my own work, even after more than three decades as a professional magician. Whether you are a magician, speaker, storyteller, or anyone who stands in front of a room hoping to create something meaningful, read this book slowly. It deserves a place on every serious performer's shelf.
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In an era where ideas are everywhere and everyone is chasing the next new trick, the magic world is actually missing two things: an obsession with quality and the execution to make it real. As a producer known for being notoriously picky, I'm strict about who I work with. A great idea without elite craftsmanship is just a distraction. Working with Adam Wilber and Felix Lenhard to produce Color Psychology and the W4 Wallet put me in the role of the uncompromising gatekeeper. Felix might call himself a 'latecomer,' but the twenty years of business logic he brings is exactly the kind of depth I look for when defining 'high-end magic.' These books tell it like it is: the real barrier in magic isn't about how fast your hands are; it's about how you design the experience. If you want to understand why some magic becomes art, Felix is your guide. I'm proud to have stood behind these products and helped define the modern aesthetic of magic alongside them.
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When Adam and Felix came together to form Vulpine Creations I knew this was something special. They immediately stood out in the magic marketplace as a company with vision and a real love for the art. Not only were their products of the highest quality but everything was infused with originality, clever methods and wicked humour. It is so difficult to carve out your own niche within an already niche industry, but Vulpine Creations certainly did that.
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Few people combine strategic thinking, technical expertise, and creative flair like Felix does. Coming from both the innovation and magic industries, he brings a unique mindset that helps translate abstract ideas into concrete, market-ready products. His leadership at Vulpine Creations helped shape some of the most successful magic effects on the international market. What impressed me most was his ability to bring structure into creative chaos without ever compromising the soul of the project.
Reader reviews
10 verified reader reviews across Amazon marketplaces, averaging 5.0 out of 5.
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One of the best magic books I have read, and here's why it stands out
For context, I have been doing magic for about 30 years and I read a lot of books. This book is nothing like I have read, and here's why. It is practical, it is written elegantly, it is filled with wisdom, and it is a very easy read. What is different about this book is that you see the writing of a man who puts his vulnerability on display. He walks you through his mistakes and what he learned. It is like listening to his inner dialogue. The book is loaded with stories of him thinking through a performance and dissecting it to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are many books out there on theory and showmanship, but I haven't come across one where I feel like I'm sitting next to a fellow magician on a long drive home, listening to him talk out loud about a show and how to make it better. This book is for someone who thinks deeply about their magic, who wants to perform magic and not show puzzles, who cares about audience engagement, and who wants to create shared experiences rather than do magic at the audience. If you are a seasoned performer, the contents will undoubtedly improve the way you think about your magic and your act. Purchasing this book is a no-brainer.
honest abe · Amazon.com
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Finally, the practical stuff nobody talks about
If you liked the first one, just buy this now. Volume 1 gets your head in the right space, but Volume 2 is the actual blueprint for taking your work to a real stage. What I loved most is that it covers all the background stuff that can make or break a show: sound gear, music cues, lighting, what to wear, and how to deal with rowdy crowds. Most magic books just teach you tricks, but this teaches you how to run a proper show. All the things that haunt you days before the event, but most importantly months after. Felix even shares his own worst stage failures and breaks down step by step how he fixed them, which takes real guts to publish.
Richard L. · Amazon.de
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Great for magicians that fall prey to getting things backwards...
...like me. I bought a decent sound system, and thought my "infrastructure" was covered. My focus has been on "great material." Truth is, if push came to shove, bad material through good infrastructure may be better than good material through bad infrastructure. (You get my point.) One chapter alone is worth the cost of the book for me. From using my equipment properly, to music, to lighting, to wardrobe...and this is only one of the many behind-the-scenes sectors I've left largely unexamined. How easy is it to have our set polished to perfection, but allow peripheral factors to rain on the party. I offer that as but one example of the pro tips you'll discover in this book, which are aimed at helping us shore up weaknesses we may not even recognize exist. Extrapolate that to show architecture, directing, character, audience management, and the list goes on - the Classic Pass or Force may be the easy part. You won't learn any new tricks...but your existing set may come to life like never before. Worthy stuff.
Scott VE · Amazon.com
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Rundum lesenswert!
Sehr lesenswert und unterhaltsam, dazu gespickt mit indirekten Tipps. Obwohl von einem österreichischen Autor verfasst in brilliantem Englisch, als wäre da ein Native Speaker am Werk. Schon das ein Genuss!
R · Amazon.de · Verified Purchase
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An extremely generous book packed with real world knowledge
Felix has a reputation for his generosity in the magic community and this work just further proves that. This is a wealth of knowledge about many facets of the practice and performance of magic. The psychology of the crowd and also the psychology of the performer that is competing with social media performers and ultimately competing with yourself. By the way, this book is huge at more than 400 pages and in addition to the first book will be a valuable resource for years to come.
joseph Chin · Amazon.com
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From mastery to meaning, and from expertise to presence
As a magician, coach, and leadership development practitioner, I found this totally thought-provoking. It asks what happens when competence is no longer enough, when the deeper questions become: what experience am I creating for others? What responsibility comes with influencing attention and perception? What values does my practice embody? His reflections on consent, the treatment of participants, authenticity, inclusion, wonder, and the difference between impressing people and genuinely moving them are subtle, practical, and often profound. His central insight is that magic is an "empty vessel" whose meaning depends on what the performer chooses to place within it, and it could equally be applied to leadership, coaching, education, or any profession involving influence. This is real wisdom about becoming a more conscious practitioner: someone capable not only of producing an effect, but of creating an experience that is meaningful, respectful, and alive.
Philippe Joannis · Amazon.fr
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A great book to help you develop as a magic entertainer
Many of us start in magic to learn tricks. Felix teaches in these books how to go to the next level, whether you want to be a professional or just be more entertaining. This is a dense book with so much information, not a quick read but one to study. I particularly liked the sections on how to develop a magic set. I also look forward to exploring the list of books he references.
Angela Richardson · Amazon.com
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The Lessons I Learned at the Table
This book is useful for the intermediate performers, the people who want to learn what can be done to make their work original. What patter, words, and even jokes can separate you as your own. I also would say this is a very strong must for the beginners to learn for growth and using originality. I believe Felix's words when his performances did not meet his standards, when he showed that vulnerability of a trick, and pattern of another magician not meshing with his own. Then going further into the book on how he planned to correct that, learn, and make it so that his performance works the way he wants.
BK · Amazon.com
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10/10 would recommend
Back at the Table liest sich angenehm leicht und ist trotzdem voll mit Gedanken, die hängen bleiben. Der Autor verpackt viele praktische Tipps in persönliche Erfahrungen und Geschichten, ohne dass es sich wie ein klassischer Ratgeber anfühlt. Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, dass das Buch unterhaltsam bleibt und trotzdem immer wieder zum Nachdenken anregt. Viele Hinweise kommen eher nebenbei, sind aber genau deshalb besonders wirkungsvoll. Insgesamt ein sehr lesenswertes Buch, das nicht belehrt, sondern auf eine angenehme Art neue Perspektiven vermittelt.
Amadeus Linzer · Amazon.de
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Lessons for modern performers, everything but the tricks
There are certain things you can't teach, but Back at the Table tries and succeeds. It's not about the tricks, it's about the persona, the belief behind the performance, and it's quite good.
Magic Michael · Amazon.com
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