Price$110.00
Media TypeTrick
CategoryGeneral, Bizarre, Close Up, Mentalism
Date AddedJun 23, 2015
Jekyll & Hyde Test
Scott Olgard
(Based on 2 reviews)
- PETER TURNER
"The Jekyll & Hyde test is a thing of sheer beauty! Modern, slick and baffling for the people that view it. Right up my street!"
- BEN CARDALL
"A 'BEAST' of a book test!"
- STEVE GORE
LIMITED EDITION! ONLY 500 COPIES RELEASED!
Take your book test to the next level.
From the minds of Scott Olgard and Luke Jonas comes a new, ground breaking book test that is limited only by your own imagination. Welcome to The Jekyll & Hyde Test.
Effect - The performer begins by introducing the book as his favourite book growing up and that he has set himself the challenge of memorising the entire 26,694 words of the book. A spectator (or spectators) is asked up onto the stage to assist and the performer never touches the book.
The spectator is asked to flick through the book, change pages a few times, then settle on one page. With no fishing, the performer is able to recite an entire line from the page. There is genuinely no force, and the spectator can see that other pages are not duplicates. Secondly, a spectator from the audience writes down 3 or 4 page numbers, unseen by the performer, and the spectator on stage turns to one of those pages without telling the performer. Through body language/mind reading, (whatever the performer's style) the performer first is able to give small details, and then reveal, word for word, the entire first paragraph. The performer decides to take things one step further by having the spectator again turn to another page, unknown to the performer and settle on a truly random word. The performer can then reveal the word through whichever method suits his style. Fully examinable Readable from cover to cover A book that people will know and recognise. No fishing, peeks, glimpses, stooges, or sleight of hand. No complicated memory work. Suitable for stage and close up work. Includes Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde book, along with 46 page concise instructions.Bonus effects, include a drawing duplication that you will be able to perform within 5 minutes of receiving this product! You can have your spectator attach a personal memory to one of the words in the book and reveal the memory piece by piece.
It doesn't stop there. You can adapt this book test to suit any of your needs, and combine it with any book test you already own. This book test is limited only by your imagination.
Take the next step with your Book Test.
Welcome to 'The Jekyll & Hyde Test'
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: We Weren't Born to Follow by Bon Jovi
Scott Olgard & Luke Jonas: The Jekyll & Hyde Test Reviewed
46 pages of instruction, one gaffed copy of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and $110 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
The effect(s) is/are standard mentalism "stuff." The three advertised effects, in a nutshell are:
A Line
Spectator turns to any page, tells you the page, and you are able to recite from memory (or mind reading) the first line of the page.
A Paragraph
You recite, word for word, the first paragraph of a page.
A Word
You name a word being thought of on a specific line of a page.
The Three bonus effects are
Mmry
The spectator thinks of a word (from a page in the book) and links it to a childhood memory. You divine the memory.
Artist
The spectator thinks of a word (from a page in the book) and you draw a picture that matches the word.
A Page
This is same as A Line above, but in reverse. The spectator reads the first line of the page, and you tell her what page she's on.
Effects Summary
Those are the "nutshell" description of the effects. In the Method, Ad Copy Integrity and Product Quality sections, below, we'll discuss things further.
Method
The basic method, without revealing too much is that you memorized a whole bunch of stuff. You will need to learn a memory peg system to help you tie a key word to each page number of the book, and you'll have to memorize a bunch of other stuff. Nothing impossible, but it will take some effort on your part. The rest of the method is addressed in the Ad Copy Integrity and Product Quality sections.
Ad Copy Integrity
There are some things in the ad copy that are, at minimum, misleading . . . and . . . here . . . we . . . go . . .
A Line
The ad copy says "no fishing" but it fails to mention that you need to ask for the page number. While it's true that you don't have to "fish" for the words to be able to recite the entire line from memory, you do have to ask them for the page number. I have no problem with that for the method, but I can see how one could easily be lead to believe (based on the ad copy) that you're never told the page number. We'll call this ad copy error a mistake rather than a lie . . . giving them the benefit of the doubt.
A Paragraph
The way the ad copy is written, during the A Line write up, the claim that no force is used is made. While that's true for A Line, it's not true for A Paragraph. Due to the way the ad copy is structured, I can see how one could easily be lead to believe that a force is not used in A Paragraph. We'll call this ad copy error a mistake rather than a lie . . . trying my patience . . . but still giving them the benefit of the doubt.
A Word
The ad copy here claims that the spectator turns to any page and settles on a "truly random word" which the mentalist then reveals via mind reading, prediction, etc. Well . . . in my mind, "truly random" means that it really could be any word on the page. However, this is not the case. Not only is this a force word, but the spectator is told to add up the digits of the page number and go down that many lines of the page and think of the longest word on the line.
With instructions that specific, it's hardly "truly random." If the ad copy had said "apparently random," that would be more honest and accurate. Also, based on the earlier claim during A Line that no force is used, I can see how one could easily be lead to believe that a force is not used in A Word. We'll call this ad copy error the third strike . . . but maybe still an honest mistake?
Bullet Point Ad Claims
Next up is a list of bullet points that attempt to summarize the fairness of the method. Let's examine each one.
- Fully examinable
- Readable from cover to cover
- A book that people will know and recognise.
- No fishing, peeks, glimpses, stooges, or sleight of hand.
- No complicated memory work.
- Suitable for stage and close up work.
- Includes Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde book, along with 46 page concise instructions.
Numbers one, two and three are true. The book is fully examinable and can be read cover to cover, and of course Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a well recognized book.
Number four is pretty accurate. There is no fishing, but keep in mind that one of the effects requires you to know the page number so you have to ask them the page number. There are not stooges, and there is no sleight of hand. However, with regard to peeks/glimpses, it is true that you don't need to glimpse text or page numbers, etc., but there are effects with methods that require you to look at the book to see roughly what part of the book they are looking at. It's not really a peak per se. It's more like a blatant and open look.
Number 5 is absolutely NOT true. The memory work is complicated. It's doable, and within the grasp of anyone who is willing to put in the time, but having to memorize a peg system, two key word to page number links, 3 full paragraphs and 50 lines of text is not what I would consider "no complicated memory work."
The last two claims are 100% true.
Overall Integrity
The final claim about a bonus effect that you can do five minutes after receiving the product is true. As you can see, there are a few places that seem, at the very least, a bit sloppy. I'm not saying that they were trying to lie or deceive you. I'm merely clarifying what you will read in the ad copy.
If you're okay with the claims vs. what I've explained to be the truth, then groovy.
Product Quality
The book and instructions are both well made. The instructions are thorough and cover the methods in great detail including all the memory work and techniques involved. There are, however, a couple of issues.
The for A Line method requires you to memorize two key words and associate them with the page number. The Instructions claim that page 9 is blank and therefore there's nothing to memorize for that page. However, it is not blank. If a spectator chooses this page, neither the A Line trick nor the A Word trick will work. In fact, if page 10 is chosen, the A Word trick won't work either. Also, the peg system they teach, while mostly good has a couple of oddities. For example, the peg letter for the number 6 is B/P, yet the peg word created from that is "Day." This makes no sense. If B/P are the peg letters for 6, then the word should be something like "Pay" or "Bay" or "Babe" or something that uses a P or a B.
Lastly, for the effect Mmry, they are told to look at the first paragraph of the "selected" page and think of a word that they can link to their childhood. In most cases, this will be enough to get them to think of the object that they are supposed to (i.e., the one you want them to). However, there is a case on one of the "special" pages that they might think of the wrong item. If they grew up Catholic, their childhood memory might be about a Nun (one of the words in the "special" paragraphs) rather than the word you want them to think of.
Final Thoughts
Is this a good effect? That's your call. Once you've mastered the needed methods and memory stuff, this is a very clean looking book test. You claim to have the book memorized and the spectator turns to a page, tells you the number, and you are able to recite the first line of that page instanly (assuming you're memory is working properly). Then they "select" a page, and you recite the first paragraph from that page. Then they look at any page (except 9 and 10), and think of a "long" word that is X number of lines down the page ("X" is determined by telling them to add the two digits of the page together). You are able to name the word.
Next they "select" another page and think of a word from the first paragraph that can be tied to a childhood memory. You can then divine (ish) that memory (unless they were beaten by Catholic Nuns as a child).
If you like what you've read and don't mind the "issues" I've mentioned, then you're final question is whether or not you're willing to part with $110 bucks to be able to do this effect.
I can't give it 5 stars with the ad copy errors. I can't give it 4.5 stars with the product quality errors. I'm torn somewhere betwen 3.5 and 4 stars. This is a perfect case for a 3.75 star status, but alas, I must choose from what I have, and so it is:
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of gem . . . giving them the benefit of the doubt.
(Top ▲)
This is a fairly overpriced, yet versatile gimmicked book.
First off, while it DOES look like a real book, the front cover image is ripped from the DVD cover of the major motion picture "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" While some laypeople may see this image and just accept they have seen it 'somewhere' before, some VERY perceptive spectators MAY call the image from it's original source.
Second, the book is not extremely thick, so I'm not sure how impressive it will be to the audience when you 'claim' to have memorized the whole book. That said, the book IS well produced, and the instruction booklet is VERY clear.
When it comes to the presentation, for me, I think if you've proven you've 'memorized' the book, the later claims of you 'reading minds' could be undercut. I'm sure there's a way to work this out presentationally. The first phase uses the gimmicked book, and does require some REAL memorization, just not as much as you are claiming.
While the second phase is really reliable and could use any book, the final phase uses the gimmicked book, and requires the spectator to add the digits of a page number up, and count down to a line. If the spectator screws up the math, or mis counts the lines, the finale will NOT work.
Again, there could be a way around this, but for me, I want to avoid all of that if I'm using a gimmicked book. If you are ok with math and counting lines in your book tests, or you collect book test methods, and the price tag doesn't bother you, I think the odds are good that you will be happy.
First off, while it DOES look like a real book, the front cover image is ripped from the DVD cover of the major motion picture "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" While some laypeople may see this image and just accept they have seen it 'somewhere' before, some VERY perceptive spectators MAY call the image from it's original source.
Second, the book is not extremely thick, so I'm not sure how impressive it will be to the audience when you 'claim' to have memorized the whole book. That said, the book IS well produced, and the instruction booklet is VERY clear.
When it comes to the presentation, for me, I think if you've proven you've 'memorized' the book, the later claims of you 'reading minds' could be undercut. I'm sure there's a way to work this out presentationally. The first phase uses the gimmicked book, and does require some REAL memorization, just not as much as you are claiming.
While the second phase is really reliable and could use any book, the final phase uses the gimmicked book, and requires the spectator to add the digits of a page number up, and count down to a line. If the spectator screws up the math, or mis counts the lines, the finale will NOT work.
Again, there could be a way around this, but for me, I want to avoid all of that if I'm using a gimmicked book. If you are ok with math and counting lines in your book tests, or you collect book test methods, and the price tag doesn't bother you, I think the odds are good that you will be happy.