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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.

1. Fully examinable
2. Readable from cover to cover
3. A book that people will know and recognise.
4. No fishing, peeks, glimpses, stooges, or sleight of hand.
5. No complicated memory work.
6. Suitable for stage and close up work.
7. 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.