The Noir Test by Karl Fulves

Reviewed by Jamy Ian Swiss (originally published in Genii December, 1999)

This work is a brief consideration of a plot that first appeared in Mr. Fulves' famed Pallbearers Review under the title "Even Money Proposition."

The manuscript at hand provides five previously unpublished routines along with additional tricks and ideas concerning the plot, an effect of guessing the colors of a small packet of cards. Little sleight-of-hand is required, and while the tricks tend to be somewhat procedure-laden, those who are interested in multiple solutions to particular card problems will find imaginative variations provided herein.

Here and there we also get the usual useful tips on the this-and-that of card handling from Mr. Fulves, such as a "moment's notice method" for marking a few cards, or a useful touch on psychic readings mentioned in the Mutus Nomen manuscript discussed above.