There has to be something in the water at some writer’s retreat somewhere that is quietly, magically morphing normal humans into the best kind of authors. How else do you explain the emergence of Drew Hayes, Rachel Aaron, Dennis E. Taylor, and Scott Meyer all at around the same time?
I thought we had hit the heyday of fantasy and science fiction when we had Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, David Eddings, and others like Diana Wynne Jones and Diane Duane, but I have to say I’m a little bit biased towards the current generation.
Of all of the above, none of them is as consistently funny and off-beat in such a charming way as Scott Meyer. I adore his Magic 2.0 series which starts with Off to Be a Wizard. If this series and Hitchhiker’s Guide were hanging off a cliff and I could only save one, I’d clutch Magic 2.0 to my chest and wave a fond farewell to Hitchhiker. (Of course, with the Infinite Improbability Drive engaged, you know Hitchhiker’s never going to hit the ground, but it might hold a grudge.)
That brings us to today’s novel, That’s Not Right, which looks like a stand-alone, but could easily be the start of a new series. This time around, we have Amber, a young girl who got tired of recording her idiot boyfriend and his friends hitting each other with golf balls and has taken on a new job, filming Jack, a radio guy who talks to people on the edge about weird stuff he doesn’t believe in. Amber, on the other hand, is a big fan, and much more willing to believe. Against Jack’s wishes, they head out on the road to record the unexplained and unbelievable.
Part of the time this reminded me of one of my favorite TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, only a little less eerie, and with a lot more laughs. Even more, it reminded me of the 5-Minute Sherlock series by Drew Hayes, and let me tell you, there is no bigger compliment from me to be compared favorably to Mr Drew Hayes.
The book doesn’t definitively say that the unexplained is always explainable and that’s part of the charm. Is this fantasy or science fiction or just good humor?
Yes.
It’s a quick book and one with a lot of laughs. If you read it, and you should, let me know if you think the unexplained is more hilarious than fantastic. I’m sure you’ll have a good ride, either way.
4 road-tripping-head-tripping stars
