That’s Not Right by Scott Myer

Bjorn reviews That’s Not Right, a standalone satire/urban fantasy novel by Scott Meyer.

Amber is a young videographer who has landed her dream job. She is to produce a web series based on a late-night talk radio show dealing with the unexplained. She is a huge fan of the show, and its host, Jack Owens, who she hopes to help reveal the world’s most cryptic secrets.

The first secret she reveals is Jack’s. He doesn’t believe any of this crap. To him, the show is just a cushy job that allows him to support himself and his wife without having to try very hard. He doesn’t want to leave his house, go anywhere near the things he’s reported on or the people who come on his show, who he thinks, or at least hopes, are liars.

But go near them, he will! And so will you! Join Jack and Amber as they

Monstrous Creatures
Scientific Anomalies
Shadowy Conspiracies
Secretive agencies
Medical Abnormalities
Ancient curses
Life After Death and/or the Key to Immortality (Yes! Both of those things!)
All that, and some really creepy kids!

Read this book, and you’ll agree, “That’s Not Right.”

“I like my rut. I’ve worked hard to create this rut. We’re damn lucky to have a rut this nice. A lot of people would love to have this rut.”

Saint Etienne – ‘You’re in a Bad Way’

That’s Not Right is my first book by Scott Meyer, whom I know from his web comic Basic Instructions (now available via Patreon here). I’ve been a fan of Basic Instructions for approximately ever and when Scott took a long sabbatical, I was inconsolable; luckily, he didn’t just come back, but is on top form. But this is supposed to be a review of the book, not the comic…

Jack and Amber are a bit like Scully and Mulder, if The X-Files was 1) funny, 2) written and produced today, when everyone and their dog (called Dad) aspires to be an #influencer, 3) completely different. And also cynical. Jack, the host of a radio show about the unexplained and the fantastic, called That’s Not Right – hence the book’s title – does what he does, because it pays enough. Amber, fresh out of a super popular show in which her ex and some other guys hit each other in the balls with golf balls – millions of views – wants to take Jack’s radio fame all the way to the top (i.e. YouTube). She is very distraught to discover that Jack doesn’t really believe his callers and upset when she tries to deliver the best material she can, only to have it rejected. The content that gets views is not supposed to be interesting. It’s supposed to have Jack accidentally humiliating himself in as many ways as possible.

Over the course of the book, divided into a few parts, they discover the unexplained can sometimes be explained and, as the truly explosive final part proves, sometimes…can’t, because truth is stranger than fiction (which is true). That’s Not Right is greatly enjoyable, although not without flaws – the conversation with the physics professor unfortunately makes way too much sense to work as satire and was the only part I skimmed. The humour in the book is definitely of the British variety, which is interesting coming from an author born in the US and based in Europe. It’s not a laugh-out-loud book, but the short sketches/one-liners (the web comic background is showing) brought a lot of snørts from me. There are four cats, a dog, an eel-man, a professor (‘I profess to be one!’), and of course the smallcano – and a range of characters that are, really, characters not to be forgotten easily.

The open ending suggests there might be a follow-up and I definitely hope for one. Meyer’s writing bursts with fresh ideas, the book reads smoothly and easily, and apart from minor niggles – I know that writer advice suggests only ever using the verb ‘said’, but seeing it five times in five sentences is not something I particularly like – I enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend That’s Not Right to fans of The X-Files who have sense of humour, ideally British-leaning, and for people who think influencers are really a conspiracy theory.