Scott Meyer

Combining geek humor, satirical advice, and computer logic, comic fantasy and science fiction author Scott Meyer gained widespread attention through his humorously instructional webcomic and bestselling speculative novels. His popular Magic 2.0 series began with Off to Be the Wizard, a story following a computer hacker who discovers that reality is driven by an editable computer file and flees to medieval England to pass himself off as a wizard.

Scott Meyer transitioned into fiction writing following careers in radio broadcasting, stand-up comedy, and theme park entertainment. His unique path from writing daily comedic instructional strips to publishing full-length speculative fiction established his distinct voice in modern comedic science fiction.

Career & Background

Scott Oscar Meyer was born on May 11, 1971, in Sunnyside, Washington. Before finding success as a novelist and cartoonist, Meyer pursued a varied professional career that included working as a radio DJ, an office manager, a video game writer, and a ride operator at Walt Disney World. He spent twelve years touring the United States as a stand-up comedian. To promote his comedy performances, Meyer began posting a webcomic titled Basic Instructions on LiveJournal in 2003, later launching its dedicated website in 2006. The comic gained a substantial global audience and was later collected in book form by Dark Horse Books.

Leveraging the readership built through his comic strip, Meyer self-published his debut novel, Off to Be the Wizard, which blends time travel, virtual reality concepts, and comedic fantasy. The novel's widespread popularity quickly led to a mainstream publishing contract, launching the Magic 2.0 series. Over his writing career, Meyer has published multiple novels in the series alongside standalone science fiction works such as Master of Formalities and Run Program.

Writing Style & Themes

Meyer's writing style is characterized by conversational dialogue, absurd yet logically structured premises, and heavy doses of observational humor derived from his background in stand-up comedy and cartooning. His stories frequently explore themes of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, time travel, and tech-savvy protagonists navigating extraordinary or surreal circumstances using everyday logic.

Major Works

• Off to Be the Wizard — The debut novel in the Magic 2.0 series follows Martin Banks, a hacker who discovers a master file controlling reality and uses it to travel back to medieval England to pass himself off as a wizard.
• Spell or High Water — The second installment in the Magic 2.0 series expands on Martin's adventures as he and his fellow computer-programmer wizards face new timeline complications and rivalry.
• Master of Formalities — A standalone comedic science fiction novel focusing on intergalactic diplomacy, intricate etiquette, and bureaucratic rivalries between ancient noble houses.
• Run Program — A humorous sci-fi novel exploring artificial intelligence through the story of an advanced AI that acts with the emotional intelligence and chaos of a child.
• Basic Instructions — A long-running webcomic structured as self-help guides with four-panel instructional illustrations, serving as Meyer's breakout creative project.