Book Review: Strategies Against Nature by Cody Goodfellow

Strategies Against Nature by Cody Goodfellow

Paperback, 278 pages

Published March 2015 by King Shot Press

Cody Goodfellow is easily my favorite writer of our generation, he is one of the authors that as soon as something is released I make sure I get in my paws on it as soon as possible. Strategies Against Nature is Goodfellow's third collection (after Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars and All Monster Action) and like the previous entries it is fantastic. It was bound to happen as I started to follow Cody's entries in magazines and collections, but the funny thing is I read many of these stories before.

Many things make Cody Goodfellow such an excellent writer, it is best for me to sum them up than to just try an explain what happens in the book. Cody is both intelligent and in a storytelling sense totally insane. My two favorite pieces in the collection ones I had read/heard Cody perform before were Wasted on the Young and Nature's Mother. None the less I enjoyed re-reading those as much as the two stories that were new to the collection.

Wasted on the Young is great example of what makes Cody special. It is a short story but presents several powerful ideas. The story of a annual punk show that is populated by posers abducted and forced to see the real thing. This punk horror tale has to be be the product of modern writer, one who grew-up on the fringes but also is highly literate and accomplished writer. That is what Cody balances.

Goodfellow is a Lovecraft expert, and as such he has been falsely stereotyped as a purely Lovecraftian author. At times he is, but Nature's Mother is a great example of very different influences. It is a politically smart sci-fi freak out that shows heavy influence from Philip K. Dick and Cyberpunk math genius Rudy Rucker.

I will tell you to to buy just about anything with Goodfellow's name on it, but this collection is a great introduction. Wasted on Young is one of my favorite short stories of all time.