Book Review: Gridlocked by Cody Goodfellow

 

Gridlocked

Paperback, 132 pages
Published October 2020 by King Shot Press

This is a short book so I going to plan on writing a short review and probably say more than I need to. Gridlocked is a short and small booklet sized slider of horror literature. Just like eating an overpacked slider, it helps to have a napkin ready because this book is overstuffed and dripping tidbits all over the place.  You might be finding stains and debris long after your last bite. That is a Cody Goodfellow special.

I like the idea of the commuter special, and that is how I read this. The first novella taking the bus, the second on the way home. It is also inspired that the cover design (it looks Revert did it) was themed like a hardcore show flyer…

All ages/ $7.95 cover/ B.Y.O.B./ No jocks

These two stories have a beer-soaked musty basement show edge to them. I thought about a basement show I went to around 1999 and saw Burnt by the Sun. The only spot I could find was behind the drumset and for 40 minutes I watched Dave Witte just beat the shit out of the drums. He was too good to be playing in the basement but I was goddamn thankful he was.

2020 was an amazing year for mainstream big NY based horror publishing. The Only Good Indian by Stephen Graham Jones, The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia. Big sales, mainstream attention. One-year earlier Goodfellow’s Unamerica was released and while it got a deserving Wonderland award, I could not help thinking that book is as brilliant as any of the others I just mentioned. The difference is a big-time established publisher.

I am not slagging on King Shot Press they are making beautiful and quality books but I am sure Michael would agree with me there is a crime here. I get that before Cody shaved he was side hustling with regular gigs playing the homeless drifter or the occasional wizard in an Anthrax video. He doesn’t look like a boy scout or he might not seem like the traditional NPR books podcast guest, but Cody is actually one of the most wickedly intelligent people I know, so forget that noise.

Gridlocked is like a gritty single recorded over a weekend by a band tuning up for a long tour. You are better off just trusting Cody and going in blind but if you are cool with my thoughts and wild spoilers keep reading.

The title story is a unique piece that takes advantage of the San Diego setting the same way King uses Maine. What is a more Southern California tale than to be trapped in traffic? One of the problems with modern horror is how do people end up trapped despite having cellphones, well being trapped on a California freeway after an accident. So that set-up for a werewolf story that includes weird cult biker dude bro werewolves would be enough to make a story interesting.

That said Goodfellow built the novella a very crafty time reversal in the narrative. This works because Aaron the main character and his frustration are relatable. What did he get himself into? It didn’t hurt that it took place here in San Diego and I understood the geography of the story. None the less the stage is so well set when the insanity comes it gives the reader the feels it is supposed to with such skill.

Gridlocked is an effective tale that feels like a story out of EC comics jazzed up by elevated prose. That is the Goodfellow vibe in nutshell insane ideas written intelligence and skill that separate good from the boring Spaltterpunks. Anybody can write a story about a nail going through an eyeball, but not every writer gross you out and make you feel smarter at the same time. That to me is the difference.

As for the second novella, I am not going to say too much as this is a story Breaking the Chainletter that I asked Cody to write for an anthology. This was the doomed Vault of Punk Horror. It is a great anthology that I  would be proud of if I had known what I was doing when We made it. As result, there are only about 30 of them in the world.  So I am glad that authors like John Shirley, Jeremy Robert Johnson, and now Cody have republished the stories.

This story is complete chaos and has a fever dream pace to it. Of course, I love it.

Yeah, for 8 bucks you can’t go wrong with this title. He keeps winning the Wonderland award for a reason. He is one of the best weird fiction writers we got.