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Delta Green Fiction
Delta Green: Strange Authorities
THIS IS THE END AND THE BEGINNING Delta Green co-creator John Scott Tynes merges Lovecraftian cosmic horror with techno-thriller espionage in these four stories and a novel interconnected by a web of THE CORN KING An old warrior on a rogue operation is determined to call down the thunder one last time. But he's keeping a secret that may unlock a darker destiny. FINAL REPORT “Entry One has been breached. Time to get this show on the road. They have no idea the kind of Hell I've prepared for them. May God have mercy on my soul.” MY FATHER’S SON A Delta Green agent with a mysterious past may learn more than he ever wanted to know when his current case leads where he never dared to go. THE DARK ABOVE In the face of madness and horror, two lonely Delta Green agents reach out to each other. Can they really afford such fragile bonds when the secrets of the night surf roll in? THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT An agent’s disappearance pulls a Delta Green team into a vortex of horror in this novel of personal apocalypse. The secrets they uncover threaten to ignite a war between the Delta Green conspiracy and its bitterest enemy, Majestic-12 — secrets buried within time itself. Foreword by Kenneth Hite.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2012
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136 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 29, 2013
Tynes is a master storyteller. The world he helped create, the world of Delta Green, is horrific, frightening, schizophrenic, and altogether familiar. These tales are gripping and supremely entertaining and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in looking behind the veil of the safe and known and into the dark realm of the possible.
August 19, 2024
Probablemente el mejor de los relatos de DG de la era de los 90. Clásico
May 29, 2025
I absolutely loved this. I’m a massive Delta Green fan and this really hit for me.
April 16, 2014
Finally got around to reading this, and I'm glad I did. I got this primarily to read the short novel The Rules of Engagement, but I enjoyed the short stories as well - particularly "The Dark Above," which ties in to the novel.
The novel is a little scattershot at first, but things pull together well as the story progresses and the end is as explosive and strange as one could hope for from a Delta Green book. Fans of the Delta Green role playing game will get the most out of this, but there's plenty to interest fans of spy novels, thrillers and Cthulhu mythos tales.
The novel is a little scattershot at first, but things pull together well as the story progresses and the end is as explosive and strange as one could hope for from a Delta Green book. Fans of the Delta Green role playing game will get the most out of this, but there's plenty to interest fans of spy novels, thrillers and Cthulhu mythos tales.
April 21, 2023
Now this is what I was looking for: Where Delta Green: Where Tales from Failed Anatomies felt like a teaser to get you interested in the world of Delta Green, Delta Green: Strange Authorities feels like a main course. A story that stands mostly on its own, but does touch some stuff from the earlier mentioned book, while also leaving enough room for certain characters and plots to further unfold in future novels.
When I started reading this, I got the feeling that again I was reading a compilation of short stories. But soon enough it became apparent how the stories intertwined and then we got to the main story about the agents that make up ‘cell T.’ It’s a story that’s more about spycraft and various U.S. government conspiracies acting against one another than it is about the supernatural. Sure, the supernatural is important, but it’s an important backdrop to which a well-researched, high-stakes tale of espionage takes place. It’s a story of how one investigation leads the agents into a rabbit hole and the deeper they dig, the higher the stakes and of course the agents are flawed humans, and mistakes are made leading to interesting and unexpected situations. I couldn’t stop reading this book, because I was anxious to know how the story would continue and what would happen to the characters.
One high mark was the organized car chase, in which five agents in their care were tailing a suspect. The way in which this was described gave me a whole new appreciation for how difficult it actually is to organize a good tale, while staying undetected.
I’m a bit more critical of the last chapter, which was pretty much okay, but I did find that two of the heroes (let’s just call them that) ‘rambo’ their way through a highly guarded research complex.
While this did have a good resolution in the end, I did find that this went a little too much the way of an action movie…
All in all highly recommended.
When I started reading this, I got the feeling that again I was reading a compilation of short stories. But soon enough it became apparent how the stories intertwined and then we got to the main story about the agents that make up ‘cell T.’ It’s a story that’s more about spycraft and various U.S. government conspiracies acting against one another than it is about the supernatural. Sure, the supernatural is important, but it’s an important backdrop to which a well-researched, high-stakes tale of espionage takes place. It’s a story of how one investigation leads the agents into a rabbit hole and the deeper they dig, the higher the stakes and of course the agents are flawed humans, and mistakes are made leading to interesting and unexpected situations. I couldn’t stop reading this book, because I was anxious to know how the story would continue and what would happen to the characters.
One high mark was the organized car chase, in which five agents in their care were tailing a suspect. The way in which this was described gave me a whole new appreciation for how difficult it actually is to organize a good tale, while staying undetected.
I’m a bit more critical of the last chapter, which was pretty much okay, but I did find that two of the heroes (let’s just call them that) ‘rambo’ their way through a highly guarded research complex.
While this did have a good resolution in the end, I did find that this went a little too much the way of an action movie…
All in all highly recommended.
July 10, 2025
Another book where the ability to use half stars would help the rating enormously. This feels like a solid 3 1/2 stars so I err on the side of generosity and give it 4.
The book has one very niche audience in mind, that of the community for the Delta Green role playing game, and a second broader audience of those who enjoy diving deep into the Cthulu mythos.
For someone who has little interest in either of those areas there is nothing here to recommend the book to you. Strip away the cosmic horror, and the dialogue and character development is certainly not going to carry a reader through a rewarding journey in the main story arc.
For those for whom the genre beckons however, after a slow start the main story heats up into a enjoyable espionage/action/surreal horror blend that easily holds ones interest until the finale. I have no idea how the spycraft employed by the characters holds up in the real world but it certainly felt engaging and genuine in the story which is all I ask for. While the characters are not particularly interesting in and of themselves, they function solidly in the roles required to keep the action rolling at a decent clip.
There is also a lot of world building taking place too which will reward those who are using the book as a source book for their Delta Green RPG campaigns.
Overall, for a fan of the genre, this is a solid read and I think most will be satisfied at the end.
The book has one very niche audience in mind, that of the community for the Delta Green role playing game, and a second broader audience of those who enjoy diving deep into the Cthulu mythos.
For someone who has little interest in either of those areas there is nothing here to recommend the book to you. Strip away the cosmic horror, and the dialogue and character development is certainly not going to carry a reader through a rewarding journey in the main story arc.
For those for whom the genre beckons however, after a slow start the main story heats up into a enjoyable espionage/action/surreal horror blend that easily holds ones interest until the finale. I have no idea how the spycraft employed by the characters holds up in the real world but it certainly felt engaging and genuine in the story which is all I ask for. While the characters are not particularly interesting in and of themselves, they function solidly in the roles required to keep the action rolling at a decent clip.
There is also a lot of world building taking place too which will reward those who are using the book as a source book for their Delta Green RPG campaigns.
Overall, for a fan of the genre, this is a solid read and I think most will be satisfied at the end.
January 15, 2025
THIS IS THE END AND THE BEGINNING
Delta Green co-creator John Scott Tynes merges Lovecraftian cosmic horror with techno-thriller espionage in these four stories and a novel interconnected by a web of deceit:
THE CORN KING
An old warrior on a rogue operation is determined to call down the thunder one last time. But he's keeping a secret that may unlock a darker destiny.
FINAL REPORT
“Entry One has been breached. Time to get this show on the road. They have no idea the kind of Hell I've prepared for them. May God have mercy on my soul.”
MY FATHER’S SON
A Delta Green agent with a mysterious past may learn more than he ever wanted to know when his current case leads where he never dared to go.
THE DARK ABOVE
In the face of madness and horror, two lonely Delta Green agents reach out to each other. Can they really afford such fragile bonds when the secrets of the night surf roll in?
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
An agent’s disappearance pulls a Delta Green team into a vortex of horror in this novel of personal apocalypse. The secrets they uncover threaten to ignite a war between the Delta Green conspiracy and its bitterest enemy, Majestic-12 — secrets buried within time itself.
Foreword by Kenneth Hite.
December 29, 2020
This is my review of Delta Green : The Rules of Engagement, which makes up the bulk of this volume. It's a pretty good novel. This is a re-read for me. This review is mainly for my future self. I'll assume you're familiar with the Cthulhu mythos and the Delta Green conceit.
Pro's: A good twisty plot that moves along at a good pace. Interesting characters. The conflict between Delta Green and MAJESTIC-12 is highlighted. The neotissue thing is really cool. Not all questions are answered, which contributes to the feeling of manifold conspiracies.
Cons: Not a lot of mythos content, besides mi-go/little grey men. One of the "heroes" spends most of the story in prison for beating a woman, which doesn't make me want to see him in the hero's role (I know, extenuating circumstances; still).
The novel is preceded by four short stories, which you should absolutely skip. They suffer from the same malady as most other Delta Green short pieces, that being the focus on DG agents murdering innocents, other agents and themselves to emphasize the importance of "containing" knowledge of the mythos. It's frankly sickening to read about.
Pro's: A good twisty plot that moves along at a good pace. Interesting characters. The conflict between Delta Green and MAJESTIC-12 is highlighted. The neotissue thing is really cool. Not all questions are answered, which contributes to the feeling of manifold conspiracies.
Cons: Not a lot of mythos content, besides mi-go/little grey men. One of the "heroes" spends most of the story in prison for beating a woman, which doesn't make me want to see him in the hero's role (I know, extenuating circumstances; still).
The novel is preceded by four short stories, which you should absolutely skip. They suffer from the same malady as most other Delta Green short pieces, that being the focus on DG agents murdering innocents, other agents and themselves to emphasize the importance of "containing" knowledge of the mythos. It's frankly sickening to read about.
January 21, 2024
While I love the TTRPG, this was a miss. I only read Rules of Engagement, which is the reason I picked up the book. It’s pretty poorly written, with every character coming across as the same wisecracking personality. I also hate the trope of every single group of people that involves at least one male and female character, someone is hopelessly in love with the other. Also feels as if the author tries to stuff as many canon events and characters in as possible, to the detriment of the story.
This was like listening to a TTRPG where the GM and all of the Players are the same person.
This was like listening to a TTRPG where the GM and all of the Players are the same person.
October 27, 2025
4.5 This was pulp awesomeness with some great lovecraftian existentialism weved throughout the narative. This was the first delta green novel I've read and have fallen in love with the setting. Id love to rune the ttrpg after reading this. This was the perfect blend of pulpy espionage, horror and action. Characters were fun and engaging and showed the hopelessness of DG and how it sees all the members as assets, realy solidified what the rule books are trying to explain. loved it highly recomend can wait to read more.
October 13, 2021
Several short stories and a novella, all interconnected, and a typical delta green read. It's confusing at first but rattles along, disgorging solutions alongside a good blend of action and horror. There's one annoying lose end - what's Alziz up to? - but there's a lack of occult material here. The focus is on alien conspiracy paranoia which is, to me, a little less compelling.
February 20, 2019
Superb stories. Tynes does an excellent job creating characters that struggle against overwhelming odds knowing they have no chance of success.
The type of person that struggles against inevitability because the fight is right...is hard not to admire.
The type of person that struggles against inevitability because the fight is right...is hard not to admire.
June 26, 2025
Really enjoyed the short stories at the beginning of this book, but the longer novella wasn't for me. The incursion and story felt like cool lore dumps for DG but not that interesting from a supernatural and/or investigative perspective. I've been spoiled by other DG stuff!
October 17, 2022
Great read! Really helps with Delta Green lore understanding.
December 6, 2022
More lore for Delta Green. I liked it.
May 30, 2025
Boy, sure wish I'd read this before Through A Glass, Darkly
August 5, 2025
very little cthulhu. more of a techno/spy thriller with a dash of x files thrown in.
September 30, 2025
I like Detweiler's Delta Green stuff just a tad more but damn if this isn't some of the best modernized lovecraftian conspiracy horror there is.
September 11, 2012
The Cthulhu Mythos stories are the driving force behind the creation of the Delta Green series. A mythos that brings often vivid imagery and description of nightmarish scenario’s through an almost action packed thrilling battle cry. I have only read two of these blended genre novels both of which were recent reads. However the Delta Green universe is very much anchored in my catalogue as favorite new stories. Strange Authorities is written by John Scott Tynes who creator of the Delta Green series. The novel is split in to four distinct sections that almost mimic an anthology but form together more like four engorged chapters that expose a world of dark demonic attacks on humanity from both the skies and dimensionally.
Strange Authorities follow’s a black ops styled group of Government agents known as Delta Green who battle a equally skilled yet evil organization known as The Majestic. After being decommissioned and officially defunded Delta Green goes silent but not inactive. The head of the organization manages to keep the group together in secret to battle the darkness that has infiltrated the world superpowers as well as other top groups that control mankind's fate. This novel is the story of how Delta Green finds themselves facing destruction and the end of the world they know and sometimes loathe and battling to save it all and themselves.
The characters in Strange Authorities are much the same as the previous Delta Green novel that I read Through A Glass Darkly. However that novel was written by Dennis Detwiller. Some how this novel manages to hold true to the same staunch and blunt portrayal of covert agents who live hidden in the shadows fighting for man’s continuation. The fact that this novel was written by a different author than Darkly yet manages to keep true to the format is a testament to the passion behind Delta Greens creation. The stories are vividly dark and disturbing. The only problem I found with Strange Authorities was with the over descriptive narration of the plot which seemed excessive and forced at times. There wasn’t the natural ease of storytelling that can be associated with Detwiller’s writing style. That is only a minor complaint because the novel manages to give a great and entertaining continuation of the horrors when worlds and concepts not only combine but collide in apocalyptic beauty such as Strange Authorities and the other Delta Green novels manage to do. Bringing together the devilish world of Lovecraft with the modern realm of gamer driven action thrills is wonderfully brought to live in the pages of these twisted tales of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Strange Authorities follow’s a black ops styled group of Government agents known as Delta Green who battle a equally skilled yet evil organization known as The Majestic. After being decommissioned and officially defunded Delta Green goes silent but not inactive. The head of the organization manages to keep the group together in secret to battle the darkness that has infiltrated the world superpowers as well as other top groups that control mankind's fate. This novel is the story of how Delta Green finds themselves facing destruction and the end of the world they know and sometimes loathe and battling to save it all and themselves.
The characters in Strange Authorities are much the same as the previous Delta Green novel that I read Through A Glass Darkly. However that novel was written by Dennis Detwiller. Some how this novel manages to hold true to the same staunch and blunt portrayal of covert agents who live hidden in the shadows fighting for man’s continuation. The fact that this novel was written by a different author than Darkly yet manages to keep true to the format is a testament to the passion behind Delta Greens creation. The stories are vividly dark and disturbing. The only problem I found with Strange Authorities was with the over descriptive narration of the plot which seemed excessive and forced at times. There wasn’t the natural ease of storytelling that can be associated with Detwiller’s writing style. That is only a minor complaint because the novel manages to give a great and entertaining continuation of the horrors when worlds and concepts not only combine but collide in apocalyptic beauty such as Strange Authorities and the other Delta Green novels manage to do. Bringing together the devilish world of Lovecraft with the modern realm of gamer driven action thrills is wonderfully brought to live in the pages of these twisted tales of the Cthulhu Mythos.
February 25, 2025
I am a role-playing gamer. Dungeons & Dragons was my first. From there I went to Traveller and then others. When I met a group of people back in 1987 they introduced me to HP Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu. I had never heard of the man or his writings, odd because I read a lot. A company called Chaosium wrote a RPG called Call of Cthulhu which has been the benchmark for a lot of other RPGs. It was not a big thing for me. Once they released an expansion to the universe called Delta Green... this thing hit me just right and gave me a better appreciation for the CoC universe.
Spies and existential horror, a pairing I didn't realize I needed. I have enjoyed all the novels that have been written for Delta Green. I'm not sure how much someone not familiar with the RPG line would enjoy these books, but they are all short stories, pick one up and give it a shot.
Spies and existential horror, a pairing I didn't realize I needed. I have enjoyed all the novels that have been written for Delta Green. I'm not sure how much someone not familiar with the RPG line would enjoy these books, but they are all short stories, pick one up and give it a shot.
July 8, 2014
I liked this book, honestly, it reads exactly like I am back around an RPG table years back, or playing an old school Amiga game.
The book flows nicely, although as I am still 'green' to this series, I could sense a lot of background lore I should be aware of. Nonetheless the author does a good job of doing short 'recap' paragraphs of the most important things.
Overall - I am glad I crowd-funded this book, and when I need my x-files/Cthulhu/rpg nostalgia fix I know where to go.
The book flows nicely, although as I am still 'green' to this series, I could sense a lot of background lore I should be aware of. Nonetheless the author does a good job of doing short 'recap' paragraphs of the most important things.
Overall - I am glad I crowd-funded this book, and when I need my x-files/Cthulhu/rpg nostalgia fix I know where to go.
July 24, 2016
DAMN FINE TALE, BUT WEIRD IT IS..
Hello, this is a very fascinating and disturbing tale. Way, way out there. Very well written. You have to appreciate this kind of stuff to fully appreciate and enjoy it. Thanks.
Hello, this is a very fascinating and disturbing tale. Way, way out there. Very well written. You have to appreciate this kind of stuff to fully appreciate and enjoy it. Thanks.
February 22, 2014
Surprisingly good book. I must admit though that I was particularly in the mood for a story with a theme like this. Fun read, hoping for more of this.
July 2, 2014
Very good. But I often felt as if I was missing part of the story in not knowing who some of the characters were.
October 10, 2016
Another great read in the DGverse. One novel length story and 4 short stories all interconnected make for a nice set of adventures..
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews