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Delio. Phase Two

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The most original AI novel of our timeWashington Post, Wall Street Journal, Amazon & Audible bestselling author, RR Haywood. One of the most downloaded indie authors in the UK with over four million books sold and more than 35 Kindle bestsellers.

For nearly two days, every human on Earth has been frozen by Delio’s brutal Phase One. Sunstroke, rats, and rot are setting in. In London, Alfie and his fractured team must cross a collapsing UK to reach the European kill switch. In New York, Tripal races toward Site 26A, the only other way to stop the system.

But something is wrong. Phase One hasn’t progressed, and time is running out. What was meant to save humanity now risks destroying it. As Alfie and Tripal push deeper into chaos, nothing is what it seems. And with every step, a darker question is Delio still in control?

From RR Haywood, the author of the worldwide bestselling Extracted, and The Code trilogies, and the phenomenal Undead Series - DELIO PHASE TWO continues this blockbuster adventure

674 pages, Paperback

Published July 3, 2025

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About the author

R.R. Haywood

94 books1,282 followers
"One of the most original voices of our time." - Richard Moriarty, The Sun

"Whether it's gritty horror, spectacular sci-fi, or insane comedy, RR Haywood delivers in style." - Chris Riches, Daily Express

RR Haywood is a Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Audible bestselling author with over 4 million books sold and more than 30 Kindle Bestsellers. As one of the top ten most downloaded indie authors in the UK, Haywood has captivated readers worldwide with his diverse storytelling.

His creations include the global sensation EXTRACTED, the riveting CODE TRILOGY narrated by Colin Morgan, the phenomenal UNDEAD Series, the blockbuster DELIO, PHASE ONE, and the chart-topping A TOWN CALLED DISCOVERY. His latest work, FICTION LAND, narrated by Game of Thrones star Gethin Anthony, has been hailed as "an outrageously funny tour de force."

A former police officer, Haywood now resides with his dogs on the north coast of the Isle of Wight. He entertains audiences and shares his expertise on TikTok with his Writing Class for the Working Class.

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5 stars
553 (61%)
4 stars
228 (25%)
3 stars
89 (9%)
2 stars
21 (2%)
1 star
6 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
Profile Image for Matt Schroeder.
32 reviews
September 12, 2025
Brilliantly uneven, but still brilliant.

Honest, spoiler-free review: I didn't like Phase Two as much as Phase One, and a lot of that has to do with the meat of Phase One cribbed and copied into Phase Two. It's unnecessary bloat, but it also showcases the brilliance of Phase One, in both idea and execution. It's a quality that overshadows Phase Two, which is sometimes gripping to the point of ripping through dozens of pages, only to hit a screeching halt of exposition that drags it down.

Better analogy: Phase One was 'The Matrix,' and Phase Two is 'The Matrix Reloaded.' one was perfect, while the other was really good, but felt overstuffed and complicated.. IYKYK.

I would read Haywood if he wrote the phone book (Google it, kids), but sometimes you hit all the X names and struggle to get the pronunciation right.
Profile Image for Mrs Christie Jones.
6 reviews
July 6, 2025
Woah, one hell of a read

I enjoyed Delio phase one but loved phase two! Funny as always but so thought provoking too. For those like me who have already devoured the many many books written by RR Haywood this book enlightened us to the links with his other books and I found myself self getting giddy at the teasers particularly the ending.
Seriously though this was a brilliant book and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait for the audio version to be released so I can enjoy it all over again.
Profile Image for Hel.
39 reviews
September 24, 2026
I would have gone 4.5 for this second book but I've chosen to round up as overall I love the series. There are a few reviews mentioning the large chunk of repetition from the first book (almost a literal cut + paste) and it does serve a purpose but there were a couple of points where I also had to check it wasn't a misprint 😅. So I've knocked the rating down for that and I found the very last part a bit hard going but I don't want to spoil the story!
Overall a super funny, engaging, interesting and fun read. It really covers a lot of ground; countries, topics, characters, plotlines, and I thought it all melched together excellently. I am a big fan of the Extracted trilogy and I think if you liked those stories, you'll enjoy the energy and characters in these too.
20 reviews1 follower
June 17, 2026
The first book had interesting ideas unfortunately the second was a bit of a let down. As others have said it seemed to have whole sections repeated from the first book and pages of irrelevant details about characters that only lasted for that section. I ended up skipping pages a number of times as I felt it was just a waste of my time with nothing being gained.

I’m not entirely sure what the actual ending was, unfortunately not in a thought provoking way but more in a was that it way../
Profile Image for Jennie.
5 reviews
May 10, 2026
The first part is a huge duplication of part 1, to the point where I went back to check if the book is already read actually included this. The second part was filled with lists. Boring lists. Everything mentioned then became a list. Hated the book.
Profile Image for Adrian.
1,214 reviews18 followers
July 6, 2026
4.15 stars
Well, I read this book a while back and neglected to write a proper review while I was reading it or right after I read it. So, I am trying to write this based on some notes and what I remember from this book.

Evil AI entities are evil! And scary. So, I read book 1 about three years ago and don’t remember it too much. In other RR Haywood books, he kind of satirically puts in a good amount of review, up front. He did not do this with this book, unfortunately.

But overall, I really enjoyed this book. I pretty much read all that R.R. Haywood writes (all but the undead series). While I didn’t remember much from the first book, there was a good amount of back story in this book that I really enjoyed for the main characters. But, towards the end, there were a lot of characters, a lot of weird stuff going on, and all the simulations got a little confusing. To me, this book is kind of like a stretch of the tv shows of the Good Place and Pluribus. Since I enjoyed both shows, I enjoyed this book’s premise as well.

Audiobook narrator Laura Aikman rating: 4.25 stars
Again, she is really good at reading this book. I am still surprised at how well she flips between American and British accents. I think the only room for improvement is for the male voices. Otherwise, she is terrific!
58 reviews
July 31, 2025
It’s difficult to rate this one.

I love RR Haywood, I’ve literally read everything he’s written and loved them all in various forms. Delio phase 2 is different, some of it for the better others I’m not sure.

When first settling in I was getting ready to be taken on a Luther wild ride and always delighted to see a 700+ page book, much longer than usual.

The characters are lovable and flawed, the thinking behind the story is amazing. You have to marvel at where the brain has gone to link the wonderful and the absurd and made it one brilliantly woven tapestry.

That’s said, there are some parts that really pulled me out of the story. Early on, I couldn’t get the similarities between Alfie and Maddox (IYKYK) out of my head and that is where they settled. There are multiple nods to the other books and where I normally enjoy this I felt on this occasion there were perhaps too many. Finally Deli as the Old Lady and Tripal as the leader of Freedom, although they made sense I wasn’t a fan of. I’d have preferred a truly independent tale allowing DISCO to run its own course. Finally, I think it was a little long- I know I know I said I liked it being longer. What I mean here is I feel that parts weren’t as tight as they usually are, which took away from the more gripping elements of the story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for LISA HAWSEY.
51 reviews2 followers
November 23, 2025
RR Haywood has done it again!

If you've read any of Haywood's many books, you know his writing is genius. I've read them all. Most-more than once. Many-multiple times.
Delio Phase Two is not only in keeping with the genius of Mr. Haywood's writing and his incredible characters, but it's also heartfelt and often times laugh-out-loud funny. I reread Delio Phase One just before reading Phase Two and remembered how smart RR would have to be in order to write about an AI. But seriously, I'm truly convinced Haywood must be an actual genius because normal people don't think like he does. I've read hundreds of wonderful books by great authors, but none blow me away like this time after time. The incredible knowledge this man has in order to write the off-the-wall, intelligent, futuristic, often funny, sometimes sad, and always unbelievably believable books and characters is astonishing.
He knows policing (because he was a cop), computers, and coding, yet knows how to write the most endearing characters.
Not only do I want you to read these two Delio books, but go back and read the Extracted trilogy (my all-time favorite books ever in the history of my book reading) and well really ALL of his other books as well. There's often a fun little nod to the other books that you just don't want to miss!
11 reviews
January 6, 2026
RR Haywood

Been an avid fan of Richard from covid era and been on a long journey with him trawling through his penned imaginations.
And all I can say is wow and thank-you. Not read any of the new fan creation ones I believed recently released as of yet. But likely I will!
But I have read every series and to think back when I first picked up Undead book one and shortly met Howie and Dave I was coming off the back of being fed up with Game of Thrones a books when you simply need to take notes of the characters back stories and generations! I said to a few people at the time there is no way I am picking up another trilogy anytime soon!
And the next book I picked up Undead book 1, feels like I went 40 odd books deep!
Worldshop code series and extracted were great, and the one offs great too, not so sure about the big zombie bird one with the council men running stuff, but Delio!
Book one had me hooked and hopefully this follow up isn't the end. I think there is a few more laps to be run mate.
Keep it up fella and thank you.
14 reviews
September 9, 2026
First book was good enough. The second one has two many repetitions and most of all - it's all .
The AIs that were created by Delio are annoying. Why do they behave like retarded humans, what's the point of them bickering with each other. chatgpt is currently smarter than these idiots.

When you start with a few good, wild and profound ideas and you start showing the motion that they cause, like it was in the 1st book, it's interesting, you want to know where it's going, how it would end. But then when your ideas leave space for a million different ways to move the story forward, how do you choose the right way, the most interesting and novel one. Some genius can do it. This book failed. And it's no use to even start discussing all the flaws that an all-mighty AI wouldn't do in reality because again, it's just a .
1 review
April 27, 2026
Really enjoyed the Delio Books! My fave author 😍

I’m a 35 year old mum of two, so finding time to properly get into a book isn’t always easy… but Delio Phase had me completely hooked.

I love a bit of sci-fi, and this just hits the spot. It’s fast-paced, easy to get into, and doesn’t feel overcomplicated, which I really appreciate when I’m picking it up in between everything else going on in life.

I kept finding myself wanting “just one more chapter” and then staying up way later than I should.

The characters feel real and you actually care about what happens to them, which makes such a difference. There’s a good mix of action and emotion, and it keeps you guessing without being confusing and I LOVE the humour.

Honestly, I could easily see this being made into a film or series, it’s got that kind of feel to it.

Definitely a 5 star read from me. If you enjoyed Phase 1, you won’t be disappointed.
64 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2025
How does he do it every time!?

I love this author! I have read all of his books and rave about him to everyone.
If you haven't read any yet, it doesn't matter where you start (well, except at the beginning of each series), but you can do it in any order. Extracted, the undead, worldship humility. Basically, you will find they all integrate somehow.
Great writer. I always wait before I read a new book that's out because I know I'll be hooked, and it'll be over before I know it, then I'm gutted because it's finished.

So, about delio phase two. If you're reading this review, you must have read phase one.
This was not how I expected it to go. Definitely, a jaw drop and added excitement at the end. If you're a true RR haywood groupie, you will get it. If you're new, you'll be curious. Amazing writing, great story as always. Enjoy!
Profile Image for Di Redman .
202 reviews3 followers
June 24, 2026
Delio phase two
By RR Haywood
❤️❤️❤️❤️

I read this as I read phase one and fell in love!! Now, I 100% preferred phase one, but this is still a good read (it got me out my reading slump /depression).
Firstly, I loved the characterisation. Ollie is so well characterised. He's so flawed, but does want to do well. Alfie too, again a flawed character severely affected by his past. All the characters are presented in a way that they are human, not romanticised.
Kevin! What a great addition!
Now this differs to phase one in that we see Deli's plan DELTO in various simulations. We see Deli trying to judge humanity and predict responses and getting it wrong. It's not just a "God" super AI, it too is flawed as she's learnt from humans. As all computers are ultimately flawed as they are only as good as their human coding.
Profile Image for Vinay Mistry.
89 reviews
August 28, 2026
Such a hard book to rate, this whole story was a yoyo of great heights then frustrating characters and inconsistent motivation. Tripal was such a frustrating character crippled with anxiety due to his extreme levels of empathy shoehorned into being some apparent gift from god that can fix all problem and everyone loves him.

The setup from the first book was exceptional and this just doesn't stick the landing and the entire extended cast of characters didn't interest me at all. I also this this book was longer then it needed to be.

The most interesting character is delio for over half the story aside from the rehash of the first book they arent in the story.

Biggest book disappointment of the year so far.
70 reviews
September 23, 2026
4.25
Ok so I loved this, like many others I struggle not to love RR Hayward, all his books are so interesting, complex while being grounded and with realosyix characters. I see some reviewers didn't like the bickering, this made them feel real to me.

That being said, this could be more than 4.25 becaus of the huge repetition from phase one. Huge chunks verbatim, far beyond reminders on narrative device. A large part of the first third of the book I thought I was accidentally reading phase one - this let it down.

That being said the last two thirds of original material saved it and I did not see the ending coming at all- I never miss a twist this widely.



The narration is absolutely perfect as well in my opinion- this is a book almost mad for audio
80 reviews
July 27, 2025
Outstanding

Finding an author who creates original, intelligent and witty work is a very good thing. Finding one who does all that and produces a real page turner is great.

RR Haywood does it with bloody knobs on! His characters are incredibly well rounded and relatable (even Ollie) his plotting and pace are wonderful and how he manages to juggle the threads that drag the reader on at breakneck speed is beyond me.

The ending was a little abrupt, but I can see that it couldn't really have been any other way and, perhaps, leaves an opportunity for book 3? I hope so.
4 reviews
October 11, 2025
Good but not Harwood best

The idea for this story is really impressive. Phase one was more gripping and more interesting than phase two. It was also more believable as phase two had some monologues and dialogues that showed AI being really thick. However funny it was not beleavable. The book has similar characters to the undead series which for a fan is a good thing but for a reader can get repetitive and maybe boring. I did enjoy reading it. I think Harwood books should be turned into tv series. Cannot wait to binge watch it!
1 review
January 11, 2026
another great Hayward book

I know when I am really enjoying a book, or in this case an author. I don’t want to finish them, I’ve gone through all of this authors back catalogue and now I have to wait for another book, all other books just seems so bland, it’s like I’ve gone from colour TV back to black and white….just waiting for my colour TV to come back again, I’m not even sure that makes any sense lol, anyway read this guys books, I have also got my Dad into them by just giving him the undead first 7 days, now he also can’t get enough.
Profile Image for Patti Bronecky.
27 reviews
July 28, 2025
You twisted my head around again!

I have read everything Rich has written. I cannot wait to get my hands on his next release, and again, I have not been disappointed. You, mister, are brilliant. You weave the story around characters that are everyday, could be my neighbor types. Having the worst day, week, year, ever and doing their utmost to survive the insurmountable. Delio Phase two was beyond what and where I thought it would lead. BRAVO!
Profile Image for Ed Fry.
12 reviews
July 29, 2025
another ripper from R.R.Haywood

I was going to read this one slowly - lots going on in the real world - but once again I couldn’t help it. Dragged into the high velocity worlds that Rich Haywood creates - buffeted along on the currents of violence, insight and twists from his characters - I just found it harder and harder to put down.

And now … I’m full of questions … and as an AI user and Prompt Author … wondering whether I should be ;-)
Profile Image for Jo Morrison.
292 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2025
I was really excited about this book after loving the first one, but was disappointed a bit for the first 20% as it was very repetitive of Phase 1 which was still very fresh in my mind after a recent re-read.

However, it soon turned fantastic and I loved it. Great characters, great humour, fab AI story and some genuine WTAF moments with some genuinely surprising twists.

I need to re-read some of the other books now for some of it to make sense cos I’m a tad confused!
6 reviews
August 16, 2025
Brilliant!!!

I found this author whilst I was searching for a new type of zombie apocalypse book to read (my favourite genre). I have now read all of his books and I’m sat here twiddling my thumbs wondering how long till I get my next fix of his absolutely brilliant writing. Totally believable characters, interwoven into books that will captivate you. Not all about zombies. Best day ever when each book comes out.
Profile Image for Simon.
111 reviews
October 7, 2025
I was really looking forward to this as I absolutely loved the first book. However, it felt like it was hard to write and was a little disjointed at times. It still had some trademark laughs and the cameo from another book made me laugh out loud, but all in all it just didn't seem to flow as easily as his other books.
Still well worth a read though, especially if you enjoyed the first as much as I did
7 reviews
October 16, 2025
absolutely brilliant, again!

Thirteen years of RR Haywood now and it gets better and better. Whether you think you’re reading sci fi or zombie you’re actually reading a whole new thing. Incredible dialog pace carnage/chaos/comedy and the finest near future fiction since Gibson and Stephenson. And at the very bottom of it all, love for life in all forms. All of this from a true independent, I practically feel guilty for getting his books on Kindle Unlimited. All 35 times.
11 reviews
October 22, 2025
Best Yet

I don't read his Undead series, I'm not really into zombies.
I have however, read all his sci-fi books and he really has hit the heights with this one, so many aspects, situations, emotions and last but not least humour, involved in thisl monumental book.
It is brilliant and I loved every minute of it thank you, Rich.
All the best and looking forward to your next venture.
Andrew Gooch
2 reviews
October 24, 2025
intense and twisty

The phase one was good and kept my attention, leaving me wanting more. Phase 2 is intense and twisty. Reading it on kindle and phone misses some of the breaks in scene, so struggled a bit to figure out “where” and who was affected. Great twist in story…. And connections…LOVE your stories and have read almost all (some 2 and 2 times). Going to start the Bertie Cavendish book soon. Keep up the good work!!!!
Profile Image for Rachael Gray.
Author 9 books24 followers
January 22, 2026
I couldn't wait to read this book after thoroughly enjoying book 1, and I loved every minute of it... until the end.

This book had my heart racing like few others ever have. It's a fantastic plot, great characters, gives you a lot to think about - especially given the world we live in today - but, the ending kind of ruined it for me.

I'd still recommend it though, and will continue to read and enjoy R R Haywood's work.
161 reviews3 followers
April 6, 2026
Disconcertingly wonderful!!

You absolutely need to read these two in order (ann bonus points if you've read the others too.. you'll see!)

This is terrifyingly good... in a way the only Mr. Haywood can. Grim, fast paced, direct, though provoking genius!

Disturbing, but incredibly highly recommended -I sat on this one for months because I didn't want it over too soo, it's one of THOSE kind if books...
1 review
April 24, 2026
bloody good read!

Conclusion of a cracking double book story that I could not put down.
I love all of RR Haywood novels but this was so close to actual real life these days that it almost felt like reality! A scary thought and one that really brings this double header to life.
Well worth the read, wish it was longer but I feel that way at the end of all of his stories.
Waiting for more Undead now please lol
148 reviews
July 25, 2025
I’ve followed Mr Haywood for a while now and love his quirky style of writing, this doesn’t disappoint, really good storyline with plenty of humour and action, if I had to pick any fault it would be some of the very deep and introspective conversations, that said they ARE part of what is quite a deep subject.

I loved this and if you’ve read the first DELIO book you’ve GOT to read this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews