Well, here we have an anthology of stories that are based on the original Cthulu mythos; you know, those stories that don't offer a ray of sunshine and warm fuzzies for the inhabitants of our planet. As one character noted, human beings are irrelevant to the forces from beyond, and that is as HPL envisioned the situation. The stories in this anthology continue this notion, so you won't find a whole lot of peaceful, the-world-is-safe type of tales here. While I didn't necessarily enjoy the lot, some of the stories were very good, but that is to be expected when you have an anthology of short stories to read. If you like the old HPL stories, you'll like these, set in more modern times.

If you're not familiar with Delta Green, it started out as a RPG (which I don't do, but I do like the stories that come out of the games). Delta Green is a kind of "conspiracy" group, if you will, and answers to no one but itself. It has been going since the raid on Innsmouth in 1928, and its mission is to battle the forces from beyond the stars. It's sort of like the X-files, but deals with saving the world from these creatures who want to take back the planet and the humans that are helping them do so.

Here's a list of what's in the book: (no spoilers ahead)

"Once More From the Top" -- Scott Glancy. If you've read "Shadow Over Innsmouth," by Lovecraft, then you'll recognize this as the story of the FBI raid in 1928 to which HPL and others who write Innsmouth-based stories often allude. This is the story, and it's also, I believe, Delta Green's first operation, told by the last survivor of that raid. Scary stuff!

"Night and Water" -- Dennis Detwiller. This one deals with a secret Nazi organization based on the occult called Karotechia, and a secret mission by Delta Green during WWII. This one is okay.

"Russian Dolls" -- Robert Furey. This one is different re an alien encounter. Personally, I am not a fan of alien abductee stories, so I didn't like this one very much.

"As I See It" -- Greg Stolze. I can't describe this one without giving away the show.

"Suicide Watch" -- Arinn Dimbo. Two stories, actually, and they're both very creepy. This story was one of my favorites and is actually a novella.

"The Corn King" -- John Tynes. I think you would have to have read an earlier work in the DG stories to get this one.

"Good Night, Bach Ma, Good-Bye" -- Benjamin Adams. Adams is a solid writer of Cthulhu-mythos type stories, and I always look forward to reading his work. Here the story is set in Vietnam and if you like mythos-type stories, you won't be disappointed.

"The Fast Track" -- Martin Cirulis. Very weird story but it works. ( )