Post by Morrigan on Jan 3, 2004 2:06:40 GMT -5
I have been trying to grasp the feel of Delta Green, to understand how Delta Green adventures and stories are supposed to feel. You think I'd be smart enough to "click" to this sensation from the published Delta Green fiction, both official and fan, but alas, I am not.
The I decided to reread a collection of William Gibson's short fiction called "Burning Chrome" [1]. It contains all of his short stories that had been published before 1985, including his very first published piece, "Fragments of Hologram Rose". Although Gibson concerns him with a distopian near-future, his tone and his "voice" are that of Delta Green. The grittiness, the sense of being lost or adrift, of making your way in a world controlled by vast forces you can't really comprehend are themes I've found, or heard promoted, in Delta Green. Gibson's dark tales of computer cowboys, bio-enhanced soldiers of fortune, and hi-tech low-lives suit the Delta Green mentality better than a lot I've seen. Dare I say that William Gibson was writing Delta Green fiction before Delta Green existed?
In particular, I had trouble envisioning the sense of helplessness and the blow to your sanity that comes with encountering things preternatural. When I read William Gibson's short story "Hinterlands", I knew. Gibson describes the shock and the blow of such an experience with far greater economy of word, using a few sharp descriptions, better than I have ever seen it done, possibly even better than Lovecraft himself. Gibson's technique is certainly more economical. Where Lovecraft uses an avalanche, Gibson uses a stiletto.
Each and every story is a gem, and, IMHO, a must-read for those who enjoy Delta Green, whether as a player or fan. The effects of becoming disconnected with reality as Lovecraft's characters certainly do is nowhere better described than perhaps Gibson's coolest story, "the Gernsback Continuum". His collaboration with John Shirley, "The Belonging Kind", is Delta Green. Simply change the belonging kind to ghouls or something even spookier, and you're away. Again, IMHO, any story by William Gibson, but especially his short fiction contained in "Burning Chrome" should be required reading for those starting out on Delta Green, alongside the published Delta Green materials and Lovecraft's stories.
[1] Gibson, William. "Burning Chrome" (Ace Books, Arbor House Publishing, New York, 1987) ISBN 0-441-08934-8.
The I decided to reread a collection of William Gibson's short fiction called "Burning Chrome" [1]. It contains all of his short stories that had been published before 1985, including his very first published piece, "Fragments of Hologram Rose". Although Gibson concerns him with a distopian near-future, his tone and his "voice" are that of Delta Green. The grittiness, the sense of being lost or adrift, of making your way in a world controlled by vast forces you can't really comprehend are themes I've found, or heard promoted, in Delta Green. Gibson's dark tales of computer cowboys, bio-enhanced soldiers of fortune, and hi-tech low-lives suit the Delta Green mentality better than a lot I've seen. Dare I say that William Gibson was writing Delta Green fiction before Delta Green existed?
In particular, I had trouble envisioning the sense of helplessness and the blow to your sanity that comes with encountering things preternatural. When I read William Gibson's short story "Hinterlands", I knew. Gibson describes the shock and the blow of such an experience with far greater economy of word, using a few sharp descriptions, better than I have ever seen it done, possibly even better than Lovecraft himself. Gibson's technique is certainly more economical. Where Lovecraft uses an avalanche, Gibson uses a stiletto.
Each and every story is a gem, and, IMHO, a must-read for those who enjoy Delta Green, whether as a player or fan. The effects of becoming disconnected with reality as Lovecraft's characters certainly do is nowhere better described than perhaps Gibson's coolest story, "the Gernsback Continuum". His collaboration with John Shirley, "The Belonging Kind", is Delta Green. Simply change the belonging kind to ghouls or something even spookier, and you're away. Again, IMHO, any story by William Gibson, but especially his short fiction contained in "Burning Chrome" should be required reading for those starting out on Delta Green, alongside the published Delta Green materials and Lovecraft's stories.
[1] Gibson, William. "Burning Chrome" (Ace Books, Arbor House Publishing, New York, 1987) ISBN 0-441-08934-8.