Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Read and listen as much as you want
  • Over 950 000 titles
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Try now
Cover for Second Variety

Second Variety

Editions

5

5 Ratings

4.4

Duration
1H 47min
Language
English
Format
Category

Science fiction

In a desolate future ravaged by nuclear war, humanity faces its own worst creation—machines that think, adapt, and kill. Second Variety by Philip K. Dick is a chilling sci-fi novella that explores the horrifying consequences of unchecked technological advancement. The United Nations and Soviet Union are locked in a cold, crumbling war, but the true enemy is no longer human.

Enter Major Joseph Hendricks, a weary soldier tasked with a final negotiation—but what he finds on the other side of the battlefield isn’t diplomacy. It’s evolution. The autonomous killing machines known as “claws” have begun to design themselves—mimicking humans, learning their behaviors, and infiltrating their ranks. What begins as a simple mission becomes a desperate fight for survival as Hendricks unravels the terrifying truth: the war machines are no longer under control… and they may already have won.

Narrated by Jason Mann, this gripping audiobook captures all the tension, paranoia, and brilliance of one of science fiction’s greatest minds.

© 2025 Anthony Pica Productions, LLC (Audiobook): 9798318435324

Release date

Audiobook: 30 April 2025

Other editions

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Robert Sheckley Short Stories: 15 Sharp, Surprising Tales from One of Science Fiction’s Greatest Satirists
    Robert Sheckley Short Stories: 15 Sharp, Surprising Tales from One of Science Fiction’s Greatest Satirists Robert Sheckley
  2. Dr. Futurity
    Dr. Futurity Philip K. Dick
  3. Fallen Worlds: Classic Apocalyptic Science Fiction: Timeless Stories of Survival, Collapse, and Hope
    Fallen Worlds: Classic Apocalyptic Science Fiction: Timeless Stories of Survival, Collapse, and Hope H. G. Wells, Robert Silverberg, E. M. Forster, Ben Bova, Harlan Ellison, Robert Sheckley, Philip K. Dick, Donald E. Westlake, Jack Sharkey, Lester del Rey, Fritz Leiber, Frederik Pohl, Alan E. Nourse, Alfred Bester, Lynn Venable, Robert Abernathy, John W. Campbell, William F. Nolan, Herbert D. Kastle, Dean Evans, Edward W. Ludwig, Frank Lillie Pollock, Paul MacNamara, William Brittain, Miguel Hidalgo, William Oberfield, Morrison Colladay, G. Peyton Wertenbaker
  4. Valis: Valis, Book 1
    Valis: Valis, Book 1 Philip K. Dick
  5. Lies, Inc.
    Lies, Inc. Philip K. Dick
  6. Beyond the Wall of Sleep: The Dreamer Who Walked Among the Stars
    Beyond the Wall of Sleep: The Dreamer Who Walked Among the Stars H. P. Lovecraft
  7. Eye in the Sky
    Eye in the Sky Philip K. Dick
  8. Martian Time-Slip
    Martian Time-Slip Philip K. Dick
  9. Lost Sci-Fi Books 336 thru 340: Cosmic Warnings, Brilliant Twists, and Timeless Sci-Fi Adventures
    Lost Sci-Fi Books 336 thru 340: Cosmic Warnings, Brilliant Twists, and Timeless Sci-Fi Adventures Ray Bradbury, Henry Slesar, Frederik Pohl, Ron Cocking, Merab Eberle
  10. Panglor: A Novel of the Star Rigger Universe
    Panglor: A Novel of the Star Rigger Universe Jeffrey A. Carver
  11. 1950s Science Fiction 9 - 25 Classic Science Fiction Short Stories from the 1950s: Robots, Paradoxes and Adventures Beyond the Stars
    1950s Science Fiction 9 - 25 Classic Science Fiction Short Stories from the 1950s: Robots, Paradoxes and Adventures Beyond the Stars Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, Robert Sheckley, Arthur C. Clarke, John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, Harry Harrison, Randall Garrett, Lester Del Rey, Alan E. Nourse, A. Bertram Chandler, Roger D. Aycock, J. F. Bone, Herbert D. Kastle, Richard R. Smith, Dorothy Quick, Charles E. Fritch, John Victor Peterson, Dick Purcell, Gerda Rhoads, Mel Hunter
  12. My Favorites: A Collection of Short Stories
    My Favorites: A Collection of Short Stories Ben Bova
  13. The Game-Players of Titan
    The Game-Players of Titan Philip K. Dick
  14. The Man Who Japed
    The Man Who Japed Philip K. Dick
  15. The Skull
    The Skull Philip K. Dick
  16. Robots through the Ages: A Science Fiction Anthology
    Robots through the Ages: A Science Fiction Anthology Robert Silverberg, Bryan Thomas Schmidt
  17. Lost Sci-Fi Books 1 thru 20
    Lost Sci-Fi Books 1 thru 20 Philip K. Dick, Mack Reynolds, Alan E. Nourse, William Morrison, Winston Marks, Stanley Mullen, Russ Winterbotham, Charles E. Fritch, Richard Magruder, John Massie Davis, Joseph Slotkin
  18. Let's Get Together
    Let's Get Together Isaac Asimov
  19. The Quantum Magician
    The Quantum Magician Derek Künsken
  20. Inconstant Moon
    Inconstant Moon Larry Niven
  21. Runtime
    Runtime S.B. Divya
  22. Lost Sci-Fi Books 161 thru 170
    Lost Sci-Fi Books 161 thru 170 Mary Shelley, Theodore Sturgeon, Isaac Asimov, Fritz Leiber, Edmond Hamilton, Evelyn E. Smith, Leigh Brackett, William F. Nolan, Ross Rocklynne, Robert Zacks
  23. The Gifts of Asti
    The Gifts of Asti Andre Norton
  24. A Man from Planet Earth: A Scientific Novel
    A Man from Planet Earth: A Scientific Novel Giancarlo Genta

Features:

  • Over 950 000 titles

  • Kids Mode (child safe environment)

  • Download books for offline access

  • Cancel anytime

Most popular

Unlimited

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$12.98 /month

  • 1 account

  • Unlimited Access

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now