"A fitting tribute to a great philosophical writer who found science fiction the ideal form tor the expression of his ideas."
– The Independent
Second Variety is the third in a massive five-volume collection of the complete shorter fiction of the 20th Century's greatest SF author – Philip K. Dick. It brings together 27 stories and includes such masterpieces as the title story, with its endless war being fought by ever more cunning and sophisticated robot weapons; "Impostor", in which a man is accused of being an alien spy and finds his whole identity called into question; and "Prominent Author", in which a fracture in space/time enables an ordinary future commuter to achieve unexpected literary fame.
Again and again in these stories – written and published while America was in the grip of McCarthyism – Dick speaks up for ordinary people and against militarism, paranoia and xenophobia. But first and foremost these are marvellously varied and entertaining stories from a writer who overflowed with ideas.
"One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction." – Sunday Times
"An elusive and incomparable artist." – Ursula LeGuin
"The most consistantly brilliant SF writer in the world… author of more good short stories than I can count." – John Brunner