RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

More Important (and a better read) than Catcher In The Rye!, 18 Jul 2007
Wisdom should be witty. Wit should have wisdom. This book has buckets of both. Redirect your teenage years now before it's too late! And God knows the world needs plenty more wit and wisdom if we're not going to go the way of the dodo.

Non spoiler plot synopsis? Well, it's about a teenager, his pal and the girl he has his eye on. And his determination to find out what life's all about and discover old u.t. (ultimate truth). The progress of the plot is interspersed with varous brief quotations from different documents written after he has passed on and only his legend remains.

One of those books you never forget.

My Favourite, 05 Apr 2006
This is my favourite book of all time...

Read it when i was about 17...on the train going to teach guitar in brighton (the arrogance of youth...noone told me i didnt' know enough to teach it at 17. i was 30 before i realised that!)

I couldnt' find it for years, and the copy i managed to get from here is even better, cos it looks like a real amatuer affair.

the book....what can i say. I never managed the dice man, or any other of rhienhardts dice books. tried, but found them trite.

something about the philosophy in this book just rang for me...or maybe just the accurate description of teenage priarpism. maybe i recognised it, being 17 when i read it?

trying to write this makes me realise...you can't review this book (well, not when your pissed at 1:30 in the morning). its just great. you have to suspend your disbelief, and accept that lying is a useful skill...

buy it and have fun

TG

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

More Important (and a better read) than Catcher In The Rye!, 18 Jul 2007
Wisdom should be witty. Wit should have wisdom. This book has buckets of both. Redirect your teenage years now before it's too late! And God knows the world needs plenty more wit and wisdom if we're not going to go the way of the dodo.

Non spoiler plot synopsis? Well, it's about a teenager, his pal and the girl he has his eye on. And his determination to find out what life's all about and discover old u.t. (ultimate truth). The progress of the plot is interspersed with varous brief quotations from different documents written after he has passed on and only his legend remains.

One of those books you never forget.

My Favourite, 05 Apr 2006
This is my favourite book of all time...

Read it when i was about 17...on the train going to teach guitar in brighton (the arrogance of youth...noone told me i didnt' know enough to teach it at 17. i was 30 before i realised that!)

I couldnt' find it for years, and the copy i managed to get from here is even better, cos it looks like a real amatuer affair.

the book....what can i say. I never managed the dice man, or any other of rhienhardts dice books. tried, but found them trite.

something about the philosophy in this book just rang for me...or maybe just the accurate description of teenage priarpism. maybe i recognised it, being 17 when i read it?

trying to write this makes me realise...you can't review this book (well, not when your pissed at 1:30 in the morning). its just great. you have to suspend your disbelief, and accept that lying is a useful skill...

buy it and have fun

TG

Hi-Ho Silver - Luke rides again!, 08 Jul 2008
Luke Rhinehart's literary output demonstrates his alter ego's belief that we are all composed of multiple personalities. In fact, although it seems that every book of his is completely different from the others, one recurring theme permeates his work. So here, once again, Luke introduces the subversive element of chaos into a supposedly ordered and "civilized" society to great comic effect. The comedy is uppermost in this novel, in spite of its tongue-in-cheek sub-title. Feminists should not be put off by the allusion to pornography, as they will find a sympathetic treatment in this tale of innocence-abroad, reminiscent of "Candy", "Lolita" and other such "pornographic" stories. Titillating, erotic - yes, but not obscene, and as the title suggests, gentle and romantic in essence. The real Luke would be mortified!

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

More Important (and a better read) than Catcher In The Rye!, 18 Jul 2007
Wisdom should be witty. Wit should have wisdom. This book has buckets of both. Redirect your teenage years now before it's too late! And God knows the world needs plenty more wit and wisdom if we're not going to go the way of the dodo.

Non spoiler plot synopsis? Well, it's about a teenager, his pal and the girl he has his eye on. And his determination to find out what life's all about and discover old u.t. (ultimate truth). The progress of the plot is interspersed with varous brief quotations from different documents written after he has passed on and only his legend remains.

One of those books you never forget.

My Favourite, 05 Apr 2006
This is my favourite book of all time...

Read it when i was about 17...on the train going to teach guitar in brighton (the arrogance of youth...noone told me i didnt' know enough to teach it at 17. i was 30 before i realised that!)

I couldnt' find it for years, and the copy i managed to get from here is even better, cos it looks like a real amatuer affair.

the book....what can i say. I never managed the dice man, or any other of rhienhardts dice books. tried, but found them trite.

something about the philosophy in this book just rang for me...or maybe just the accurate description of teenage priarpism. maybe i recognised it, being 17 when i read it?

trying to write this makes me realise...you can't review this book (well, not when your pissed at 1:30 in the morning). its just great. you have to suspend your disbelief, and accept that lying is a useful skill...

buy it and have fun

TG

Hi-Ho Silver - Luke rides again!, 08 Jul 2008
Luke Rhinehart's literary output demonstrates his alter ego's belief that we are all composed of multiple personalities. In fact, although it seems that every book of his is completely different from the others, one recurring theme permeates his work. So here, once again, Luke introduces the subversive element of chaos into a supposedly ordered and "civilized" society to great comic effect. The comedy is uppermost in this novel, in spite of its tongue-in-cheek sub-title. Feminists should not be put off by the allusion to pornography, as they will find a sympathetic treatment in this tale of innocence-abroad, reminiscent of "Candy", "Lolita" and other such "pornographic" stories. Titillating, erotic - yes, but not obscene, and as the title suggests, gentle and romantic in essence. The real Luke would be mortified!



Zen meets I-Ching vs. Dice Man, 19 Nov 2003
Beware, this book is not a novel, but more a practical guide on Dice Living. If you do not know what Dice Living is, it is a (fictional) way of living introduced by Luke Rhinehart in the novel The Dice Man. In short, it involves 2 6-sided dice cast together at the same time, and the caster makes up events for each possible role of the die.

This books presents a deeper analysis of Dice living, but fortunately, it never takes it self seriously. Moreover, this is the infamous book Luke Rhinehart refers to in the Dice man (eventhough he wrote The Book of the Die 28 years later)

The theory of dice living influences both from Zen and I-Ching. This book can be a welcome asset if you are interested in of these things.

The book has no ordinary chapters, instead the chapters are devided into 'Roles of the die', thus there are 'chapters' such as 1-2, and 4-6.

The book is witty, and funny and it is a satire upon itself and Dice living. But because of this, I think this book is most suitable for those who read the Dice Man and liked it, or if you are interested in beginning a 'dice life' yourself.

The Zen of Dice, 04 Nov 2003
This is the book Luke Rhinehart refers to in his Dice Man, and the Search for the Dice Man novels (eventhough it has only been written in 2000). This book is not really an story, but more a Dice version of Zen. It tries to explain the benefits of Dice Living, and introduce dice wisdom. Each chapter in the book, is a new combination of two six sided dice, i.e. chapter 2-4, or 3-5.

This approach by explaining the 'cast' of the die, results in that the book does not really have a plot (apart from casting dice), or a story (apart from the occasional remarks of the character Whim), nor does it fit into a specific literary category (unless books like I-Tjing fit into one).

But, the book is funny, whimsical, has wise cracks, and the occasional zen-philosophy. If you loved the Dice Man or the Search for the Dice Man and if you are ready for more 'reports' on Dice Theory and Dice Living, don't pass up on this one.

To throw or not to throw, that is the question., 14 Sep 2001
A handbook to coach the reader in the ways of dice-living. Packed with thoughts, essays and philosophical ramblings, this should not be read by people of questionable mental status. It is very difficult to actually find fault with the idea of dice-living; the main decision to be made (by the dice of course) is how far you immerse yourself in it. The chapters are designed to be read in no particular order (you guessed it, The dice decide), so it doesnt need to be read in one sitting. Just keep it close at hand and dip into it for guidance now and again. Just bear in mind that when reading this book on the train and hurling dice down the aisle, the reader may attract some strange looks from fellow passengers (believe me,I know). The book is genuinely good at forcing the reader to think and ponder on philosophical questions of life. A big book with big ideas. Did I really like it? Did I even read it? Maybe, maybe not; I just do what the dice tell me.

An absurd philosophy for absurd people, 03 Nov 2000
Great book - Luke gives his thoughts behind the philosophy of The Dice Man and the other books he's written - it's very much in his style - quotes and from all sorts of sources merged together like some sort of word collage. Unlike the other books, there are quite a few genuine sources in this one - as opposed to stuff he's just made up for fun...

According to the cover blurb, the aim of the book is to spark a few ideas, a few insights, and show an alternative way of looking at the world. It certainly does that - and mixed in is the trademark Rhinehart humour - it seems you're never closer to old Ultimate Truth than when you're laughing out loud...

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

More Important (and a better read) than Catcher In The Rye!, 18 Jul 2007
Wisdom should be witty. Wit should have wisdom. This book has buckets of both. Redirect your teenage years now before it's too late! And God knows the world needs plenty more wit and wisdom if we're not going to go the way of the dodo.

Non spoiler plot synopsis? Well, it's about a teenager, his pal and the girl he has his eye on. And his determination to find out what life's all about and discover old u.t. (ultimate truth). The progress of the plot is interspersed with varous brief quotations from different documents written after he has passed on and only his legend remains.

One of those books you never forget.

My Favourite, 05 Apr 2006
This is my favourite book of all time...

Read it when i was about 17...on the train going to teach guitar in brighton (the arrogance of youth...noone told me i didnt' know enough to teach it at 17. i was 30 before i realised that!)

I couldnt' find it for years, and the copy i managed to get from here is even better, cos it looks like a real amatuer affair.

the book....what can i say. I never managed the dice man, or any other of rhienhardts dice books. tried, but found them trite.

something about the philosophy in this book just rang for me...or maybe just the accurate description of teenage priarpism. maybe i recognised it, being 17 when i read it?

trying to write this makes me realise...you can't review this book (well, not when your pissed at 1:30 in the morning). its just great. you have to suspend your disbelief, and accept that lying is a useful skill...

buy it and have fun

TG

Hi-Ho Silver - Luke rides again!, 08 Jul 2008
Luke Rhinehart's literary output demonstrates his alter ego's belief that we are all composed of multiple personalities. In fact, although it seems that every book of his is completely different from the others, one recurring theme permeates his work. So here, once again, Luke introduces the subversive element of chaos into a supposedly ordered and "civilized" society to great comic effect. The comedy is uppermost in this novel, in spite of its tongue-in-cheek sub-title. Feminists should not be put off by the allusion to pornography, as they will find a sympathetic treatment in this tale of innocence-abroad, reminiscent of "Candy", "Lolita" and other such "pornographic" stories. Titillating, erotic - yes, but not obscene, and as the title suggests, gentle and romantic in essence. The real Luke would be mortified!



Zen meets I-Ching vs. Dice Man, 19 Nov 2003
Beware, this book is not a novel, but more a practical guide on Dice Living. If you do not know what Dice Living is, it is a (fictional) way of living introduced by Luke Rhinehart in the novel The Dice Man. In short, it involves 2 6-sided dice cast together at the same time, and the caster makes up events for each possible role of the die.

This books presents a deeper analysis of Dice living, but fortunately, it never takes it self seriously. Moreover, this is the infamous book Luke Rhinehart refers to in the Dice man (eventhough he wrote The Book of the Die 28 years later)

The theory of dice living influences both from Zen and I-Ching. This book can be a welcome asset if you are interested in of these things.

The book has no ordinary chapters, instead the chapters are devided into 'Roles of the die', thus there are 'chapters' such as 1-2, and 4-6.

The book is witty, and funny and it is a satire upon itself and Dice living. But because of this, I think this book is most suitable for those who read the Dice Man and liked it, or if you are interested in beginning a 'dice life' yourself.

The Zen of Dice, 04 Nov 2003
This is the book Luke Rhinehart refers to in his Dice Man, and the Search for the Dice Man novels (eventhough it has only been written in 2000). This book is not really an story, but more a Dice version of Zen. It tries to explain the benefits of Dice Living, and introduce dice wisdom. Each chapter in the book, is a new combination of two six sided dice, i.e. chapter 2-4, or 3-5.

This approach by explaining the 'cast' of the die, results in that the book does not really have a plot (apart from casting dice), or a story (apart from the occasional remarks of the character Whim), nor does it fit into a specific literary category (unless books like I-Tjing fit into one).

But, the book is funny, whimsical, has wise cracks, and the occasional zen-philosophy. If you loved the Dice Man or the Search for the Dice Man and if you are ready for more 'reports' on Dice Theory and Dice Living, don't pass up on this one.

To throw or not to throw, that is the question., 14 Sep 2001
A handbook to coach the reader in the ways of dice-living. Packed with thoughts, essays and philosophical ramblings, this should not be read by people of questionable mental status. It is very difficult to actually find fault with the idea of dice-living; the main decision to be made (by the dice of course) is how far you immerse yourself in it. The chapters are designed to be read in no particular order (you guessed it, The dice decide), so it doesnt need to be read in one sitting. Just keep it close at hand and dip into it for guidance now and again. Just bear in mind that when reading this book on the train and hurling dice down the aisle, the reader may attract some strange looks from fellow passengers (believe me,I know). The book is genuinely good at forcing the reader to think and ponder on philosophical questions of life. A big book with big ideas. Did I really like it? Did I even read it? Maybe, maybe not; I just do what the dice tell me.

An absurd philosophy for absurd people, 03 Nov 2000
Great book - Luke gives his thoughts behind the philosophy of The Dice Man and the other books he's written - it's very much in his style - quotes and from all sorts of sources merged together like some sort of word collage. Unlike the other books, there are quite a few genuine sources in this one - as opposed to stuff he's just made up for fun...

According to the cover blurb, the aim of the book is to spark a few ideas, a few insights, and show an alternative way of looking at the world. It certainly does that - and mixed in is the trademark Rhinehart humour - it seems you're never closer to old Ultimate Truth than when you're laughing out loud...

Zen meets I-Ching vs. Dice Man, 19 Nov 2003
Beware, this book is not a novel, but more a practical guide on Dice Living. If you do not know what Dice Living is, it is a (fictional) way of living introduced by Luke Rhinehart in the novel The Dice Man. In short, it involves 2 6-sided dice cast together at the same time, and the caster makes up events for each possible role of the die.

This books presents a deeper analysis of Dice living, but fortunately, it never takes it self seriously. Moreover, this is the infamous book Luke Rhinehart refers to in the Dice man (eventhough he wrote The Book of the Die 28 years later)

The theory of dice living influences both from Zen and I-Ching. This book can be a welcome asset if you are interested in of these things.

The book has no ordinary chapters, instead the chapters are devided into 'Roles of the die', thus there are 'chapters' such as 1-2, and 4-6.

The book is witty, and funny and it is a satire upon itself and Dice living. But because of this, I think this book is most suitable for those who read the Dice Man and liked it, or if you are interested in beginning a 'dice life' yourself.

The Zen of Dice, 04 Nov 2003
This is the book Luke Rhinehart refers to in his Dice Man, and the Search for the Dice Man novels (eventhough it has only been written in 2000). This book is not really an story, but more a Dice version of Zen. It tries to explain the benefits of Dice Living, and introduce dice wisdom. Each chapter in the book, is a new combination of two six sided dice, i.e. chapter 2-4, or 3-5.

This approach by explaining the 'cast' of the die, results in that the book does not really have a plot (apart from casting dice), or a story (apart from the occasional remarks of the character Whim), nor does it fit into a specific literary category (unless books like I-Tjing fit into one).

But, the book is funny, whimsical, has wise cracks, and the occasional zen-philosophy. If you loved the Dice Man or the Search for the Dice Man and if you are ready for more 'reports' on Dice Theory and Dice Living, don't pass up on this one.

To throw or not to throw, that is the question., 14 Sep 2001
A handbook to coach the reader in the ways of dice-living. Packed with thoughts, essays and philosophical ramblings, this should not be read by people of questionable mental status. It is very difficult to actually find fault with the idea of dice-living; the main decision to be made (by the dice of course) is how far you immerse yourself in it. The chapters are designed to be read in no particular order (you guessed it, The dice decide), so it doesnt need to be read in one sitting. Just keep it close at hand and dip into it for guidance now and again. Just bear in mind that when reading this book on the train and hurling dice down the aisle, the reader may attract some strange looks from fellow passengers (believe me,I know). The book is genuinely good at forcing the reader to think and ponder on philosophical questions of life. A big book with big ideas. Did I really like it? Did I even read it? Maybe, maybe not; I just do what the dice tell me.

An absurd philosophy for absurd people, 03 Nov 2000
Great book - Luke gives his thoughts behind the philosophy of The Dice Man and the other books he's written - it's very much in his style - quotes and from all sorts of sources merged together like some sort of word collage. Unlike the other books, there are quite a few genuine sources in this one - as opposed to stuff he's just made up for fun...

According to the cover blurb, the aim of the book is to spark a few ideas, a few insights, and show an alternative way of looking at the world. It certainly does that - and mixed in is the trademark Rhinehart humour - it seems you're never closer to old Ultimate Truth than when you're laughing out loud...

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!

Dice man, 26 Jan 2007
This is a great novel that is slightly more coherent than the first and one that can easily be read on it's own. The story is really good and kept me turning those pages and had some of the great premises from the first book, as well as other ideas explored. Well worth giving a go if you enjoyed the original book, and an easier read if you tried and didn't like the first one.

Can be read as a stand alone, 07 Dec 2004
Eventhough this book is the second in a series (of which the Dice Man was the first), you can easily read it if you haven't read the Dice Man before. The story starts with the son of Luke Rhinehart (indeed, the author who also starred in Dice Man)who is successful in life. He wants to find his father, who is presumed death, and decides that in order to find him he should live the life his father has...the life of living through the casting of dice. But this means ending his life as it was, and starting a new one...

The idea is that the character gives each roll of the dice a specific meaning, i.e. if he rolls 6 he should go out and drink three pints. Then by casting dice he determines what he should do, and if he rolls 6 he goes out and drinks three pints regardless of consquences.

This book is both moving and very funny, thought-provoking and balant and can be read as a novel of a young man searching his way through life.

If you liked the Dice Man, this is a must, if you haven't you can also try this one first and be amazed.

Better than the first, 27 Aug 2000
mmm....If it's a 1 I'll..mutter...mutter...."3" therefore...Great book

This is a good book because of the very complex plot., 23 Jul 2000
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is always changing and I thought that everyone who came into the story had committed the murder! The characters are extremely well described.It was a big shock to find out who the murderer was and how they had done it. I really recommend this book- it's great!

Excellently written but not quite as good as its predecessor, 12 Jun 2000
Larry Rhinehart gets in on the act as he searches for father Luke. The book is intriguing as Larry joins his father's cult in order to overcome it, and funny as he struggles with the strange world of diceliving and the even stranger people that undertake it! This is a good follow-up to the first book and is wonderfully written by both Luke and Larry. A must for lovers of the first book but impossible to read as a single novel. The usual helping of sex is supplied, but overall a book not quite as good as the first one suggested it could be. Worth a read, though.

More Important (and a better read) than Catcher In The Rye!, 18 Jul 2007
Wisdom should be witty. Wit should have wisdom. This book has buckets of both. Redirect your teenage years now before it's too late! And God knows the world needs plenty more wit and wisdom if we're not going to go the way of the dodo.

Non spoiler plot synopsis? Well, it's about a teenager, his pal and the girl he has his eye on. And his determination to find out what life's all about and discover old u.t. (ultimate truth). The progress of the plot is interspersed with varous brief quotations from different documents written after he has passed on and only his legend remains.

One of those books you never forget.

My Favourite, 05 Apr 2006
This is my favourite book of all time...

Read it when i was about 17...on the train going to teach guitar in brighton (the arrogance of youth...noone told me i didnt' know enough to teach it at 17. i was 30 before i realised that!)

I couldnt' find it for years, and the copy i managed to get from here is even better, cos it looks like a real amatuer affair.

the book....what can i say. I never managed the dice man, or any other of rhienhardts dice books. tried, but found them trite.

something about the philosophy in this book just rang for me...or maybe just the accurate description of teenage priarpism. maybe i recognised it, being 17 when i read it?

trying to write this makes me realise...you can't review this book (well, not when your pissed at 1:30 in the morning). its just great. you have to suspend your disbelief, and accept that lying is a useful skill...

buy it and have fun

TG

Hi-Ho Silver - Luke rides again!, 08 Jul 2008
Luke Rhinehart's literary output demonstrates his alter ego's belief that we are all composed of multiple personalities. In fact, although it seems that every book of his is completely different from the others, one recurring theme permeates his work. So here, once again, Luke introduces the subversive element of chaos into a supposedly ordered and "civilized" society to great comic effect. The comedy is uppermost in this novel, in spite of its tongue-in-cheek sub-title. Feminists should not be put off by the allusion to pornography, as they will find a sympathetic treatment in this tale of innocence-abroad, reminiscent of "Candy", "Lolita" and other such "pornographic" stories. Titillating, erotic - yes, but not obscene, and as the title suggests, gentle and romantic in essence. The real Luke would be mortified!



Zen meets I-Ching vs. Dice Man, 19 Nov 2003
Beware, this book is not a novel, but more a practical guide on Dice Living. If you do not know what Dice Living is, it is a (fictional) way of living introduced by Luke Rhinehart in the novel The Dice Man. In short, it involves 2 6-sided dice cast together at the same time, and the caster makes up events for each possible role of the die.

This books presents a deeper analysis of Dice living, but fortunately, it never takes it self seriously. Moreover, this is the infamous book Luke Rhinehart refers to in the Dice man (eventhough he wrote The Book of the Die 28 years later)

The theory of dice living influences both from Zen and I-Ching. This book can be a welcome asset if you are interested in of these things.

The book has no ordinary chapters, instead the chapters are devided into 'Roles of the die', thus there are 'chapters' such as 1-2, and 4-6.

The book is witty, and funny and it is a satire upon itself and Dice living. But because of this, I think this book is most suitable for those who read the Dice Man and liked it, or if you are interested in beginning a 'dice life' yourself.

The Zen of Dice, 04 Nov 2003
This is the book Luke Rhinehart refers to in his Dice Man, and the Search for the Dice Man novels (eventhough it has only been written in 2000). This book is not really an story, but more a Dice version of Zen. It tries to explain the benefits of Dice Living, and introduce dice wisdom. Each chapter in the book, is a new combination of two six sided dice, i.e. chapter 2-4, or 3-5.

This approach by explaining the 'cast' of the die, results in that the book does not really have a plot (apart from casting dice), or a story (apart from the occasional remarks of the character Whim), nor does it fit into a specific literary category (unless books like I-Tjing fit into one).

But, the book is funny, whimsical, has wise cracks, and the occasional zen-philosophy. If you loved the Dice Man or the Search for the Dice Man and if you are ready for more 'reports' on Dice Theory and Dice Living, don't pass up on this one.

To throw or not to throw, that is the question., 14 Sep 2001
A handbook to coach the reader in the ways of dice-living. Packed with thoughts, essays and philosophical ramblings, this should not be read by people of questionable mental status. It is very difficult to actually find fault with the idea of dice-living; the main decision to be made (by the dice of course) is how far you immerse yourself in it. The chapters are designed to be read in no particular order (you guessed it, The dice decide), so it doesnt need to be read in one sitting. Just keep it close at hand and dip into it for guidance now and again. Just bear in mind that when reading this book on the train and hurling dice down the aisle, the reader may attract some strange looks from fellow passengers (believe me,I know). The book is genuinely good at forcing the reader to think and ponder on philosophical questions of life. A big book with big ideas. Did I really like it? Did I even read it? Maybe, maybe not; I just do what the dice tell me.

An absurd philosophy for absurd people, 03 Nov 2000
Great book - Luke gives his thoughts behind the philosophy of The Dice Man and the other books he's written - it's very much in his style - quotes and from all sorts of sources merged together like some sort of word collage. Unlike the other books, there are quite a few genuine sources in this one - as opposed to stuff he's just made up for fun...

According to the cover blurb, the aim of the book is to spark a few ideas, a few insights, and show an alternative way of looking at the world. It certainly does that - and mixed in is the trademark Rhinehart humour - it seems you're never closer to old Ultimate Truth than when you're laughing out loud...

Zen meets I-Ching vs. Dice Man, 19 Nov 2003
Beware, this book is not a novel, but more a practical guide on Dice Living. If you do not know what Dice Living is, it is a (fictional) way of living introduced by Luke Rhinehart in the novel The Dice Man. In short, it involves 2 6-sided dice cast together at the same time, and the caster makes up events for each possible role of the die.

This books presents a deeper analysis of Dice living, but fortunately, it never takes it self seriously. Moreover, this is the infamous book Luke Rhinehart refers to in the Dice man (eventhough he wrote The Book of the Die 28 years later)

The theory of dice living influences both from Zen and I-Ching. This book can be a welcome asset if you are interested in of these things.

The book has no ordinary chapters, instead the chapters are devided into 'Roles of the die', thus there are 'chapters' such as 1-2, and 4-6.

The book is witty, and funny and it is a satire upon itself and Dice living. But because of this, I think this book is most suitable for those who read the Dice Man and liked it, or if you are interested in beginning a 'dice life' yourself.

The Zen of Dice, 04 Nov 2003
This is the book Luke Rhinehart refers to in his Dice Man, and the Search for the Dice Man novels (eventhough it has only been written in 2000). This book is not really an story, but more a Dice version of Zen. It tries to explain the benefits of Dice Living, and introduce dice wisdom. Each chapter in the book, is a new combination of two six sided dice, i.e. chapter 2-4, or 3-5.

This approach by explaining the 'cast' of the die, results in that the book does not really have a plot (apart from casting dice), or a story (apart from the occasional remarks of the character Whim), nor does it fit into a specific literary category (unless books like I-Tjing fit into one).

But, the book is funny, whimsical, has wise cracks, and the occasional zen-philosophy. If you loved the Dice Man or the Search for the Dice Man and if you are ready for more 'reports' on Dice Theory and Dice Living, don't pass up on this one.

To throw or not to throw, that is the question., 14 Sep 2001
A handbook to coach the reader in the ways of dice-living. Packed with thoughts, essays and philosophical ramblings, this should not be read by people of questionable mental status. It is very difficult to actually find fault with the idea of dice-living; the main decision to be made (by the dice of course) is how far you immerse yourself in it. The chapters are designed to be read in no particular order (you guessed it, The dice decide), so it doesnt need to be read in one sitting. Just keep it close at hand and dip into it for guidance now and again. Just bear in mind that when reading this book on the train and hurling dice down the aisle, the reader may attract some strange looks from fellow passengers (believe me,I know). The book is genuinely good at forcing the reader to think and ponder on philosophical questions of life. A big book with big ideas. Did I really like it? Did I even read it? Maybe, maybe not; I just do what the dice tell me.

An absurd philosophy for absurd people, 03 Nov 2000
Great book - Luke gives his thoughts behind the philosophy of The Dice Man and the other books he's written - it's very much in his style - quotes and from all sorts of sources merged together like some sort of word collage. Unlike the other books, there are quite a few genuine sources in this one - as opposed to stuff he's just made up for fun...

According to the cover blurb, the aim of the book is to spark a few ideas, a few insights, and show an alternative way of looking at the world. It certainly does that - and mixed in is the trademark Rhinehart humour - it seems you're never closer to old Ultimate Truth than when you're laughing out loud...

RUBBISH!!!!!, 26 Sep 2008
Well this book provided me with a first - it is the first book (as an adult) I have started reading and not finished. Usually, no matter how dull a book gets, I plough on to the end in hope of a revival 3/4 of the way through, but of The Dice Man, 140 pages were all I could bear before it was thrown in a charity shop bag.

On reading the back of the book I had high hopes - the concept sounded fantastic, really interesting and fun - I thought I'd found a real page-turner.

But no - how wrong I was. I am astounded at what a let-down this turned out to be.
I have got a degree in psychology and therefore I can't blame my dislike of The Dice Man on 'not getting it' (not that you need a degree in psychology to understand the concept of the book). Equally, I think I have a pretty good sense of humour and I would be reluctant to say 'I missed the humour of it'. In short, I just thought it was absolutely rubbish!
Without going into too much detail (I've wasted enough time on this book already!!) I found the thoughts, actions and justifications of Luke Rhinehart utterly ridiculous - so much so I rolled my eyes and cringed on reading some of it. We weren't really introduced to the concept of the dice-led decisions in great detail and it seems like it was just a convenient way of justifying and writing sexual fantasies. Actually, the book constantly goes on and on about sex (don't be fooled - this did not make it interesting - it was not good, passionate sex!).
I think the thing that put me off the most was the way it actually trivialised some extremely dispicable behaviours and almost made light of some extremely sensitive subjects.

I found it just ...... rubbish. An utter waste of time.

The dice told me to give this book five stars, so i did!, 25 Sep 2008
This book is a hilariously inspiring story (although many were convinced that this book was fact!)detailing the antics of the doctor Luke Rhinehart. Fed up with his humdrum comfortable career as a relativley well known psychiatrist, Luke invents the ultimate game to break down all barriers and rules that confine humans into that realm of 'normality', and seeks tp explore the limits of the human personality and how it can be distorted, destroyed or manipulated to create any character or feeling. This obviously leads to some interesting escapdes, the decision to let several mental patients escape, and his extreme sexual exploits amongst other things transform him into the notorious leader of the religion of die. A must read, and very inspiring, it questions who controls us, and shows that we are ultimatley the masters of our own destiny and choices.

A reflection of the 1970's but not a classic, 03 Sep 2008
The Dice Man is one of those books you might read to understand the countercultural movements of the 1970's. That's not to say that this book is flawless, however it does appear to have a particular mentality rooted at that time, chiming in with the anti-psychiatry movement as well as the whole Eastern Zen-Buddhist thing.

Anyway, back to the book itself: It certainly provokes thought about the imprisonment of individuals within their particular roles and responsibilities, and by society's expectation. The general premise to me appears to be that of achieving liberty by an enslavement to the whim of chance, or in this case, the die.

What happens? well, Luke Rheinhart discovers dice as a way of making his decisions, and indeed making his life more interesting, is what happens.

Whilst this is all good fun initially, and certainly grabbed the imagination, I think the idea somehow outstayed its welcome. What I mean to say (as my main criticism), is that there was only so far this could go, and Rheinhart quickly becomes distastefully self-conscious in his attempt to achieve a guru-like aura. Excerpts from "the book of the die", of course are tongue-in-cheek parodies of the Old Testament, but this wearies very soon and becomes simply boring.

Whilst the good points (and there are many) certainly outweigh the bad, and I would recommend this to others, there would be absolutely no point in reading this book twice and I would question the attention and praise this book has received.

Roll, 14 Jul 2008
I loved this book, definately one of my top 5 books of all time, I got a lot out of this and would read it again anytime.

How depressing, 11 Jun 2008
The book is well written and deals with an interesting concept so it engaged me immediately. But the more I read, the more disturbed the main character gets and his actions become more and more bizarre and then quite disturbing and nonsensical. I stopped half way through but then for 'research' I browsed through the remaining chapters but his behaviour got progressively more depressing. ugh. horrible book. Its interesting that some people really like it! funny old world!