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The Dice Man is a 1971 cult classic novel written by American author George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart. Stuart once told NME that this was one of his favourite books
and he recommended it to the original Big Country keyboardist Peter Wishart. The word "Chance" appears 11 times in the first two paragraphs.
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The book tells the subversively dark and satirical story of a bored Manhattan psychiatrist, also named Luke Rhinehart, who begins ceding all his daily life decisions to the roll of a pair of dice.
The protagonist believes that human personalities are artificially restricted by social constructs, creating a false sense of a single, stable identity. To break free from this "boredom" and
explore alternative sub-personalities, he writes down options for his actions—ranging from mundane choices to radical, criminal, or sexually transgressive acts—and lets the dice decide his path.
As the story progresses, his experimental "Dice Living" evolves from a personal quirk into an anarchic, psychological cult with global implications.
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