I vaguely knew the book/concept, but this is very well written piece.
Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
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Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#22Having never heard of this, what other true "cult novels" are out there? They mentioned Castaneda (The Teachings of Don Juan) in the article, I also thought of The Magus by John Fowles, The Glass Bead Game by Hesse and of course Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. What others are out there?
Some that come to mind:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Las-Vegas-American/dp/0...
Under the Volcano https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/05/100-best-novel...
All the kinds horses https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/all-kings-horses
The Sorrows of Young Werther https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther
The Catcher in the Rye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
The Outsider https://www.amazon.com/Outsider-Colin-Wilson/dp/0874772060
Meetings With Remarkable Men https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3064956-meetings-with-re...
On the road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Road
Fight Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club
Naked Lunch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch
Ham on Rye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_on_Rye
Jonathan Livingston Seagull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Livingston_Seagull
Another Roadside Attraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Roadside_Attraction
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#23I had not heard about this, but the title reminded me of a 90s UK travel show based on a similar concept, "The Dice Man" [0]. The host asks strangers for alternatives and throws the dice to decide what to do / where to go [0] https://diceman.co.uk/
Sounds cool, but finding six things to do sounds at least as hard as finding one!
Finding six things is obviously easier, since it's the choice of "what's the specific thing I should do" that's usually difficult, not the enumeration of different choices.
The dice method lets you remove yourself from this difficult final decision -- and since the decision you're now reluctant to take is now just 1 in 6 or 2 in 6 or such, and you include safe options too (e.g. "do nothing"), it's easier to write them down (you still feel like you have a way out through the dice when you're writing the difficult option down, as it might not come up).
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#24I cant say I've ever read the novel, but I do know there was a song based on it created by legendary post-punk group The Fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQC9PVFi-xc&app=desktop
It also inspired one of Talk Talk's hits, Such a shame.
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#25I found this book at the back of my parents shelf when I was much younger and found it fascinating. I still think of it sometimes even today, and flip coins rather than roll a dice when I'm indecisive. I'm surprised that the author is so wholesome. Brilliant book, and it's a shame the film adaptation has fallen through. I guess it's a bit hard to adapt as a lot of it's exposition is inside the main characters head?
there's also quite a bit of violent sex and rapey thoughts
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#26So is this better or worse than a more guided type randomness such as the ancient 'throwing coins' routine? As with all scrivining, its more bout how you approach it.
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#27I had to stop reading dice man. I just found it to be very depressing because of all the negative actions he takes.
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#28Having never heard of this, what other true "cult novels" are out there? They mentioned Castaneda (The Teachings of Don Juan) in the article, I also thought of The Magus by John Fowles, The Glass Bead Game by Hesse and of course Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. What others are out there?
Illuminatus! by Robert Anton Wilson comes to mind.
Yeah that and The Dice Man are the two big ones that stand out to me.
I heard of them both years back from everything2: https://everything2.com/title/Books+that+will+induce+a+mindf...
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
How's that? It's plural in the title, isn't it?
I haven’t read the book but it seems like the protagonist just has the one die.
He uses multiple dice a few times, but its more that he refers to "the dice" as some kind of god of chance, like "I shall let the dice decide my fate".
Re: Who is the real Dice Man? The elusive writer behind a cult novel
#30> … a dice … a dice … a dice It’s a die ! I guess I shouldn't be stunned that the Grauniad makes this sort of error, but … sheesh.
It’s a dice, and data is singular, language evolves, it’s not so important, artists can use it how they see fit.