Bored American psychiatrist Luke Rhinehart becomes the Dice Man, living by the whim of the die. As the story unfolds Rhinehart introduces his patients to the concept, inventing Dice Therapy. The result is the anarchic world of Dice Living, where every decision is made not by the self, but the roll of a dice.

Luke Rhinehart is a madman, which in itself tends to make The Dice Man an entertaining read. The tale is initially an engrossing one, of a mildly successful professional who one day makes a decision (or rather doesn`t) which changes his entire life with giddying speed. His subsequent release from the shackles of convention leads to a wonderfully entertaining, frightening and maniac series of incidents and circumstances.

This book has some marvellous comic moments. Most memorable is the party at which Rhinehart assumes, according to the roll of a dice, the persona of one of six different personalities. The reactions of the attendant luminaries of the psychological world are wonderful. However, these moments are not sufficient to lift the book beyond being a reasonable read. Once the initial shock and thrill of Rhinehart`s philosophy and ensuing actions are overcome, his treatise on the human condition and the nature of chance and choice becomes wearing. At its best when being cruelly subversive, it is not recommended to those of a sensitive disposition.