Book about a guy solving newspaper puzzles to help the military

[bobisking]

Hi Guys,

wonder if anyone can help with this. I'm trying to find a book that was written at least 20 ish years ago. It was a sci fi book kind of similar to the Trueman show in that the character was living in a simulated (acted) world where his obsession was solving a daily newspaper puzzle, it was a math puzzle, I guess something like a suduko. But in reality he was actually helping the military either search for something with coordinates or possibly tracking something like missiles.
Sorry if that's too vague but I guess if someone's read that book it would stick in their mind.
I would love to read it again and see if it lives up to the memory.
Thanks,

 

[Toby Frost]

That certainly rings bells. I can't say for sure but, given the subject, I would have thought that it was a short story by Philip K Dick. There's also a short story by Clive Barker where it turns out that missile defence is worked out purely at random, but the details are quite different.

 

[Dave]

This also immediately rings a bell with me and since I used to read loads of PKD anthologies it is almost certainly one of those, as Toby Frost says. Which one I can't say.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

If it is PKD, I think it's probably Time Out Of Joint?

 

[bobisking]

If it is PKD, I think it's probably Time Out Of Joint?

Guys, a huge thanks!! I've had a quick look and I'm pretty sure that's it! Ever so grateful, was it a well received book, I certainly enjoyed it at the time?

 

[PaulMmn]

And the contest: "Where will the little green man appear next..."

--Paul E Musselman

 

[Bick]

Yes, def Time Out of Joint. A good 'un. Its a novel though as opposed to a short.

 

[Dave]

Ah! But it could be both - many shorts were later expanded and published as full novels, many novels were abridged or serialised - I'm not a PKD expert and he was a prolific writer. I've checked and it is definitely some version of Time Out Of Joint.

 

[Bick]

Very good point Dave. I found this on the book:

Time Out of Joint is a dystopian novel by Philip K. Dick, first published in novel form in the United States in 1959. An abridged version was also serialised in the British science fiction magazine New Worlds Science Fiction in several installments from December 1959 to February 1960, under the title Biography in Time.