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Goodbye Iain M. Banks

asydhouse

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asydhouse
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I have just heard it announced on the BBC that Iain M. Banks has died of his cancer today.

They said he had been deeply moved by all the support expressed on his website, and also that he was recently presented by his publishers with copies of his last novel, having brought forward the publication date in order to do that. He was thus able to enjoy celebrating the publication with friends and associates from all over the world before the end.

One of the lights of the sf world and of literature in general has gone out.... but the legacy of his wonderful works of sf, which he was reported as having said were written at least in part as an antithesis to the old-fashioned empire-building colonialist mentality of "traditional" space opera, that legacy will live on as an inspiration and an example of unbridled wit and joyfully creative, intelligent anarchic imaginative freedom of mind and "spirit".

His mind lives on in the delight his readers have and will experience in the wonderful works he leaves us with.

Respect.

Sympathy and peace to his loved ones.
 
:(

Not that I need an excuse, but off to read Player of Games again.
 
Sad news, I just heard it too. One of those authors whose work seems to resonate with me, probably because we're of the same generation, more or less. Much too young.
 
I just got into Banks last year and went ... serial ... on his Culture 'series.'

:(

I've been collecting his novels, passed them on to my dad and was going to donate them to the library (my dad loved them too!). Now I'll make sure I get them all (get the 'stragglers' back from my dad ;) ), donate them and write good reviews!

:D
 
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I read Complicity awhile back (didn't care for it), but I've been meaning to read his Culture series. I heard he created an interesting universe with that one.
 
Crazy. I only yesterday found out that he was sick and I went on a binge of Wikipedia wandering, reminding myself of all the details of the Culture books, which ended when I opened up Surface Detail for a second read.

I'm going to have to gland Calm to get to sleep now. Rest in peace, Iain, and thanks for the books.
 
:(

Sad. This feels very...personal? He was the first author I really "discovered" for myself, at a tiny bookstore on the Scottish West Coast, just after Consider Phlebas had come out. A great storyteller, and a great inspiration.

Good luck in the Sublime, Iain.
 
rdaneel said:
I just happened to be thinking about something from "The Culture" today, then saw the news when I got home.

Neil Gaiman has posted on his blog about it if anyone is interested.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2013/06/iain-banks-with-or-without-m.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link, rdaneel. Gaiman's another of my favourite authors, and reading his blog entry brought the first tears to my eyes over Iain's bad fortune. I think it was where he said "we always thought we had more time" to become closer friends than just hanging out at the odd convention.

I had a similar feeling: I sort of met him at the last Worldcon in Glasgow, but didn't talk with him. I had wandered into the back of the book dealers room, which was almost deserted at that moment, and there he was sitting behind the table of his publisher's section. I was feeling kind of quiet, and he was looking how I was feeling, so I kind of just shared the peace with him. The table had all his books with those beautiful covers they'd just republished them all with around the turn of the century, and after sharing a smile and a "Hi", I just looked over the books. I dropped the comment that the books' new covers were looking good, and then after a few moments just came out with "I want to live in the Culture!"

Iain gave me a smile of knowing complicity, and that was all we needed at that moment. After a short while I left him to enjoy the respite from the constant partying he was expected to perform by the heavy drinking crowd that usually monopolised his time at conventions (I'd seen him looking sort of bored and forbearing at other conventions, and thought the poor guy was a victim of his "life-of-the-party" reputation... in fact, he wrote that sort of situation into a novel subsequently, [but I can't figure out which one!] wherein an ambassador to a heavy-partying, deeply violent species [like even more boisterous and dangerous Klingons!] has to pander to their nature at a dinner party. As I read that scene, in my mind's eye I replayed what I'd seen at that con.)

I always thought I'd get a chance eventually to chat with him at another con. I don't regret giving him his space at that worldcon, but I do regret that's never going to happen now.

I haven't read Hydrogen Sonata yet, so that's going to be a bittersweet treat.
 
Borrowed The Algebraist from a friend early yesterday morning and saw the sad news later. Does serendipity have a sister word meaning a coincidence that's not really happy, but appreciated although sad?
 
I really liked his last book, "Stonemouth" even though it was a major departure from his scifi classics. I'll be buying "The Quarry" as soon as it comes out, in a week or so.
 
Hooked on Banks since being "loaned" Consider Phlebas (ahem, still have that copy) by my boss back in '92/'93. Only author I've actually queued up for at a book signing. Sad news.
 
No more Culture books. It hardly bears thinking about.

He was the same age as me, which is a sobering thought.
 
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