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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Herra Tohtori on April 03, 2013, 10:42:32 am

Title: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Herra Tohtori on April 03, 2013, 10:42:32 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22015175 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22015175)

Quote
Author Iain Banks has revealed that he has late stage cancer and is unlikely to live for more than a year.

The Scottish writer posted a message on his official website saying his next novel The Quarry, due to be published later this year, would be his last.

(...)

Banks, who lives in North Queensferry, Fife, said he had cancelled all future public engagements.

He said: "The bottom line now, I'm afraid, is that as a late-stage gall bladder cancer patient, I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it's extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year.

"So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last."

He said the disease had spread to both lobes of his liver, and possibly his pancreas and lymph nodes.

The author said there was little chance of surgeons being able to remove the tumours because of how far they had spread.


Terrible news. I've never really read his books, although I have intended to do so for the longest of time. I'm only vaguely familiar of the basic concept behind the Culture series, but it always seemed really fascinating to me...
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on April 03, 2013, 10:42:53 am
NOOOOOO
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on April 03, 2013, 10:43:09 am
****
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: The E on April 03, 2013, 10:56:10 am
I can't say anything about his Non-SF work, but this is an unbelievable loss for the genre.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on April 03, 2013, 10:59:48 am
Goddamn, the thread title hit like a train. This is such a waste.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Herra Tohtori on April 03, 2013, 11:07:20 am
Goddamn, the thread title hit like a train. This is such a waste.


That's a pretty accurate summary of how I felt when I noticed it on BBC. :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: qazwsx on April 03, 2013, 11:16:51 am
Urgh, I'm so upset by this :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on April 03, 2013, 12:31:21 pm
):

I saw him at a thing after Surface Detail was released, he seemed a really cool guy.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: perihelion on April 03, 2013, 05:03:04 pm
 :(

This sucks.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: karajorma on April 03, 2013, 07:58:21 pm
I've read a few of his sci-fi and non sci-fi books and he is definitely one of my favourite authors. Will be sorely missed.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Mongoose on April 03, 2013, 08:28:37 pm
I've heard of him many times, but sadly haven't read any of his work yet.  59 is way too young to go. :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Gray113 on April 04, 2013, 02:14:23 am
"It was the day my grandmother exploded. I sat in the crematorium, listening to my Uncle Hamish quietly snoring in harmony to Bach's Mass in B minor, and I reflected that it always seemed to be death that brought me back to Gallanach"

Greatest opening to any book ever - The Crow road.

I don't know how this is to other nationalities but no other writer has ever been able to capture the darkness of Scottish humour quite like Ian Banks. I did my English RPR paper on The wasp factory, The crow road and Consider Phlebas. Gained extra marks for pointing out the beauty of the scene where Frank kill his young cousin with a balloon as well as the brutal humour and thought that goes in to each death. No one ever wrote like this before and I don't know if anyone will ever match his works.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on April 04, 2013, 05:36:04 am
oh ****.

damn.

**** **** ****.

**** life and its death thing.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Herra Tohtori on June 09, 2013, 11:04:13 am
Sadly, this thread is again relevant.

Iain Menzies Banks passed away today, 9th June 2013.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Veers on June 09, 2013, 12:30:02 pm
 :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Mongoose on June 09, 2013, 12:56:02 pm
Only two months later.  Damn. :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: headdie on June 09, 2013, 02:22:05 pm
R.I.P.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 09, 2013, 03:45:27 pm
Damnation and hellfire, I was actually just opening Matter as I looked again at this thread.

Not sure if I should close the book because it's going to hang over me or damn-the-torpedoes-this-one's-for-Banks.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: perihelion on June 09, 2013, 10:36:38 pm
I believe the latter would be a more fitting tribute.

[after staring at the keyboard for 10 minutes]
Well, I can't think of any words that don't sound cheap / trite / useless, and I guess this isn't going to post itself. 
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: haloboy100 on June 10, 2013, 12:49:42 pm
So...I would give an extensive read at google/wikipedia, but would someone want to take the chance at a quick eulogy to explain this man and his work to someone who has never heard of him?
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on June 10, 2013, 01:05:25 pm
Iain Banks wrote often grotesque, often touching, always incisive literary fiction.

Iain M. Banks wrote sprawling, sophisticated, funny, intelligent stories about a galaxy-spanning society called the Culture, a place where transhumanity and sophisticated AI lived in harmony, where anyone could be anything they wanted and everything had actually turned out okay. He found conflict and sometimes incredible darkness in this utopian place, and he was willing to question it in profound ways. Unlike most science fiction writers, he could write with real literary quality, and he used that to make the Culture more than a place of easy wish fulfillment. His humor, compassion, hope, and - occasionally - willingness to engage in profound narrative cruelty made him perhaps the greatest science fiction writer of our time.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Mikes on June 10, 2013, 03:24:09 pm
:( :( :(
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 15, 2013, 08:09:24 am
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/15/iain-banks-the-final-interview

I don't really know what to say, except that I'm definitely voting 'yes' now.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Rodo on June 15, 2013, 08:41:16 am
Mmm never read anything from him, what would you recommend as a starter book for a science fiction lover hlp?
I'm about to finish the current book so it's prime time for new stuff, and your comments caught my eye.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 15, 2013, 09:25:26 am
I would recommend skipping the first book and reading The Player of Games and then Use of Weapons.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Rodo on June 15, 2013, 10:16:01 am
Second and third do not refere to stuff about "the Culture" covered on the first?
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 15, 2013, 10:30:08 am
Not really. PoG is probably a better introduction to the Culture than Consider Phlebas anyway; CP is pretty different from the rest of the books.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Rodo on June 15, 2013, 12:28:30 pm
Gotcha, will get the second for starters then. Thanks.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: AdmiralRalwood on June 17, 2013, 01:47:45 am
I concur that Consider Phlebas isn't a very good introduction to the Culture setting, but I don't think it should be skipped (or, rather, skipped permanently); it's a very good book, and I read it first... although, to be fair, I knew what I was getting into ahead of time because of TVTropes. If you're completely unfamiliar with the Culture series, The Player of Games is excellent introductory material (and also a very good book). Otherwise, I wholeheartedly recommend reading Consider Phlebas, with a warning that it is a very depressing book.

On a more somber note, I literally bought Use of Weapons the day after Iain Banks died, and didn't know about it until I read about it here (a few days ago). It seemed oddly symbolic, given that it was the first novel he wrote.

Spoiler:
I saw the "twist" at the end coming a mile off (given the obvious hint about his name being his own choice early on), and yet it still didn't make much sense to me; if he was really Elethiomel, then... what was the scar over his heart, for example? Unless he was delusional and mixing up himself and the original Cheradenine in the (third-person, no less) flashbacks?

I'm probably going to have to re-read this book, even though I just finished it, to figure out if there was a hidden explanation I missed...
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on June 17, 2013, 02:15:43 am
There was an explanation you missed, though hardly hidden - pay careful attention to the grammar in the scene where that scar is inflicted.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 17, 2013, 04:35:13 am
Haven't read Use of Weapons so far, because the audiobook I have of it is terrible to listen while working (and that's the only way I currently have of "reading" books)...

CP is a really desperate depressing book.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 19, 2013, 01:37:43 am
Just finished Consider Phlebas.

And, um. 
Spoiler:
The Red Wedding has nothing on this.

I mean, I saw it all coming a mile away (except for the compressing everyone into a ball (I DID NOT NEED TO READ THAT, THANK YOU)).

It's just, damn.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on June 19, 2013, 11:11:29 am
You think that ending was a kicker, go read Use of Weapons!
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: MP-Ryan on June 19, 2013, 12:16:32 pm
I have never read any of his stuff, but I admit my interest is now piqued.  Anyone have any idea if you can purchase his work as eBooks unattached to a particular application/platform?  be nice to be able to just get them as PDFs.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 19, 2013, 02:06:15 pm
On the topic of UoW's ending, I happened across this (http://wrongquestions.blogspot.co.uk/2006/12/use-of-weapons-by-iain-m-banks.html) (NOTE SPOILERS) fairly critical analysis of it; having only a B in Higher English I don't really know what to make of it, except that I vaguely disagree.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: General Battuta on June 19, 2013, 04:12:23 pm
Yeah, I've read that. I also disagree!
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 19, 2013, 04:30:42 pm
uh... good
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Scourge of Ages on June 19, 2013, 05:59:47 pm
I have never read any of his stuff, but I admit my interest is now piqued.  Anyone have any idea if you can purchase his work as eBooks unattached to a particular application/platform?  be nice to be able to just get them as PDFs.

I rather seriously doubt it (I've searched for other books in pdf format for sale). But Amazon has a Kindle app for just about every platform you could think of, so it might not be considered a deal-breaker.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 19, 2013, 08:10:19 pm
I found The Player of Games and Use of Weapons in .epub format (it runs in the Firefox plugin) for free on some legit-looking site somewhere (I forget).
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 09:25:51 am
You say you downloaded copyrighted books on the internet for free in a "legit-looking site" somewhere in the internets.

Suuuuure man.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 20, 2013, 09:36:09 am
Which is why I didn't post a link.  :P

Upon further research of the site in question, it looks like they're hosting both legit and non-legit stuff.  So.... Yeah.

I blame my local library for sucking.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 09:38:41 am
They made you do it, right? DOWNLOAD IT OR A GSV IN ORBIT WILL KILL YOU INSTANTLY.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 20, 2013, 10:47:38 am
no one likes a copyright nazi luis
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 11:17:26 am
Where in the hell did that come from.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: The E on June 20, 2013, 12:16:50 pm
I dunno.

I for one am a big fan of paying authors for their work though (even if said authors are tragically deceased).

Also, if you really want to brag about how you're not paying for entertainment, I suggest taking it to twitter. Or reddit.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 20, 2013, 12:22:21 pm
Also, if you really want to brag about how you're not paying for entertainment, I suggest taking it to twitter. Or reddit.

If that was directed at me, I would really like to know how you reasoned that.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: The E on June 20, 2013, 12:25:54 pm
It wasn't. If it were, I would have directly addressed you. Consider it my personal formulation of one of the board rules.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 20, 2013, 12:27:03 pm
Roger, roger.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 20, 2013, 12:28:50 pm
I for one am a big fan of paying authors for their work though (even if said authors are tragically deceased).

how... do you pay somebody who is dead
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 12:39:20 pm
That's even ethically obligatory. If authors weren't paid when deceased, the most valuable ones would always have a sniper laser following their walks.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 20, 2013, 12:40:14 pm
what
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: BloodEagle on June 20, 2013, 12:53:09 pm
I for one am a big fan of paying authors for their work though (even if said authors are tragically deceased).

how... do you pay somebody who is dead

If they're survived by someone, or if their estate goes to good works (rather than, say, to a publisher and no one else).

--

That's even ethically obligatory. If authors weren't paid when deceased, the most valuable ones would always have a sniper laser following their walks.

That... doesn't follow.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 12:54:01 pm
If when authors died people would not be obliged to respect copyright anymore, then there would be a substancial incentive to kill them, specially those who have extremely valuable IPs. For this reason alone, the fact that we must respect their copyright even after they are dead served them while they were still alive.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 20, 2013, 12:57:11 pm
wow luis your incredibly contrived hypothetical has made me abandon all support of copyright reform, i am thankful that you showed me the inevitable brutality that such ideas must inevitably entail

e: i mean for ****'s sake you can just get them to hand over the copyrights at gunpoint or through blackmail or whatever right now, profit isn't the thing keeping that from happening
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 01:02:45 pm
To abandon copyright reform because you are being exposed to elementary thought about some partial problems would just show that you haven't thougth anything through regarding this matter. I, for one, support a really radical reform of the copyright laws, although stopping short of actually destroying them altogether. As The_E said, I do think the society should support those who create culture.

e: i mean for ****'s sake you can just get them to hand over the copyrights at gunpoint or through blackmail or whatever right now, profit isn't the thing keeping that from happening

To deny the existence of simple incentives that could turn anyone who has a valuable IP into a manic paranoid about his own life is not a good use of reason.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Phantom Hoover on June 20, 2013, 01:13:33 pm
are you just being deliberately obtuse right now? because seriously, you're intelligent enough that i cannot believe you'd say this **** in earnest
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 01:35:16 pm
I admit I get a little off-putting whenever someone throws a "nazi" to me and then goes to think that sarcasm will make the conversation better, albeit I am still waiting for you to point out where I am going wrong here.
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Mongoose on June 20, 2013, 01:57:29 pm
You know it would be nice if people would not **** up a memorial thread for an accomplished author with some inane side conversation that would be better served by PMs.

(hint hint)
Title: Re: Iain Banks has terminal cancer
Post by: Luis Dias on June 20, 2013, 02:00:25 pm
SO AS I WAS SAYIN', I loved Player of Games when I first read it so much I had to read it again the very same day!

Yeah, I know, it probably didn't age very well (given how the structure of the story has been turned into a cliché), but it was part of my formative sci-fi novels (others being "Childhood's End" and "Hitchhiker's Guide") so I will always have it dearly inscribed inside my heart.