Iain [M] Banks

Thanks Iain [M.]

Cancer you are a bastard, long may Bullheart and many others smash a brick into your head each day. Ian Banks (M); somebody who took me away from building sire canteens for 30 mins each day. He is probably a sentient on a far flung planet as we speak.

That’s very sad news.

Don’t think I’ve been as upset at the death of someone I didn’t call family or a friend for a long time.

RIP Iain.
Thanks.

As above, hoping he’s on the Sleeper Service. Perhaps in a scene from Scottish history 🙂 An exceptional author who gave simple enjoyment to many people.

Chair

Genius, RIP

Very sad to hear this on this evening’s news. I love his Culture SF books, and knowing that there will never be another, means I’ll treasure the ones I have all the more. 😥

his writing kept me out of trouble, amused, excited, and appalled, but mostly tremendously entertained. what a shame.

RIP.

Time to re-read The Business again.

No more Culture 🙁

RIP

I read very little but I remember to this day how much I enjoyed The Wasp Factory. Thanks to you Mr Banks.

A great modern novelist. Dreadful shame.

Bugger!

RIP

RIP Iain. Listening to Wilco Johnson today, talking about his cancer,I shed a few tears .I thought about Iain and wondered how he was getting on,never imagining that he had already gone.

gutted, his books have their own shelf in my book case

the culture novels are some of the greatest literary works the world has seen

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/10/iain-banks-ken-macleod-science-fiction?commentpage=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series

As others have said, I was shocked by how quickly he went.

Seeing him on the news last night I was shocked by how gaunt he looked.

I read the following on a blog about him today. If you’re a fan of The Culture it may bring a smile to your lips

GCU Read ‘Em and Weep to GSV Does My Mind Look Big in This?: A mutual friend says it’s time to go. Do you have any associates near [system ID], some time in the next dozen megaseconds?

GSV Does My Mind… to ROU Not Just a Pretty Face: Fancy a detour to [system ID], since you’re passing? There’s some baggage to collect: [target designator]

ROU Not Just… to GSV Does My Mind…: It would stretch my schedule. What makes you think I’ve got the legs for that?

GSV Does My Mind… to ROU Not Just…: A little bird told me about your refit. Go on, you’re just itching to try it out.

ROU Not Just… to GSV Does My Mind…: “Bird”? “Itching”? Have you gone native? Oh, all right then, since you’re twisting my arm.

GSV Does My Mind… to ROU Not Just…: Look who’s talking: you’re the one with “arms” and “legs”. Bet you can’t do it in five megaseconds.

ROU Not Just… to GSV Does My Mind…: Aren’t I’m supposed to say something like “Let’s see the colour of your money”? Anyway, watch this.

GSV Does My Mind… to ROU Not Just…: I’m waiting. … OK, that really is rather nice. Next time you’re nearby I’ll send you an avatar to perform an appropriate low whistle.

GSV Does My Mind… to GCU Read ‘Em and Weep: Our friend should make his farewells, and be ready for displacement by ROU Not Just a Pretty Face at time [timestamp]. Are there any countermeasures in place?

GCU Read ‘Em and Weep to GSV Does My Mind… and ROU Not Just…: Much obliged. No countermeasures, I’m afraid: it’s all a bit stone axes. They still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. No displacement, either: the Arbitrary doesn’t want us frightening the horses. Scan-and-forward, if you please. The usual cover story is in place.

ROU Not Just… to GCU Read ‘Em and Weep and GSV Does My Mind…: Sigh. I’ll put my toys away then. A pity: it’s an attractive system, but I always think those little blue planets look better with a ring. Or a really big crater. Who is this guy anyway? I’m dying to meet him. Or maybe I’ve got that backwards. … Scan complete. Oh, it’s him. Let me know when you decant him and I’ll drop by to pay my respects. Here you are: [entanglement scan stream]

Of course Iain would have put it better.

It’s a big big loss despite the advance notice. … waiting for the new book it will be strange to read it knowing it’s the last

Hugely saddened by all of this, am a massive fan of his Culture novels and I’d really hoped that he’d be with us just a little bit longer.

A brilliant author in both incarnations – after this one I think I’ll always miss looking forward to the next book.

RIP

Complicity was amongst my favourite novels. His reference to the strange landies at Lix Toll always made me smile.

I raised a toast last night to an epic author who’s books always struck me as ‘real’. I did laugh when i read this:

“But I was 87,000 words into the book before I discovered the bad news. I had no inkling. So it wasn’t as though this is a response to the disease or anything, the book had been kind of ready to go. And then 10,000 words from the end, as it turned out, I suddenly discovered that I had cancer.

“I’ve really got to stop doing my research too late. This is such a bad idea.”

I like the ship exchange, doesn’t quite have the finess of the great man himself but it brought a tear to my eye.

Saddened when I heard the news of his terminal illness. Then saddened again these last couple of days when it’s come to pass, has made me appreciate things just that little more sharply. Didn’t always get the Culture novels, read the early mainstream stuff avidly when they came out (started on either Wasp Factory or Walking on Glass in late 80s). Became rather uneven and difficult to read eventually (thinking Song of Stone and to lesser extent Canal Dreams) but usually had some spark of well observed writing, and just the enjoyment of words for their own sake.

There’s some Guardian or similar radio piece with him chatting to an audience, a more good humoured chap I couldn’t imagine – which makes the imagination all the more keen..

Likewise as with scotroutes I always smiled at the Lix Toll references (though possibly was that Crow Road, Complicity was the Fiat 126s..?). Couple of signed copies, The Bridge and Crow Road, which my mate in London kindly obtained at a book signing..

Oh, and appreciated the little reference to the happy ending of The Bridge in Complicity.. 🙂

ahh, bugger.

I like the ship exchange

Damn. My eyes have gone all moist for some reason. 😥

Never met him but it feels like losing a mate. I’ve avidly read his books since I was about 14 or 15. Really don’t think there is another contemporary writer who can touch him for imagination, use of language and sheer bloody good storytelling. I love them all particularly the family sagas (Wasp Factory, Crow Road and Garbadale).

We did a bike tour of the Western Isles a few years back – I had a copy of Raw Spirit in my panniers and it was our nightly guide to the whisky we’d drink at the end of each days riding.

Will be sadly missed…

“The point is, there is no feasible excuse for what we are, for what we have made of ourselves. We have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality, dividends before decency, fanaticism before fairness, and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others”

Terrible news all round, my heart goes out to his family (& everyone in this position).
I am a huge fan of his sci-fi books, he will be missed.

There’s some Guardian or similar radio piece with him chatting to an audience, a more good humoured chap I couldn’t imagine – which makes the imagination all the more keen..

I went to see him speak at Waterstones on Deansgate in Manchester a couple of times.

He was great.
Sat at the front with 4 bottles of beer opened on a shelf behind him and one of his ‘FTT’ shirts on.
Read a few extracts (Whit, the first time, which is the one I remember most) answered questions, drank the beer, then asked the audience which curry house he should go to for his supper. 😀
It was recorded for the South Bank show. Must be available somewhere.

Gave the impression that this was the first time he’d ever done a reading.
Appeared interested and answered the questions he must have been asked a million times before.

I’m going to give Feersum Endjinn another go – never got on with it before but I feel I at least owe him that.

Feersum Endjinn is a hard one. I have read it but think I will do again. Against a dark background is one of his better Iain M Banks ones.

Anyway, RIP.

I always smiled at the Lix Toll references

Me too! I read Complicity recently and his reference to the yellow landy on tracks at Lix Toll made me smile and reminisce. When staying in Killin in my late teens I used to make trips out to Lix Toll with my dad (who also died of cancer, almost a year to the day before Banks) on the pretext of buying some milk to have a gawp at it 😀

Found the broadcast I was looking for. Guardian Book Club podcast.
Just fabulous!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2008/jul/16/guardian.bookclub.podcast

and another broadcast interview —
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2009/sep/08/iain-banks

Veering slightly OT but I these are appropriate 🙂

Here’s the Telegraph obituary.

kcal, cheers for that.

Druidh, spot on. 🙂

Feersum Enjinn kind of requires you to almost read aloud which is quite tough in public spaces; and a working knowledge of Scots!

it iz kwite an effot to reed dat wun.

I dunno, took me a while to work up to it, but once in you get the jist and it flows along (though you may occasionally need to say stuff out loud – it does help)

and I’m not in the slightest scotch 😈

Looking forward to the ‘Raw Spirits’ documentary on BBC Scotland tomorrow. I was deeply saddened to here of his passing on Sunday and going to read the remaining books I’ve missed so far.
He seemed a really genuine guy and easily one of the worlds most talented authors of recent times.

R.I.P Iain {M} Banks

Hydrogen Sonata is mint, I think it maybe his best culture novel.

Feersum Enjinn kind of requires you to almost read aloud which is quite tough in public spaces; and a working knowledge of Scots!

others have interpreted that character in a cockney accent 🙂

Just read Oldgits thread about his dog, and caught up with this thread again, and it’s left me feeling more than a little bit teary. I could never get on with the mainstream books, but I’ve read all of the Culture books numerous times, and I’ve now got them all as ebooks, the only one that defeats me is Player Of Games, because the main character is just such a shitty personality, hopelessly unsympathetic, so I just can’t read that book. I do like Feersum Enjinn, though it takes me a few pages to get back into the rhythm of the odd spelling.
At least Iain has left such a great legacy that will continue to be read and enjoyed by future generations.
I love the Ship conversation about him, nicely done, that. 🙂

the only one that defeats me is Player Of Games, because the main character is just such a shitty personality, hopelessly unsympathetic,

Try again. I think it’s worth it. Then read Surface Detail. Banks believed in the possibility of redemption.

One day there’ll be a film based on one of the Culture novels. If it gets close to being half as good as the book it’ll be bloody brilliant.

Maybe I need to go and read some more stuff. The first I read was ‘Song of Stone’ and that put me right off. I can’t really do unremitting bleakness. Time to go find something else I think