Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
Aw shit. :/
"You can reply to this Message!"
Oh no 
. He's a great writer; I'll be sad to see him go.
Was Aliroz the Confused
That's terrible.
Cleric of Banjo
Very sad to hear.
Edit, edit, edit, edit the wiki
HGW XX/7
Very sad for him and his family. A great writer.
Schild und Schwert der Partei
the Quantum Mechanic
No, please no! Why the hell does he have to leave us? He just published an incredible Culture book, and it was about Ascending just to hurt even worse. Damn it, he was the greatest science fiction writer since Frank Herbert, yet another great epic unfinished before it's time!
I'm literally breaking into tears as I write this, the man's a visionary.
"No will to break."
Well, he's making the most of the time he has left...
Sad to hear.
Particularly since I have been meaning to get into the Culture novels...
Poor man. Cancer is a bitch. My best wishes to his family and friends.
the Quantum Mechanic
They're still worth a read. They're well written enough that even though there'll never be an ending, still worth it. Besides, there's no way the Culture could have really ended, just sort of... Sort of stopped.
"No will to break."
Neutral Good
Damn, I'm sorry to hear that. Here's hoping he's one of those who beats the odds.
You wouldn't care what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did.
Hey, do you know the way to Shell Beach?
That's terribly sad news. Banks is probably one of my favorite SF authors.
edited 15th Apr '13 4:44:30 AM by Drenius
Journalism is just a gun. It's only got one bullet in it, but if you aim right, that's all you need.
Gimmie the sit-rep.
And so passes one of the great Sci-Fi writers of our generation.
Farewell, Mr. Banks.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."
edited 9th Jun '13 8:53:01 AM by GreatGodPan
Spooky.
Rest in peace, Mr. Banks.
the Quantum Mechanic
First Frank Herbert, then Ian Banks. How many brilliant authors will die before their time?
"No will to break."
Lawful neutral
A bit late, but when your diagnosis gives you "months," it means you're probably long past treatable :(
Banks was 59, Herbert was 65- not great innings, but more than a lot of people get. At least we had them for as long as we did.
P Terry's currently 65. Dunno how much longer he'll stay himself.
the Quantum Mechanic
Damn it, it's always the brilliant writers. Meanwhile the literary market's getting worse and worse writers in the mainstream.
Sun-Earther Iain El-Bonko Banks, you will be missed.
"No will to break."
it's a living
On the one hand, ancient thread necro. On the other hand, the Culture thread is even older, and I don't feel like this warrants a thread of its own, and it's even more obscure in a vacuum, so...
Matt Adrian paints birds, but the real highlight here is the titles, which are great little poetic vignettes that reminded me of the names of Culture ships. Gems like:
DEFIANTLY EFFERVESCENT IN THE FACE OF THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
OVERDRESSED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED
INSTRUMENTS OF DEFENSE AND ATTACK
I WILL PUT YOU DOWN AS A SOFT MAYBE
IN THE BEGINNING, WE CALLED IT LOVE
I OFTEN FALL PREY TO THE POPULAR FALLACY KNOWN AS POSITIVE THINKING
And more.
Rest ye well, Mr. Banks.
In his own words.
Goddammit. I'd only really gotten into his work recently too.
Spooky.