• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Iain (M) Banks is dying

Bob The Skutter

Bob The Skutter

Complete Arse Cleft
In Memoriam
A Personal Statement from Iain Banks


April 3rd, 2013 in From the Author
I am officially Very Poorly.
After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that - it turns out - is the least of my problems.
I first thought something might be wrong when I developed a sore back in late January, but put this down to the fact I'd started writing at the beginning of the month and so was crouched over a keyboard all day. When it hadn't gone away by mid-February, I went to my GP, who spotted that I had jaundice. Blood tests, an ultrasound scan and then a CT scan revealed the full extent of the grisly truth by the start of March.
I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term.
Click to expand...

Very sad news.
 
Aww. WTF.He looks like the nicest of guys and a possible future Trek showrunner. Have hope Iain, there may be a cure. Soon.
 
Dreadful news. He is indeed a great guy, always got a sense of humour, always did his best to boost author friends who hadn't matched his success yet (eg, when I was lining up an interview with him, he suggested doing it as a joint one with Ken McLeod... which was fine by me as I'd been looking for an excuse to interview him as well).
 
It's been several hours now since I've heard the horrific news and things still seem unreal to me: I only saw him at a book signing late last year (when he seemed in good health).
 
Terrible, terrible news. I just finished 'The Hydrogen Sonata' and liked it a lot.

And as should be said on every occasion, fuck cancer.
 
I just saw this one IO9, very sad news indeed. I haven't had a chance to check out any of The Culture novels yet, but I did buy Forgetting Phlebas for my Nook when it was on sale for $0.99 last year. It's probably going to be one of the next couple things I read.
 
JD said:
Forgetting Phlebas
Click to expand...
Consider Phlebas. Not one of his best (he'd written it before his three previous novels, but couldn't sell an SF book till he was established), but it tells you what you need to know about the Culture to be able to jump straight into the later, stronger Culture books.
 
Sad to hear about this, and just right after Roger Ebert, too. I hope that he can beat this.

When the frack are we really going to stop all of out shit as a species and work on a cure for cancer?:scream:
 
My layman's understanding is that 'cancer' isn't really just one disease, unfortunately. There'll probably never be 'a cure' for cancer.

Also unfortunate is that Banks' situation is more or less hopeless, by his own admission. What he's looking at now is life-extending chemotherapy and the trade-off between quality and quantity of remaining time. Immeasurably sad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top