But after that, I always said it like he did, with a hard, Scottish “r”.

(Yes, that is the best I could come up with when meeting one of the most famous writers in the world.) He said, any way you like – since it’s all made up. Standing in front of him it struck me that he really is quite Scottish, and I asked him how to pronounce one of the characters’ names in The Player of Games (1988), “Gurgeh”. Gibbering with nerves and totally star-struck, I had lined up with hordes of other fans to meet him – the only time in my life I have ever done that. I had always jealously held on to the Banks books, especially the one that he had signed on a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa. At least there is The Quarry to look forward to (due out 20 June 2013 in the UK, 25 June 2013 in US). I am sitting here looking at my collection of Iain (M.) Banks books, collected since I became a fan in the 1980s.

His death was calm and without pain.” Publisher Little, Brown Book Group said the author was “one of the country’s best-loved novelists” for both his mainstream and science fiction books. “Iain Banks’ ability to combine the most fertile of imaginations with his own highly distinctive brand of gothic humour made him unique,” it said. After announcing his illness in April, Banks asked his publishers to bring forward the release date of his latest novel, The Quarry, so he could see it on the shelves.” (My review of The Quarry is here.)Īnd there goes my all-time favourite author. “Author Iain Banks has died aged 59, two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family has said. Banks, who was born in Dunfermline, Fife, revealed in April he had gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year…In a statement, his publisher said he was “an irreplaceable part of the literary world”.Ī message posted on Banksophilia, a website set up to provide fans with updates on the author, quoted his wife Adele saying: “Iain died in the early hours this morning.

He wrote fiction in a variety of genres as Iain Banks, and Sci-Fi novels as Iain M. My favourite author, Iain Banks, died on 9 June 2013. Banks, my all-time favourite author (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013)

Ian banks use of weapons