Grim news from Iain Banks

[Fisticuffs]

Very sad news, I met him once at a book signing/Q&A session and he was extremely friendly, funny and courteous. A future without him and his fantastic Culture is a sad one indeed. Truly gutted.

[Rog69]

Awful, awful news. I'm a huge fan of his work, he is far and away my favourite writer. Sometimes I think that everything else I read is just to fill in the time between Culture novels  .

Fuck cancer.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I guess I should read something by him. Anyone got any recommendations of where to start?

At the beginning. For non Sci-fi start with The Wasp Factory, or if you prefer to tuck straight into some Sci-fi start with Consider Phlebas.

They're the only two I've read; and they're both very good indeed.  How does a man fit such very different universes into one brain?  He'll be missed.

[MercZ]

Of his books I've only read Consider Phlebas and Use of Weapons, both of which I picked up at a second hand store here on the recommendation of some sci-fi list. They are great books and since then I've been reading them as ebooks since physical copies are hard to come by locally, though that is changing.

Of the sci-fi I've read, his were the most recent and genuinely interesting, not related to some established IP and being an original creation is a plus too. It's depressing reading his statement there in the OP, seeing people grapple with terminal cancer is something I can't look at.

[von Boom]

Orbit has set up a guest book to leave a message for Mr. Banks.

http://friends.banksophilia.com/guestbook/

[Zarjazzer]

Very sad news indeed.

[Dunk!]

Truly awful news.

My thoughts are with Iain.

Gutted.

Dunk.

[Richmond Clements]

Tweet from Ian Rankin earlier, that show's Iain's utter class:
"Typical of Iain to propose marriage to his partner Adele with the words 'Will you do me the honour of becoming my widow?"

[Frank]

I guess I should read something by him. Anyone got any recommendations of where to start?

You can start anywhere, but Use of Weapons and The Wasp Factory are the standouts for me - probably because they both offer a fairly dark and cynical view of human nature. In comparison, everything else he's written is more upbeat and the new stuff is just as good as the old stuff.

[shaolin_monkey]

I guess I should read something by him. Anyone got any recommendations of where to start?

You can start anywhere, but Use of Weapons and The Wasp Factory are the standouts for me - probably because they both offer a fairly dark and cynical view of human nature. In comparison, everything else he's written is more upbeat and the new stuff is just as good as the old stuff.

If you want to ease yourself into his normal fiction, start with The Crow Road, I reckon, though Wasp Factory is a bloody brilliant book.  I think Player of Games is my fave Sci-Fi, with Use of a Weapons a close second. 

[Goaty]

There's many Iain Banks books at iBooks

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I read Transition (Transitions?) last month and it was the most sci-fi "non-SF" book I've ever read. And dashed good, too.

[shaolin_monkey]

Oh god, I forgot all about 'Walking On Glass'.  How could I?  That book is genius!  It might even be my favourite of all his work.

It is kind of half-fantasy, half contemporary fiction, and all just so bizarre - as soon as I finished it the first time my mind was still boggling, so had to read it again immediately.  It's one of those books where it all really clicks during the second reading, and you can see all the threads coming together to make an elaborate tapestry.  Truly masterful.

[ming]

The Bridge is still a great favourite of mine; I have a much-loved tatty copy that an old girlfriend took along to a signing for me many years ago (dedicated with added 'Yeeee ha!').

I've read most of his fiction and science fiction over the years but the sad news has definitely given me a kick up the arse to fill in the gaps.  He'll be sorely missed, that's for sure.

[Sideshow Bob]

Dreadful news, and my thoughts and best wishes to him and all his family and friends...
The first book of his, I ever read was The Wasp Factory.....Amazingly disturbing, and lived on in my memory for many, many years.....