I was very shocked and saddened to read that Iain Banks has announced that he has late-stage terminal cancer and is not expected to live beyond 12 months....
He recently married his long-time girlfriend ( asking her if she would do him the honour of becoming his widow - black humour being a trademark) and is spending time on a honeymoon and then a tour of meaningful places..
I have spent many years reading and re-reading both his Sci-Fi and modern contemporary novels, and he has been my favourite author for decades. The Culture was one of the greatest ever Sci-Fi inventions, and his work has been endlessly inventive. Indeed ,so much did I like his writing that it influenced my choice of screen-name.
I wish him a pain-free ,dignified and happy last few months and will miss him and his works enormously....
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/features/iain-banks-reveals-he-is-dying-of-cancer-1-2874469