Iain Banks RIP

[Frostfox]

Goodbye to a great author and a great guy, British fandom is in mourning, we all spent many a happy hour in a bar with Iain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22835047

FF

[dipsofjazz]

A very sad day.

[Frostfox]

Banksie was one of the good 'uns.
He was like Bob Shaw and PTerry and Joycie and Ken McCloud, one of the pros who could be found in the fan bar, rather than the publisher's party.

Neil made me cry.

His last email to Banksie finished with - " I think you're a brilliant and an honest writer, and much more importantly, because I've known lots of brilliant writers who were absolute arses, I think you're a really good bloke, and I've loved knowing you."

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2013/0...without-m.html

I also remember Banksie climbing up the hotel at the 87 Worldcon in Brighton. And the climbing the Eastercon Hotel De France on Jersey. And crawling out from under a carpet when I was trying to introduce him to a stray journalist who was looking for authors. And the time I sprayed whipped cream in his beard and poured on chocolate hundreds and thousands (and the lid came off and he inhaled and nearly choked to death) during a silly convention game and so many other good memories.

Too, too soon, we all hoped he would have longer.

FF

[Starfist]

I was shocked when I heard the news.

[Wyrminarrd]

I was sad to hear the news, I was really hoping he would manage to make it until his new book came out.

[Kayzersoze]

I just finished "The Hydrogen Sonata". I knew of the prognosis before starting, and it saddened me to think I was reading his last SciFi, and last Culture novel.

His excellent work will be missed by many fans, I'm sure.

[REPLICATOR SAM]

I was very sad to hear this news.

He wrote many great books.
r i p Iain.