Novelist Iain M. Banks revealed today that he is battling advanced cancer. His doctors predicted he had “several months” to live.
Banks has published numerous books in a variety of genres, including his science fiction Culture series. Banks’s personal site is currently being updated to build a place “where friends, family and fans can leave messages for me and check on my progress” online during this difficult time. Here’s more from the author:
As a result, I’ve withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I’ve asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry – but we find ghoulish humour helps). By the time this goes out we’ll be married and on a short honeymoon. We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us. Meanwhile my heroic publishers are doing all they can to bring the publication date of my new novel forward by as much as four months, to give me a better chance of being around when it hits the shelves.