Iain Banks dies aged 59

Iain Banks, the award-winning writer, has died aged 59, just two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family are reported to have said.

The Scottish author of The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road and Complicity, had revealed in April he was suffering from terminal gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year.

In a statement on the BBC News website, his publisher said he was "an irreplaceable part of the literary world".

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," the publisher was reported saying.

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.

"Just three weeks ago he was presented with finished copies and enjoyed celebration parties with old friends and fans across the publishing world," the statement continued.

The Wasp Factory, Banks' first novel, was published in 1984 and was ranked as one of the best 100 books of the 20th Century in a 1997 poll conducted by book chain Waterstones and Channel 4.

The writer also wrote sci-fi titles under the name Iain M Banks.

Banks announced his illness on his website on 3 April, writing "I am officially Very Poorly" . With trademark black humour, he said he had asked his partner Adele "if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow".

He said that his latest novel, The Quarry, would be his last. A website set up for friends, family and fans to leave messages for him was inundated with tributes to the writer.

Speaking to BBC News on Sunday, friend and fellow author Ken MacLeod, said: "He was still in good spirits and concentrating on his plans and projects and expecting to have another few months. But his situation took a turn for the worse.

"I got the email from his wife Adele not much more than an hour ago. I'm still in a state of some disbelief.

"What Iain brought to his writing was himself. He brought a wonder."

Author and friend Neil Gaiman tweeted: "Iain Banks is dead. I'm crying in an empty house. A good man and a friend for almost 30 years."(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk)

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