Iain Banks Dies of Cancer At 59

First post by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 04:59 · Score: 4, Informative

Cancer sucks...

Re:First post by JustOK · 2013-06-09 05:02 · Score: 4, Funny

"Life sucks, but death doesn't put out at all...." -- Thomas J. Kopp

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rewriting history since 2109
Re:First post by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 05:20 · Score: 0, Funny

Cancer sucks...
Yeah! And bladder cancer no less. If I had it, it'd really piss me off! Although, I understand it's not as much of a pain in the ass as rectal cancer.
Re:First post by chipschap · 2013-06-09 05:31 · Score: 4, Insightful

If you ever had cancer yourself you would not make unfunny, insensitive comments. A real loss --- Iain Banks was a terrific writer with a lot to say to us.
Re:First post by Rinikusu · 2013-06-09 05:37 · Score: 2, Funny

Actually, yes I would.

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If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
Re:First post by durrr · 2013-06-09 05:42 · Score: 5, Informative

Gall bladder cancer, not urinary bladder.
A sad form of cancer as it's almost never detected in time(due to no symptoms and few tests that finds it by incident), find it early, and it have a excellent prognosis, find it late, and it's game over.
Colorectal cancer is somewhat similar in that it grows slowly for a long time before turning lethal, but colonoscopies are much more frequently performed, and symptoms can show earlier.
Re:First post by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 05:50 · Score: 1

Of course we would. I just don't think there are things you should see as so perverse that you shouldn't be allowed to make a joke about it. otherwise you end up with a whole lot of censorship.
Re:First post by isorox · 2013-06-09 06:39 · Score: 3, Funny

If you ever had cancer yourself you would not make unfunny, insensitive comments.
True, he'd say something like

Yeah! And bladder cancer no less. If I had it, it'd really piss me off! Although, I understand it's not as much of a pain in the ass as rectal cancer.
Some people find joking helps them feel better about bad things.
Re:First post by chipschap · 2013-06-09 06:57 · Score: 2

Joking about your own cancer may be stress relief ... joking about someone else's is insensitive at the least.
Re:First post by andrewa · 2013-06-09 08:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

I've had cancer twice now, and the only way I could deal with it was through humour. Lighten up.

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:(){ :|:& };:
Re:First post by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-06-09 09:48 · Score: 1

Some people find joking helps them feel better about bad things.
I'd say that most do, although many won't admit that in public. In fact, isn't this an established result in human psychology, that hysterical laughter is an escape mechanism in stressful situations, or something like that?

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Ezekiel 23:20
Re:First post by kungfool · 2013-06-09 13:04 · Score: 1

I've had bladder cancer (Stage 1 Grade 2 transitional cell carcinoma), and I make jokes about it all the time.
Re:First post by newcastlejon · 2013-06-09 17:16 · Score: 1

I don't think Iain is in any position to care about people joking, and his widow is hardly going to be finding out about it on /.

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If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:First post by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 18:34 · Score: 0

To partly defend the jokers; Iain joked about cancer too. He proposed to his widow by asking her to become one. Of course Iain knew how to do things with style, and taste which is what many of our jokers lack. That lack is the reason why we don't worship most Slashdot ACs the way we worshipped Iain, but it's there's no point to worry. Just mod them down and go of either go and read "Espedair street" whilst forgetting about them (if you haven't read any Banks then read "The Wasp factory" or "The Business" first) or go and read the anything dust chapters of "Look to Windward" whilst thinking of them in detail. Neither will hurt any actual real humans. Buy them now whilst you can still believe Iain has real influence over how his royalties are spent.
Re:First post by isorox · 2013-06-09 20:32 · Score: 1

Some people find joking helps them feel better about bad things.
I'd say that most do, although many won't admit that in public. In fact, isn't this an established result in human psychology, that hysterical laughter is an escape mechanism in stressful situations, or something like that?
Laughter is the best form of medicine
Re:First post by nitehawk214 · 2013-06-10 01:41 · Score: 1

If you ever had cancer yourself you would not make unfunny, insensitive comments.
A real loss --- Iain Banks was a terrific writer with a lot to say to us.
Spoken like someone that has never had cancer. There is a thing called "gallows humor", it can serve as a great relief to people that have hope of survival.
That being given, it is usually best to allow the person stricken to open up the humor avenue first, just in case.

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I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Re:First post by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-10 03:20 · Score: 0

yes it does dumb shit death: the permanent ending of vital processes in cells and tissues, ergo yes it does put out all
Re:First post by ccp · 2013-06-10 07:26 · Score: 1

If you ever had cancer yourself you would not make unfunny, insensitive comments
I had (three), and I did make them (unfunny, insensitive comments) all the time. Puts things in perspective.

Oh by spongman · 2013-06-09 05:00 · Score: 2

Oh bugger.

Re:Oh by bungo · 2013-06-09 05:26 · Score: 5, Insightful

They were my thoughts exactly.
I only discovered him about 5 years ago, and I was looking forward for many more years of Culture novels. I thought there was a lot more he could still explore in that universe.
One thing I would have like to have seen is something that was more focused on things happening inside the Culture and their society. Most of the times he spends some setup time in the Culture, then whips off to the edge of their space to deal with some other civilization. I wanted to learn more about the workings of the Culture.
I guess now I'll never know....

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"The best part? I became an ordained minister while not wearing pants." -- CleverNickName
Re:Oh by newcastlejon · 2013-06-09 05:40 · Score: 2, Informative

I wanted to learn more about the workings of the Culture.
A world where everyone has everything they could ever want doesn't make for very interesting reading. You can't really have drama without conflict, which I suppose would make Turn to Windward the best choice if you want a book set mainly within the Culture.

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If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:Oh by bungo · 2013-06-09 05:47 · Score: 1

Everyone can have whatever they want, yes... but it doesn't mean that everything has to be harmonious. No large inter-group disagreement is possible? Maybe some significant section want to break away.....
Ok, I'm not a good writer, but Banks was, and I'm sure that he could have some up with something interesting that exposes more of the workings of the Culture.
It just makes me feel a little sad that there is no chance that there will be any more Culture novels.

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"The best part? I became an ordained minister while not wearing pants." -- CleverNickName
Re:Oh by Dupple · 2013-06-09 05:49 · Score: 4, Interesting

Just what I thought.
I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times at readings in the UK. I still think Walking on Glass is my fave.
Take it easy wherever you are

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Watch those corners
Re:Oh by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 06:06 · Score: 0

You mean breakaway factions like the Zetetic Elench or the Peace Faction, or the wheeling and dealing going on within the Interesting Times Gang? :-)
Re:Oh by newcastlejon · 2013-06-09 06:20 · Score: 3, Interesting

No large inter-group disagreement is possible?
Yes, this was touched upon in the book I named earlier, specifically the groups that were for and against the pylons with the suspended boat-things.

Maybe some significant section want to break away.....
Happened with the Elench and others.
The point I was trying to make is that the sort of problems a person might face in a post-scarcity society are somewhat less interesting than so-called "First World problems"*; Banks would usually use the Culture to provide some contrast with another, less advanced society.
*For example, if we hadn't already had a peek into the reasons behind Quilan's visit then the composer's struggle to avoid meeting him might have been interminably dull.

--
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:Oh by Seumas · 2013-06-09 07:11 · Score: 1

I just started reading some of his stuff this year and I only learned of his cancer when I googled his name this past Friday. I don't want to get political, but every time I see something like this, I can't help but opine on how many times over we could probably have cured cancer by now if we just redirected a fraction of the money we so eagerly dish out to nation-building/oil-grabbing/whatever-the-fuck-we're-doing-in-half-the-fucking-planet-right-now, surveilling our own citizens, and bailing out banks and car companies all to the tune of many trillions of dollars in only a few years.
Death invigorates life, but cancer-caused deaths are one thing we should be doing away with any day now. Not doing so sort of feels like when you see someone's kid die of an easily treatable condition due to some religious belief. "We could have fucking done something about this!!!".
Re:Oh by godel_56 · 2013-06-09 11:57 · Score: 1

I just started reading some of his stuff this year and I only learned of his cancer when I googled his name this past Friday. I don't want to get political, but every time I see something like this, I can't help but opine on how many times over we could probably have cured cancer by now if we just redirected a fraction of the money we so eagerly dish out to nation-building/oil-grabbing/whatever-the-fuck-we're-doing-in-half-the-fucking-planet-right-now, surveilling our own citizens, and bailing out banks and car companies all to the tune of many trillions of dollars in only a few years.
We can cure many cancers including his cancer, now. The problem with many cancers is early detection. Ovarian cancer is another obvious target that falls into this category.
Re:Oh by BrokenHalo · 2013-06-09 12:08 · Score: 1

It just makes me feel a little sad that there is no chance that there will be any more Culture novels.
Don't neglect his other works, though. IMO his best work was written under his name without the "M" in the middle.

My personal favourites are The Crow Road (which has one of the best opening lines ever) and Complicity, both of which I have re-read several times. The Wasp Factory is equally as good, though I have never been tempted to re-read that.
Re:Oh by stymy · 2013-06-09 15:04 · Score: 1

I think that only happens because he always kept a human or humans as the main characters. He could have easily written a Mind-centric story about all the backroom dealings the ships and hubs had. It was shown in many stories that there were pretty fundamental disagreements about topics like interference in other civilizations, and so a story about how it was decided what Special Circumstances ends up doing could have been rather interesting.
Re:Oh by Znork · 2013-06-10 06:20 · Score: 1

Well, Excession does touch on those subjects to a degree. The way I've understood the Culture it really lacks the cohesion to have what would be recognized as some sort of formal decision making process, so most likely SC ends up doing what SC does because a decent sized group of minds feel like it and nobody can stop them (or feels strongly enough about it to make any significant attempt).
In Excession you see the same thing happening on multiple levels. You have the Interesting Time Gang deciding on and taking action. You have the faction entraping the Affront. You have the GCU Grey Area engaging in its own brand of contact work. Apart from social pressure, when dealing in pretty much infinitely powerful entities it's very hard to enforce norms even when significant aberrations occur.

Immortal now. by Spottywot · 2013-06-09 05:03 · Score: 5, Interesting

Thank you for giving me a universe that will live in my mind long after your death. You have uploaded your mindstate to me and many others.

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In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...

Re:Immortal now. by Athanasius · 2013-06-09 05:20 · Score: 3, Informative

Apparently supportive comments, such as this one, on the blog someone set up for him, http://friends.banksophilia.com/28-2/ (already 'slashdotted' even before this post came up on my RSS feed, so check google cache... but when I did it didn't have the latest post), were a great source of joy for him in his final months.
RIP indeed, it's times like this one might wish there was an afterlife. As it is right now my thoughts are mostly for his family and close friends.
Re:Immortal now. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 10:15 · Score: 0

RIP indeed, it's times like this one might wish there was an afterlife.
At the moment Mr Banks really wishes that there wasn't one.
Re:Immortal now. by Blue+Stone · 2013-06-09 10:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

A great article where Iain talks about his thinking behind the Culture - A Few Notes on the Culture

FIRSTLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: THE CULTURE DOESN'T REALLY EXIST. IT ONLY EXISTS IN MY MIND AND THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO'VE READ ABOUT IT.
That having been made clear:
The Culture is a group-civilisation formed from seven or eight humanoid species, space-living elements of which established a loose federation approximately nine thousand years ago. The ships and habitats which formed the original alliance required each others' support to pursue and maintain their independence from the political power structures - principally those of mature nation-states and autonomous commercial concerns - they had evolved from.
The galaxy (our galaxy) in the Culture stories is a place long lived-in, and scattered with a variety of life-forms. In its vast and complicated history it has seen waves of empires, federations, colonisations, die-backs, wars, species-specific dark ages, renaissances, periods of mega-structure building and destruction, and whole ages of benign indifference and malign neglect. At the time of the Culture stories, there are perhaps a few dozen major space-faring civilisations, hundreds of minor ones, tens of thousands of species who might develop space-travel, and an uncountable number who have been there, done that, and have either gone into locatable but insular retreats to contemplate who-knows-what, or disappeared from the normal universe altogether to cultivate lives even less comprehensible.
In this era, the Culture is one of the more energetic civilisations, and initially - after its formation, which was not without vicissitudes - by a chance of timing found a relatively quiet galaxy around it, in which there were various other fairly mature civilisations going about their business, traces and relics of the elder cultures scattered about the place, and - due to the fact nobody else had bothered to go wandering on a grand scale for a comparatively long time - lots of interesting 'undiscovered' star systems to explore...

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Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
Re:Immortal now. by arth1 · 2013-06-09 14:01 · Score: 1

but when I did it didn't have the latest post), were a great source of joy for him in his final months.
And so was his (re)buying a BMW M5 and taking it for spins around Alba. And getting married. Glad it wasn't all doom and gloom.
Re:Immortal now. by blackpig · 2013-06-09 16:59 · Score: 1

At the moment Mr Banks really wishes that there wasn't one.
Very 'Christian' of you AC.
But typical.

Farewell, good sir. by Amnenth · 2013-06-09 05:04 · Score: 4, Insightful

I just bought a couple of his books last week, knowing he wouldn't be around much longer. I haven't had time to fully read them yet (I'm maybe a hundred and fifty pages into Consider Phlebas) but from what I've read so far, the world is now a poorer place for having lost Mr. Banks.

Re:Farewell, good sir. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 05:17 · Score: 0

I started with Excession some years ago, and have been working my way through the others. They've all been well worth reading. Mr. Banks death is true loss.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by Charliemopps · 2013-06-09 05:38 · Score: 3, Interesting

Consider Phlebas is a great book, but difficult to start the series on even if it was the first. Many of the culture series are down right depressing, but worth reading anyway. Excession is probably my favorite, followed by player of games. You do not have to read them in any particular order.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by Intropy · 2013-06-09 05:52 · Score: 1

I'm using pretty strict with myself always preferring to read in an optimal order. Obviously that's most important when it's all one continuous plot, but even something like the disconnected sets of Star Wars books I tend to read in order. I've wanted to get into the Culture series. How connected are they? Occasional callbacks I can deal with in whatever order, but any substantial references would probably have me running to release order. Any issues reading it with it not being "done"?
Re:Farewell, good sir. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 06:03 · Score: 2, Informative

While not having read the entire series yet, I generally read as you do. These books could be self-contained for all intents. There are no real plot carry overs, or over arcing characters that I can tell so far. The most pervasive reference seems to be the Idrian Culture war that is taking place during the first one, and that only extends to 'thems was the dark times"
Re:Farewell, good sir. by joh · 2013-06-09 06:33 · Score: 4, Interesting

You can basically start with whatever book you want, especially since Banks didn't write them in the order they were published anyway.
I would recommend either "Player of Games" or "Surface Detail". The first takes a while before it really takes off but gives you a good grounding into the Culture and has a pretty much single-track and fascinating plot. The latter is more complicated but is full of good stuff (like a murdered and revived slave girl on a revenge mission and some whistle-blower aliens exploring the AI after-live hells of their species).
But frankly, all are read-worthy. You won't stop before you have read them all anyway. His non-SF books are good too, especially since some of them veer quite a bit into the fantastic. "Transition" isn't actually SF, but anything involving things like travelling between parallel worlds is close enough for me...
Re:Farewell, good sir. by newcastlejon · 2013-06-09 06:44 · Score: 1

...or over arcing characters that I can tell so far.
There is one, but it's more of a shout out than anything significant to the plot.

--
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by gutnor · 2013-06-09 07:31 · Score: 1

On the last page of surface details, there is a guy that is talking, and if you have read the other books before you are able to say - "yeah I know that name". And that's basically it, it's not even something that put the story in a new perspective.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by oldlurker · 2013-06-09 08:20 · Score: 2

I started with Excession some years ago, and have been working my way through the others. They've all been well worth reading. Mr. Banks death is true loss.
Excession is still my favourite. Gulp indeed.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by Charliemopps · 2013-06-09 12:57 · Score: 1

Basically the books are loosely in chronological order. Many of them are almost impossible to tell where in the timeline they are. "Against a Dark Background" is about a civilization in an orphaned solar system outside of our galaxy... so they have no contact with any of the other books at all. "Consider Phlebas" takes place during the Iridian War (sp?) which is hundreds of years in the past for the rest of the books. The other books may refer to the war, but none of the particular events or characters in the book. The outcome of war is clear even at the beginning of the book (which is one of the ironys of the war) so you're not even spoiling that.
The basic point of the culture series that I got is that despite technological advances, despite political superiority/stability, despite the end to medical problems, lifes big problems are still problems. That is, people, personalities... etc... So each book is really about people in the end. Each has its own point to make, and does not need to borrow from the others. Occasionally he'll mention some large event that happened in another book (like the war) but the point of the books aren't the large events, they are the small and seemingly unimportant decisions of individuals at points in time that seem to make all the difference at that time, but have no real effect over the eons.
You can read them in any order. I'm not even sure that I read them in the correct order. The man was a genius, and wrote some of the best SciFi of our time.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by Charliemopps · 2013-06-09 13:03 · Score: 2

I agree that "Player of Games" is great. It'd be a good starting book to. The primary character is at somewhat political odds with the culture... think of him as an old school conservative in the midst of a bunch of hippies. So he routinely argues with different characters about the culture which gives you a really good idea of how their political system works.
Surface Detail is good to, but I rarely recommend that as a first book because... well... it's really depressing. "Use of Weapons" is the same way... great book but tragic.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by rbrander · 2013-06-09 17:26 · Score: 1

The Idiran War was in our 1200's, about, and the others, more like now, ("State of the Art" was of course 1970's, with them watching "ET"...) But it has to be noted that The Culture had discovered darn near all the tech there was to discover, settled into its mores and patterns millenia before. So 800 years for their society changed things probably no more than 8 years for us today. So if Phlebas was a 1945 war/spy caper, Surface Detail and it's cool tattoo technology is still only 1953.
Re:Farewell, good sir. by chiark · 2013-06-10 03:41 · Score: 1

TPoG is always what I recommend as a starting point. My username may well have hinted at this, too....
RIP Iain (M) Banks. Top chap, passionate, principled, erudite, open and most of all entertaining and thought provoking.
Don't ignore 'raw spirit', either - a great book mostly about malt whisky...

RIP Iain by Coisiche · 2013-06-09 05:19 · Score: 4, Interesting

Farewell Sun-Earther Iain El-Bonko Banks of North Queensferry; that's the Culture style name he gave himself once. I don't think there will ever be a fictional place that I wanted to live in as much as your Culture.
I encountered him a few times at Edinburgh Book Festival events and other signings. It was handy being able to say "Make it to Iain, spelled the same way".

Re:RIP Iain by DanielRavenNest · 2013-06-09 08:22 · Score: 1

Visions of places like the Culture are part of what inspires me to work on post-scarcity machines:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Seed_Factories

Inventor of the Lazy Gun by Dr.+Tom · 2013-06-09 05:28 · Score: 4, Interesting

When the Lazy Gun is fired at humans, many different things may occur. An anchor may appear above the person, giant electrodes may appear on either side of the target and electrocute them, or an animal may tear their throat out. Larger targets such as tanks or ships may suffer tidal waves, implosion, explosion, sudden lava flows or just disappear. When fired at cities and other such targets, thermonuclear explosions are the norm, although in one instance a comet crashed into the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_a_Dark_Background

Another interesting fact about a Lazy Gun is that it weighs three times as much when turned upside down.

Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by Charliemopps · 2013-06-09 05:43 · Score: 2

And that weapon isn't even the most interesting part of that book. In fact, the entire story has nothing to do with the culture. It's in a solar system that's outside the galaxy. They're just adrift, no stars... hence the name.
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by dkf · 2013-06-09 05:43 · Score: 2

When the Lazy Gun is fired at humans, many different things may occur. An anchor may appear above the person, giant electrodes may appear on either side of the target and electrocute them, or an animal may tear their throat out.
What about when it is fired by a roadrunner at a pursuing coyote?

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"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2013-06-09 08:03 · Score: 1

Thanks, dude. Off to the bookstore!

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(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by 0111+1110 · 2013-06-09 12:05 · Score: 0

One of his worst SciFi novels IMO.

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Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 21:51 · Score: 0

I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE LAZY GUN!!!!
Thanks =)
Don't know how as I've been recommending AADB to everyone as a good starting point.
Currently waiting for a resupply of his books (I hand them out often) been a while since I've gone through them all myself.
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by nusuth · 2013-06-10 00:03 · Score: 2

I strongly disagree. The real SF element in the book is what if we will not have access to stars? What if we improve our technology to magic like levels but fail to find new frontiers? It is probably the most insightful and most relevant SF book he has ever written. Banks puts the planetary system in isolation but having stars just 4 light years away is no guarantee that we will ever reach them. The premise is species-survival level important.
As for "magical" items, like lazy gun, they serve their purpose best when there are no plausible explanations to their inner workings. They illustrate the point of being made by much advanced technological level characters' better if they make less sense. His choice of extreme cartoonishness, rather than SF classic technobabble is a brilliant invention.
The adventure is great too. A real page turner, if you don't stop to think about implications.

--
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
Re:Inventor of the Lazy Gun by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-10 11:56 · Score: 0

The adventure is great too. A real page turner, if you don't stop to think about implications.
Eh. I'm with 0x7E up there. AADB is easily the weakest Banks book I've ever read. It's just a young version of Banks, not yet fully developed as a writer, trying to one-up himself with ever-more spectacular settings and action setpieces. While that's obviously something he did in a lot of his books, it was a bit too clumsy in AADB. The "what if we will not have access to stars" aspect wasn't very developed IIRC; it was just a background for the setpieces. And the characterization felt lacking compared to his other books.
If I was 15 when I read it, it'd probably have been my favorite thing ever, but I didn't discover Banks at all until I was in my 30s.

This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Ambassador+Kosh · 2013-06-09 05:38 · Score: 4, Insightful

I have been a programmer for about 10 years but I got tired of not really making any kind of a difference with programming. I decided to go back to school to do chemical and biological engineering so I could work on turning new nanotech/biotech treatments for various diseases like cancer into actual shipping products. There are been some lab bench cancer treatments that show 99%+ eradication of cancer within a few days of treatment but apparently it takes several people a year to make one dose. It is just not industrial scale stuff yet.

About a month after I decided to go back to school I found out that my business partner had pancreatic cancer and he died not too long after I started classes. I now have one year left and when I graduate I will hopefully get a job working on turning these cures into real shipping products. I know I may need to move to places like Canada or a western European country to work on real cures since the current profit motive in the USA does not really favor cures.

I just find it sad that this kind of thing continues to happen. We spend so much money and effort on killing people but if we spent even 5% of what we spent on the military we could cure a heck of a lot of these problems.

It is very sad that he died but it does provide yet another piece of incentive for what I will be doing next and I hope it will encourage other people to do the same.

--
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)

Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by joh · 2013-06-09 06:37 · Score: 3, Insightful

Yeah, when I first read about his diagnosis and prognosis I thought "We're at that really awkward point in which we can find out what someone is suffering from and that and when he will die of it but still can't do anything about it". This is incredibly sad.
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 06:43 · Score: 0

There are been some lab bench cancer treatments that show 99%+ eradication of cancer within a few days of treatment but apparently it takes several people a year to make one dose.
Right. Citation please.
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Ambassador+Kosh · 2013-06-09 07:08 · Score: 4, Informative

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/14434/20130328/cancer-treatment-cd47-miracle-bullet-breast-colon-bladder-antibody-eat-macrophage-immune.htm
That is one of the examples at least. Last I read it was very hard to make but is showing amazing results. I have not found out yet if the phase 1 trials happened and how they have gone.
Productions problems seem to be a fairly common things for nanomedicines right now.

--
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 11:31 · Score: 0

Thanks for the cite, that's interesting. Here's the PNAS original, if anyone's interested:
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/17/6662.full
OK, so solid tumor cells in humans have a surface protein, CD47, that tells the macrophages of the immune system "don't eat me". This treatment binds monoclonal antibody to the CD47 to defeat the 'don't eat me' signal and therefore the immune cells kill the tumor cells. Note non-cancer cells have the same receptor so there is some concern about toxicity (not a problem in the model expts).
Note that the tumor cells are human, but are transferred into mice for the expt. As anyone near the field knows, cancer has been cured in mice any number of times, so relevance of this to humans is a poor bet on the odds.
I don't see anything about phase I trials in humans, production problems any worse than any other given monoclonal antibody, or 99+ eradication within a few days. I guess I could expect the last point in vitro or in a minimal xenograft.
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Ambassador+Kosh · 2013-06-09 11:52 · Score: 1

For some reason I couldn't find the article again about the eradication rate. There is so much search pollution on this subject it is often hard to find things.
The production problems is just what I heard from a professor that has worked on making these kinds of drugs.

--
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 20:42 · Score: 0

If these proteins are same as in all other cells than trying to remove them non-selectively will trigger a severe autoimmune response. The "trick" is how to selectively mark the cell with antibody - we know how to kill a cell anyway (chemotherapy). And btw. here they transfer it to mice which don't have the same cd47 - and so naturally the immune system kills foreign cells.
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by Ambassador+Kosh · 2013-06-10 00:59 · Score: 1

My understanding is that cancer cells massively over express that surface protein, even if the marker binds equally it would be selective towards the cancer cells. The immune system will also trigger healing responses in nearbye cells so losing some non-cancer cells but having an immediate repair response in the area should not be a problem.
I definitely want to see human studies though. I am not really very happy with mouse models. Pigs would be a better model.

--
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
Re:This kind of thing is why I went back to school by neo-fmj · 2013-06-11 08:48 · Score: 0

I am interested in chemical/ biological engineering as well. Which school and degree did you do?

--
if you build it they will come.

Nonsense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 05:53 · Score: 5, Insightful

If you ever had cancer yourself you would not make unfunny, insensitive comments..

Why is it insensitive? Because it makes YOU uncomfortable or because you think that's what you're supposed to say? Get a grip. EVERYONE gets sick and dies so grow up and accept it.

And that is one of the WORST attitude to have around folks who are terminal.

Here's a complaint I hear all too often from the folks who are actually suffering from cancer: when someone is dieing, folks are solemn, sad, and afraid to "offend" - which brings down the mood of the cancer sufferer. Regardless if there's any truth to having a "positive" attitude helping one's recovery, joking about it DOES at least make life a little more bearable for the cancer patient.

I have a father striken and he needs a laugh every Goddamn time he can get it! And when folks are so serious around him; it makes HIM feel bad - the LAST thing he needs.

There are of course limts and depends on the person - obviously. I have also been around folks who joked about their prosthetic and sometimes had fun freaking kids out.

Cancer makes people very depressed. Actually the thought of dieing makes most people on our culture depressed and uneasy. We are a death phobic society and it's actually irrational. We WILL die - all of us.

tl;dr - Laughing at Death is the best revenge.

Re:Nonsense by newcastlejon · 2013-06-09 06:28 · Score: 2

tl;dr - Laughing at Death is the best revenge.
I don't know about you, but I was planning on asking if He fancied a curry before sending me on my way.

--
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:Nonsense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 08:21 · Score: 2, Funny

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME
Re:Nonsense by Palinchron · 2013-06-09 11:39 · Score: 1

We are a death phobic society and it's actually irrational.
Why? There's nothing irrational about being scared of something that is in fact bad and dangerous.

--
The lesson here is that a sufficiently large corporation is indistinguishable from government. --ultranova
Re:Nonsense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 12:36 · Score: 0

A better option...
Re:Nonsense by arth1 · 2013-06-09 13:47 · Score: 2

There's nothing irrational about being scared of something that is in fact bad and dangerous.
Death is dangerous, certainly. Even fatal in most cases.
But why bad? That seems like a subjective and biased opinion, not "fact" as you claim. Certainly, many who choose to terminate their own life have a different opinion.
Also, those who willfully engage in high risk endeavors because they want to go out with a bang, not a whimper.
Or those of us who just don't see death as bad, because we know we won't be around to experience it.
As a good atheist, let me quote 1 Corinthians 15:55:
O death, where is thy sting?
Re:Nonsense by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 15:17 · Score: 0

Painfully unfunny.

You will be missed by nicomede · 2013-06-09 05:59 · Score: 2

I wish you were fully backed up. I hope you Sublimed somehow.
I really like his novels, I see him in the lienage of Clarke and Herbert in his own Galaxy.

Farewell by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 05:59 · Score: 0

I loved his Culture books.

What a shame he wasn't backed up like his characters...

At least he did it by joh · 2013-06-09 06:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

Iain M. Banks not only managed to revive SF to a point of being relevant once again (to me at least), he also managed to make up a future and a culture that was worth it. He may be dead now but he left something really precious: A possible world that is both interesting and (mostly) peaceful and fun.

I'm really thankful for that.

Re:At least he did it by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 11:32 · Score: 0

Iain M. Banks not only managed to revive SF to a point of being relevant once again (to me at least), he also managed to make up a future and a culture that was worth it. He may be dead now but he left something really precious: A possible world that is both interesting and (mostly) peaceful and fun. I'm really thankful for that.

(+4, Insightful: Would have been +5, but contained more gravitas than his Mind would have asked for :)

If only the Culture were real... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 06:50 · Score: 0

I wish that a passing GCU was able to complete a mind-state backup in time.

Thank you Iain, you gave us hope by Morgaine · 2013-06-09 06:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

On our primitive planet with its petty preoccupations over power and money, you showed us a vision of the future in which Mankind has managed to transcend the narrow blinkers of its youth, and reaches out to the stars without material greed nor lust for power.

The Culture gave millions of us hope for the future, at a time when government, business and fanaticism seem intent on moving us back towards the barbarism of earlier ages. Your vision will live on in our hearts, come what may.

Thank you.

--
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra

Re:Thank you Iain, you gave us hope by joh · 2013-06-09 08:18 · Score: 2

"Money is a sign of poverty" as the Culture says (it has no money). But it did transcend the lust for power in the most straight way: By being almost limitlessly powerful, to make that clear. The technology of the Culture is very much god-like.
Re:Thank you Iain, you gave us hope by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 11:07 · Score: 0

Technically not a future, but more of a past/present/future running parallel to us.
Re:Thank you Iain, you gave us hope by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 19:30 · Score: 0

Note that mankind is not part of the culture. Though there is a short story of a Culture observation mission to Earth. Can't remember which book this was published in...

He will be missed. by physburn · 2013-06-09 06:51 · Score: 1

I've read almost every thing by him, the culture books make for great reading, complete with chatty star ship Minds. Also loved some of his non sf book, like complicity and Espida (sp?) Street. Yes his book where somewhat dark particularly many of the ending, but also refreshing in parts. He will be missed.I've read almost every thing by him, the culture books make for great reading, complete with chatty star ship Minds. Also loved some of his non sf book, like complicity and Espida (sp?) Street. Yes his book where somewhat dark particularly many of the ending, but also refreshing in parts. He will be missed.

Fuck by mvar · 2013-06-09 06:59 · Score: 2

Very, very sad news, he was probably my favorite scifi author..I hoped he'd manage to see his latest book The Quarry get released before he died, he even worked with his publisher to hasten the release for this summer and now this...fuck

Re: Fuck by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 16:29 · Score: 0

If the "credulous assholes" are right, the atheist Banks is burning forever in a magical land of fire and sulfur. Did you think your charming sentiment through?
Re:Fuck by Sabriel · 2013-06-09 17:05 · Score: 1

Seems to me there's still plenty of room left, even just in what we know we don't know about physics, for multiple possibilities that we could crudely stick an "afterlife" label on; no need to cave in to the limited imaginations of the logically impaired!
Vale, Iain, and if you can send us a postcard from Infinite Fun Space, please do. :)
Re:Fuck by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 22:21 · Score: 0

He did manage to see his book (about 3 weeks ago) in it's finaly form and enjoy publication parties with friends.
The book itself is due to be release on the 20th iirc.
Weirdly, the book is about the last weeks of someone diagnosed with cancer, he was ~80,000 words in of the ~90,000 words total when he discovered the news.

Re:Sad news by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 06:59 · Score: 0

Not sure if troll, or just 'murican, but I'll bite : your "American icon" was scottish to the bone (you know, the REAL kind, as in born there ;)
Anyway, R.I.P. Iain (M) Banks. Like many others, I was looking forward to new Culture books :(

Any news on his last book? by ManiaX+Killerian · 2013-06-09 06:59 · Score: 1

In the announcement he did abot the cancer there was something about one more book from the Culture, are there any news about it?

Re:Any news on his last book? by mvar · 2013-06-09 07:08 · Score: 1

Release date is June, 20
Re:Any news on his last book? by iggymanz · 2013-06-09 07:46 · Score: 1

It's called The Quarry ISBN 9781408703946
Re:Any news on his last book? by safetyinnumbers · 2013-06-09 07:58 · Score: 2

Just to avoid confusion as this was a reply to a question about Culture books, 'The Quarry' is not a Culture book.
Re:Any news on his last book? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 09:25 · Score: 1

The last Culture book was "The Hydrogen Sonata".
Ironically about the ending of a civilisation.
Re:Any news on his last book? by u38cg · 2013-06-09 23:52 · Score: 1

Not quite as ironic as the subject matter of The Quarry, which was written pre-diagnosis.

--
[FUCK BETA]

Scottish Writer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 07:04 · Score: 1

Truly an American icon

Are you trying to be funny? He was Scottish and died in Scotland. A prominent advocate for the independence of his Scotland! He was not American in any way.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/09/iain-banks-dies-59-cancer

Re:Scottish Writer by isorox · 2013-06-10 11:10 · Score: 1

How far slashdot has fallen

Jay Lake, too... by LandGator · 2013-06-09 07:10 · Score: 1

Oregon writer Jay Lake is planning JayWake and his last JayCon; front page story in the E section of the Portland Oregonian http://oregonlive.com/ today (Sunday 2103-06-09) discussing the genetic testing he did after his stage four diagnosis. I'm storing the coffin for the pre-mortem wake in my garage (bought it off Craigslist, of course; where else would you get a slightly used coffin?) http://www.jlake.com/jaywake

--
There is nothing wrong with yr Internet. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission - NSA

Sublime Banks has sublimed by aurum42 · 2013-06-09 07:12 · Score: 1

I've read almost all of his Culture work, and a couple of his mainstream books (Complicity was fun). A great loss, he will be missed.

--
"The slave who knows his master's will and does not get ready...will be be beaten with many blows."Luke 12:47-48

Re:Partner? by tragedy · 2013-06-09 07:37 · Score: 1

You're obviously hopelessly USian. In most of the English-speaking world, "partner" in this context does not mean "homosexual partner" although it can. It just means that the two people are a couple but are not married. To my knowledge, Iain Banks partner was, in fact, a woman.

Re:another one bites the dust hey hey by rich3rd · 2013-06-09 07:37 · Score: 2

that's one less faggot in the world. i hope his partner is denied any and all death benefits. bladder cancer my ass. he died from sucking one too many cocks.

Funny how you start your homophobic rant by quoting a rock song written and sung by a queer, then you assume that someone referring to Mr. Banks' spouse as his "partner" implies a same-sex relationship. In fact, his partner is a woman, you ignorant piece of maggot slime. Fuck you, hater. I know, I know... YHBT YHL etc.

Re:another one bites the dust hey hey by tragedy · 2013-06-09 07:38 · Score: 1

I'm just going to repeat myself as I've already written this in response to someone else:

You're obviously hopelessly USian. In most of the English-speaking world, "partner" in this context does not mean "homosexual partner" although it can. It just means that the two people are a couple but are not married. To my knowledge, Iain Banks partner was, in fact, a woman.

Beautiful work - Thank you. by Tim12s · 2013-06-09 07:57 · Score: 1

RIP Iain M. Banks.

What I found so intriguing about his work is how he took the time to explain how certain significant scientific advancements result in their ultimate effect on economics, psychology, and the human view on the world/universe. A harmony of ideas surrounded by a solid mythology.

-Tim

Re:Partner? by Tapewolf · 2013-06-09 08:09 · Score: 2

You're obviously hopelessly USian. In most of the English-speaking world, "partner" in this context does not mean "homosexual partner" although it can. It just means that the two people are a couple but are not married. To my knowledge, Iain Banks partner was, in fact, a woman.

"Shortly after the announcement, Banks married his partner, Adele Hartley, and she survives him." (source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/09/iain-banks-dies-59-cancer )

(And yes - those sort of comments reminded me of the folks who sprayed the word "paedo" on a house belonging to a paediatrician.)

Iain would laugh at you by joh · 2013-06-09 08:13 · Score: 1

I really like how in his Culture sex-changes are not only possible but common, with the usual course changing between the sexes one or more times and bearing a child being something even most men do at least once. But then, with at least 400 years at your disposal exploring how it is being a man/woman is something even the most extreme homophobes would try sooner or later... Ranting gets boring after one or two hundred years I guess.

Anyway, if you're a tight-minded human the Culture will induce rages for you, no doubt. They have no problems with drugs too, with all those drug glands engineered in. It's the most liberal, anarchistic (and stinking rich and powerful to the point of godlikeness) society you can think of. Or better, even in ways you probably even couldn't think of, this kind of super-power imagination is one of Bank's many merits.

One more voice by sociocapitalist · 2013-06-09 08:42 · Score: 1

I'm just one more to say how saddened I am for the loss of Iain Banks. His novels have touched me as well, and I have not felt the loss of any author as painful since Isaac Asimov passed.

AlthoughI fear otherwise, I sincerely hope that some day our children's children will live in something like the culture.

--
blindly antisocialist = antisocial

crow road by TitusGroan8856 · 2013-06-09 09:33 · Score: 2

he's away the crow road. I once had the pleasure of meeting Iain and talking with him for a while, although I didn't realise at the time it was Iain Banks I was talking to. He was a lovely man who had his head screwed on well. He'll be missed.

Fuck by Flere+Imsaho · 2013-06-09 09:40 · Score: 1

Goddamn uncaring universe >:-(

If only the credulous assholes were right.

--
It gripped her hand gently. 'Regret is for humans,' it said.

Sleep among the stars by Friend+of+Nature · 2013-06-09 09:47 · Score: 1

With his Culture novels, Iain M Banks is unparalleled in sheer mind-blowing scope and depth. Many of the stories have a strong bitter-sweet quality (such as Consider Phlebas, the first one I read and still one of my favourites), the exception is possibly Player of Games which is a lot more cheerful. Excession is one of very few stories that extrapolate technology in a significant way. Use of Weapons is one of the most horrible stories I've ever read, with it's masterful exploration of the depths of the human psyche. Thank you Iain for the many wonderful, sad, funny, mind-boggling moments I've had reading your books, and may generations of people enjoy the same experience!

Re:Sleep among the stars by tarpitcod · 2013-06-09 11:51 · Score: 1

Agreed, Consider Phlebas is an outrageously awesome read, it's one of those books that gets the neurons going on so many levels.
Iain M Banks will be sorely missed by those who took the time to read his works.

Re:Partner? by BluBrick · 2013-06-09 09:57 · Score: 1

Exactly. The term "girlfriend" suggests a lack of maturity (either in the person or in the relationship), "lover" suggests a clandestine arrangement and "fuckbuddy" suggests a lack of emotional attachment (additionally, in most circles, use of the term is frowned upon). "Partner" is the only word I can think of which conveys a relationship with the maturity and completeness of a marriage without actually being a marriage.

--
Ahh - My eye!
The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!

Re:Partner? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 10:20 · Score: 0

You're obviously hopelessly USian.

No, they're obviously a troll. That's all there is to it.

Some cancer prevetion & treatment options by Paul+Fernhout · 2013-06-09 10:52 · Score: 2

Too late for Iain though, sadly (vitamin d, iodine, phytonutrients, etc.): http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3610805&cid=43349347

Also google on cancer and a ketogenic diet (starves cancer cells of the sugar they need).

The sad thing is we could have a post-scarcity society right now, but our ideology gets in the way. Maybe it would not be "The Culture" level, but it would still be pretty neat. But we have not done that, and so many areas of our society, including medicine. remain backward for lack of appropriate investment.

Good luck on your career. Maybe there will be some magic bullets out there to fight cancer someday, maybe you will invent them, but until then, there is still a lot a person can do to prevent and in some cases reverse cancer, even if nothing is 100% guaranteed.

Sadly, we also lost another post-scarcity sci-fi writer, James P. Hogan, a couple years ago to heart disease (a disease generally reversible with excellent nutrition).
http://www.jamesphogan.com/books/info.php?titleID=29&cmd=summary

A book James P. Hogan told me about:
http://disciplinedminds.tripod.com/
"Who are you going to be? That is the question.
In this riveting book about the world of professional work, Jeff Schmidt demonstrates that the workplace is a battleground for the very identity of the individual, as is graduate school, where professionals are trained. He shows that professional work is inherently political, and that professionals are hired to subordinate their own vision and maintain strict "ideological discipline."
The hidden root of much career dissatisfaction, argues Schmidt, is the professional's lack of control over the political component of his or her creative work. Many professionals set out to make a contribution to society and add meaning to their lives. Yet our system of professional education and employment abusively inculcates an acceptance of politically subordinate roles in which professionals typically do not make a significant difference, undermining the creative potential of individuals, organizations and even democracy.
Schmidt details the battle one must fight to be an independent thinker and to pursue one's own social vision in today's corporate society. He shows how an honest reassessment of what it really means to be a professional employee can be remarkably liberating. After reading this brutally frank book, no one who works for a living will ever think the same way about his or her job."

--
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.

Re:Some cancer prevetion & treatment options by camperdave · 2013-06-10 04:53 · Score: 1

The sad thing is we could have a post-scarcity society right now, but our ideology gets in the way. Maybe it would not be "The Culture" level, but it would still be pretty neat.
Actually, we are on our way.

--
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!

James P. Hogan's writings are also inspirational by Paul+Fernhout · 2013-06-09 11:11 · Score: 1

His writings help inspire the OSCOMAK idea by me starting about twenty five years ago, but it hasn't gone much anywhere: http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com/oscomak/

So, I know what you mean by these sorts of inspirations. A good sci-fi author helps us make a leap of imagination.

I'd recommend Hogan's "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" and his "Voyage From Yesteryear" especially for post-scarcity themes. But he touches on them in his other works too. Also check out his "Code of the Lifemaker" if you like the idea of seed factories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_the_Lifemaker

So, if you like Iain Banks, you may like Hogan's writing. Sadly, James P Hogan died about three years ago of heart disease (which is generally reversible through great nutrition, see Dr. Joel Fuhrman).

Cool stuff that on Seed Factories. Check out the "Open Manufacturing" mailing list though for other people with related interests.
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/openmanufacturing

A key point I've discovered on post-scarcity perceptions and social choices (summarized in my sig):
http://www.pdfernhout.net/recognizing-irony-is-a-key-to-transcending-militarism.html

--
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.

What's the harm? by denzacar · 2013-06-09 11:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

They either appreciate the joking and it may actually help, unlike being glum about them which will MOST CERTAINLY cause them harm.
Same goes with pissing them off.

OR... They are so far gone psychologically that it doesn't matter if you are joking or crying while sitting on top of their head.
So, where's the harm? You either can't make things worse, or there's a chance or making things better.

Oh, right! Now I remember!
It's NOT about the person with cancer - it's about US being seen as someone who "grieves with them in this final moment" and not as an "insensitive jerk making fun of the poor, poor walking dead man".

Pretenses! Right! I keep forgetting that. Silly me.
What can I say... It must be cause it feels kinda selfish and hypocritical to impose the idea on someone that they are already dead, while they are still very much alive - just so I could fit in better with what I think society expects of me, and thus feel good about myself.

--
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens

Re:What's the harm? by Down_in_the_Park · 2013-06-11 02:19 · Score: 1

Can't mod so: Insightful! P.S.: I think it is: Mit der Dummheit kämpfen selbst Götter vergebens

--
"People who are willing to sacrifice essential freedoms for security deserve neither freedom nor security."

B F
Re:What's the harm? by denzacar · 2013-06-11 12:22 · Score: 1

P.S.: I think it is: Mit der Dummheit kÃmpfen selbst GÃtter vergebens
Blame Schiller.

--
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens

Re:James P. Hogan's writings are also inspirationa by 0111+1110 · 2013-06-09 11:50 · Score: 1

I don't find Hogan's prose particularly impressive. I read The Proteus Operation and found it only barely worth reading. I don't find any similarities between the two writers. Well, other than they are now both dead.

All of the great SciFi novelists seem to be dropping like flies and I don't think there is anyone to replace them. I don't think writing novels is something that the Facebook Generation really yearns to do. At least Neal Stephenson is still alive. And Joe Haldeman. But I wonder for how long. Surely their days are numbered.

--
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.

Ian to Sublime by Harry+in+the+Soup · 2013-06-09 12:01 · Score: 1

One of he best sci authors I have read. Hope he gets to "sublime"

Iain Banks is dead by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 12:05 · Score: 0

Iain Banks is dead. Let us all get Alsations drunk, and meet on the corner of Espedair Street.

Ignorant Tagging by GrahamCox · 2013-06-09 13:29 · Score: 3, Insightful

Whoever added the tag "neverheardofhim", shame on you. Do you always parade your ignorance in public? It's not a virtue you know! Either look him up and educate yourself or just ignore the story if you're determined to be a prat.

Damn by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 13:50 · Score: 0

He should have had another 20 years of writing novels.

This is a really sad loss, way before his time. ;-(

Sad too because we are so close to realising some of the things we wrote about.

Algebraist was good-ish by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-09 15:26 · Score: 0

but too long.

PKD he was not.

Re:James P. Hogan's writings are also inspirationa by Paul+Fernhout · 2013-06-09 15:32 · Score: 1

The Proteus operation is not one of Hogan's better works. If you are willing to give him another try, try Voyage from Yesteryear, The Two Faces of Tomorrow, or Code of the Lifemaker, which are all about post-scarcity technologies in various ways as hard sci-fi. It is the post-scarcity aspects that are similar, even if Hogan's are much more near-term.

The thing about writers is, it may take decades for people to learn about the prose that stands the test of time. So, I guess most authors may be old by the time that happens.

An on-line page turner for me by Roger Williams, even if too graphically violent:
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/

Bound to be other great voices out there.

I like some of Peter F. Hamilton's stuff, although again it is too graphically violent for my tastes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reality_Dysfunction

I really like Bruce Sterling's "Schismatrix":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismatrix

I read somewhere that modern sci-fi is so hard to write because it gets boring because things are so safe (or just crazy -- e.g. anything goes nanotech). Larry Niven faced that and supposedly threw away a lot of his stories about the "Teela" gene time of lucky people who won a birth lottery, because they were too boring. Space exploration to other planets like Star Trek linked to what people knew of exploring new continents and islands on Earth. What can really connect to what people know when talking about deeply different virtual reality and nanotech and robotics? It's probably pretty hard to write a story interesting to humans.

Even Iain Banks struggled with that, having to write stories in ages when the human form was popular in the Culture (he says sometimes it was not popular) and writing about "Special Circumstances" having adventures on non-Culture worlds.

I've pretty much stopped buying sci-fi novel though (compared to buying one or two dozen a year a couple decades ago). The current ongoing changes are pretty much too exciting as they are. :-) Hard to recall the last new novel I've bought, although I've reread some old ones...

Sarah Zettel is an interesting author (blending Islamic ideas with science fiction themes, example, a woman starship captain who wears a burka and goes through all sorts of hoops to keep correct by the law -- the core theme of the book is about AI though):
http://www.amazon.com/Fools-War-Sarah-Zettel/dp/0446602930

Baen might have younger novelists somewhere?
http://www.baen.com/

--
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.

Regards by joseph90 · 2013-06-09 20:58 · Score: 1

A good writer (and I hear he was a good person as well but I did not know him). My sympathies to his family.

J.

Re:First post..score 5 insightfull by OptimalCynic · 2013-06-09 21:13 · Score: 1

The difference is that what you said isn't at all witty.

Iain wrote non-fiction, too... by daive · 2013-06-09 23:14 · Score: 1

Raw Spirit is Iain's romp across Scotland in search of the "perfect dram" of Scotch whisky. Fun read, and worth it for the pronunciation guide at the back (don't assume you know how to pronounce "Bowmore")...

dumb fucker by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-10 03:17 · Score: 0

hahaha dumb ass got cancer and died, this is some funny shit!!!

Re:Partner? by camperdave · 2013-06-10 05:18 · Score: 1

Ladyfriend?, sweetheart? Common law spouse? Love?

--
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!

Re:Partner? by tragedy · 2013-06-10 05:50 · Score: 1

Ladyfriend is still too similar to girlfriend. It has this euphemistic feel to it, as if you might say it in a whisper with a wink and nudge. Sweetheart is a little too saccharine and is more of a term of endearment. Common law spouse has too precise a definition and, aside from probably being irrelevant in most circumstances, probably isn't accurate. Love could possibly work, but has a broader definition (at least, in the area of romance).

Partner is nicely descriptive. It's still not perfect, obviously. Romantic partner has to be taken by implication and context. You could, for example, misinterpret it to business partner. Since he's an author, maybe a co-author or an editor.

Re:Partner? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-10 06:20 · Score: 0

Your remark is insensitive. If you expect respect for your religious views, then I expect you to respect that Mr Banks was well-known for being an atheist.

Now go away, please.

Re:Partner? by camperdave · 2013-06-10 07:37 · Score: 1

Ladyfriend is still too similar to girlfriend. It has this euphemistic feel to it, as if you might say it in a whisper with a wink and nudge.

Euphemism is appropriate if he's having a "relationship with the maturity and completeness of a marriage without actually being a marriage".

--
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!

Re:Partner? by tragedy · 2013-06-10 17:17 · Score: 1

But the connotations of "ladyfriend" seem to belong to a time and place where such a relationship is at least a little beyond the pale. "Partner" seems to belong to a mature society that accepts that the relationship belongs to the people involved in it. Also, it doesn't require distinguishing between "ladyfriend" or "manfriend". Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever really heard "manfriend" used, so there's a bit of a balance problem with "ladyfriend" as well.

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Iain Banks Dies of Cancer At 59

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