
A Personal Statement from Iain Banks - AndrewDucker
http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/a-personal-statment-iain-banks.page
======
venus
This is horrible news. We are all poorer today, all of us. Banks is an
inspiration to all who read him - of what could be, what can be, what is to
be.

Cancer has claimed a terrible toll in my life. Three in my immediate family
and counting, the countdown very fast for one of them. And now it seems to
have turned its unwelcome gaze to my intellectual treasures. I hate this
disease, I despise it so much it's hard to express.

I'd say it's my hatred of cancer that drives me to want to achieve riches, via
a startup, so I can pour money into its vanquishing. It was hatred that made
me agree to be a member of "the 300", as useless as that has turned out to be.
And it's the knowledge and memory of those lifeless bodies on hospital sheets,
cold before their time, that forces me onwards, reminds me that that
capricious finger of death could swivel my way at any time.

Banks, you are a titan. You inspired me, you inspired others. You'll never be
forgotten, and god willing maybe you'll inspire a few to take revenge on your
blind, callous killer.

~~~
hyperbovine
More money is not what is needed here--we already pour tons of money into
cancer research. What's needed are new ideas. If you really want to fight
cancer, skip the startup and go to graduate school. Computational and
mathematical approaches to understanding and fighting cancer are still in
their infancy. There is a lot of scope for smart, motivated people to do good.

~~~
engtech
No, more money is needed. 41% of deaths are due to cancer. It really is one of
the biggest problems we have as a species and we should spend more effort on
it rather than the things we do spend effort on.

But I wholeheartedly agree that rather than trying to be a billg and earn
money to fund philanthropy, the world needs more researchers.

~~~
bluetshirt
People are going to die. If it's not cancer, it'll be heart failure.

I'm not convinced that what this world needs is research into keeping sick
people alive longer. We have lots of people as it is.

~~~
adrianhoward
_I'm not convinced that what this world needs is research into keeping sick
people alive longer. We have lots of people as it is._

When I was a kid childhood leukemia was a death sentence. These days survival
rates are in the 80% and up range.

The goal isn't non-dead sick people. It's well people.

Attacking that problem doesn't mean that you can't attack the problem of too
many people too. Hopefully in a more productive way than having a horrible,
lingering, painful disease solve it for us.

~~~
vwinsyee
Yup -- the first thing public health students learn is the WHO definition of
health: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." In my clinical trials
course, equal emphasis was put on extending life and increasing quality of
life (e.g., as measured by quality adjusted life-years (QALYs)).

------
lifeisstillgood
This is sad news, and there is really nothing to add to his own words.

I just want to highlight two things, firstly his support for the NHS, which
despite every newspaper and politician gunning for it still usually manages to
deliver top quality care.

Secondly, can we leave off the cryogenic stuff ? The guy is dying, and
pretending it will just be a pause is insulting all round. This was a touching
and accepting note written by a skilled hand - and he is not blathering on
about the next life. Please leave it be

~~~
arethuza
On the subject of Scottish authors and the UK welfare state - my opinion of JK
Rowling went up quite a bit when I learned of her attitude towards paying
taxes (and I'm sure Iain would approve):

[http://timidheathen.tumblr.com/post/7043004518/jk-rowling-
on...](http://timidheathen.tumblr.com/post/7043004518/jk-rowling-on-paying-
taxes)

~~~
alxndr
She talked about that on Colbert a little while back.

~~~
ebrenes
I couldn't find any interviews with Rowling on the Colbert Report, but I did
find this for The Daily Show:

[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-15-2012/j-k--
r...](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-15-2012/j-k--rowling)

Was that the episode you were referring to?

~~~
alxndr
Ah, that's the one.

------
swombat
I am very upset about that... In my opinion he's the best living science
fiction author... but not for long, I guess... :-(

I've read most of his books (all of his SF books). The Culture is an amazing
universe, but the rest of his works are also outstanding.

~~~
limmeau
What do you recommend as a first book to read?

(edit: never mind, sibling thread has it covered:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5485695> )

~~~
swombat
If you _LOVE_ science fiction already, I'd go straight for the jugular and
start with Excession. It's hardcore, it's full of awesome technology, it will
blow your mind and forever seduce you into the world of the Culture.

If you're just a normal science fiction fan, start with Use of Weapons. It's
complex and sci-fi-ish enough, but not as hardcore as Excession. The plot is
amazing. To me it is one of the most memorable books of science fiction that
I've read. It really made me question some basic beliefs about ... well,
you'll see.

If you're a normal person, who wants a slightly softer intro into the Culture
universe, or someone who's not particularly into science fiction, Player of
Games is a great starting point because it is less about the tech and more
about the ideas and the people, but nevertheless a great book.

Ultimately, the only one I wouldn't start with is Consider Phlebas, which is
good, but imho nowhere near as good as the rest. To me, Consider Phlebas was
about the same level as, say, the Reality Dysfunction by PFH - great space
opera, fast paced, gripping, but not exceptional in any way. Every subsequent
book (with _very_ few exceptions) is not just great, but also unique and
different from all the other science fiction books out there.

~~~
jbattle
Thanks for this - I read Consider Phlebas and was very underwhelmed by it.
Just now I struggled to remember much of the plot even though I read it less
than a year ago. I'll check out some of your other recommendations.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
> _I read Consider Phlebas and was very underwhelmed by it._

Huh. Same here. I've only read CP and I honestly could not tell why everyone
is so excited about Banks.

Okay then, I'll add a few more titles to my wish list. Thanks!

~~~
anigbrowl
_Consider Phlebas_ is more of a literary novel that happens to take place in
the future. I like all of Banks' work and thinkSwombat's suggested reading
order above is spot on, but I also think _Consider Phlebas_ is by far his best
work.

~~~
arethuza
Silly nitpick: doesn't _Consider Phlebas_ take place in our past?

~~~
anigbrowl
Depends where you think humanity-on-Earth sits relative to the Culture. Since
most of the Culture is human and we on Earth are as yet unaware of any
spacefaring civilizations, I view it as a possible future for humanity. I
would not be surprised if we encounter other life in space, but I'd be
extremely startled if it turned out to be human life.

~~~
syncsynchalt
Pretty sure our present is post-Idiran-war based on the short story in The
State Of The Art.

EDIT: I should specify that Contact is working on present-day Earth in that
story, from what I recall.

~~~
anigbrowl
Oh, you're right as an in-world thing. But I meant this sort of high
technology described is in our future, ie I'm using 'in the future' as a proxy
for 'science fiction.' Sorry about the confusion.

------
CoffeeDregs
Very sad news indeed. Just introduced the works of Iain M. Banks to a friend,
so something happy does come from sad news.

Also, if you're a fan of the Culture universe and want a smile, have a gander
at a list of Culture ship names @
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Cultu...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series)

    
    
      "Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The"
      "Hand Me The Gun And Ask Me Again"
      "Lapsed Pacifist"
      "Subtle Shift In Emphasis"
    

I read science fiction to wonder at new ideas, concepts and their effects. But
the Culture sounds like an incredible place to live. It's incredible that
Banks could invent, create and hold the entirety of the Culture in his head.

~~~
mikestew
> Just introduced the works of Iain M. Banks to a friend, so something happy
> does come from sad news.

And I've just purchased _Player of Games_ , maybe not based on your personal
recommendation, but certainly on the collective recommendation since this news
broke. Kind of a sad way to get introduced to an author, but OTOH I think it
would be somewhat nice that even my impending death would lead to new readers
of my work.

I do feel like I'm the last geek/techy/nerd/HN/SlashDot reader on the planet
to have heard of him, though.

~~~
CoffeeDregs
Good to hear. I also just purchased _Player of Games_... for the 3rd time... I
think I'm going to read through the Culture novels again... for the 2nd or 3rd
time.

------
csmattryder
Appears the site is down (deleted?)

The BBC have a news article on this: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
scotland-22015175>

~~~
zerovox
His publishers have the full statement:
[http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/a-personal-statment-iain-
banks....](http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/a-personal-statment-iain-banks.page)

~~~
j_jochem
Damn, this sounds like a Klatskin tumor, a "rare" cancer. My father hat that
kind of tumor as well. He died within 8 weeks of first developing jaundice.

Let's stop trying to make people click on cheery-colored buttons and do
something about this fucking disease instead.

~~~
bwhite
Getting rich and improving the economy is almost certainly the best thing you
can do to combat disease, pollution, poverty, etc.

~~~
SoftwareMaven
Except diseases like cancer are almost exclusive to "western" society. The
more affluent we become, the more cancer and other non-contagious diseases we
get.

We are killing ourselves and it starts with the stuff our mothers eat, is made
worse by what we eat, and is topped of by the environment we live in.

~~~
Nursie
Err.... no.

It's more prevalent in some societies because we live longer and we don't any
longer die of preventable infections.

Our air is cleaner than it's been for a long time. Decent nutrition has never
been cheaper or more widely available. Life expectancy has never been longer.

We are not killing ourselves. OK so some are by overeating and doing no
exercise, but in general you're talking nonsense.

~~~
MrBra
and we've never ate so many chemical food preservatives, taste modifiers,
colourants like we're eating now. we've never been exposed to so much
radiations like we are now. mobile phones being the first source. and the list
goes on. we definitely are doing something to ourselves.

~~~
Nursie
_and we've never ate so many chemical food preservatives, taste modifiers,
colourants like we're eating now. we've never been exposed to so much
radiations like we are now. mobile phones being the first source. yes we might
be killing ourselves_

This doesn't change the fact we're living longer, healthier lives than ever
before.

I'm sure there's a lot more that we could be doing, I'm sure that there are
things we do that we should stop doing for our own health BUT none of this
supports the notion that cancer is a disease of western privilege and we're
doing everything wrong. We're doing more right than we've ever done.

------
arethuza
According to Ian Rankin: "Typical of Iain to propose marriage to his partner
Adele with the words 'Will you do me the honour of becoming my widow?"

Makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time, like so much of his work.

~~~
jschulenklopper
Not only from Ian Rankin, as it was also in the original statement: "I've
asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow."

That last past is almost a six word story, but sadly reality instead of
fiction.

------
DanBC
This is sad news. He's an awesome author, and many people will miss his great
writing. 'Wasp Factory' was an amazing book.

He mentions his sore back. That's important! Most lower back pain is nothing
serious, but rarely it's a sign of significant illness. He also mentions that
he initially thought the pain was related to his work on a book. That's
relevant for an industry where people tend to spend many hour sitting at a
desk typing code. We talk about better ergonomics -nicer chairs, standing
desks- but sometimes the wider health is missed.

------
kitsune_
My uncle died from a brain tumor two weeks ago. This week my aunt will have
one of her lungs removed because of lung cancer. Last year my friend's wife
had to have both of her breasts removed. And now one of my favorite authors
will probably die to this shit. What a vile disease.

------
podperson
Iain [M] Banks is the writer whose books I most look forward to reading.

Fuck cancer.

~~~
DanBC
A UK charity is taking this approach to fund raising.

Compare these two adverts -

"Not Alone", MacMillan Cancer Support
(<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLpS97XA5VA>)

"Cancer, We're Coming For You", Race for Life
(<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWJEmMDQXoA>)

Yes, fuck cancer.

~~~
lutze
I'm not sure if you understand what MacMillan is about, but you're comparing
apples and oranges here.

"Fuck Cancer" is all well and good... but MacMillan's work isn't about finding
a cure, it's about easing suffering. They provide support and care to patients
and their families, "Not Alone" sums them up pretty perfectly.

------
soapdog
I have all his SF novels. I think he is the most original and refreshing
author I've seen in the past decade. I always looked forward for those
thrilling weeks after he released a new book. It was one of the best parts of
a year for me. Mr Banks inspired me to dream about the future and what
wonderful culture we could become. Even though I never met him, I will really
miss him for I cherished his writings and opinions. One thing I won't do is
forget him because his work is the kind that ressurects genres and is
timeless.

------
jostmey
Death from Cancer is a tragedy. If you are a computer hacker you have only two
options to help. (1) Donate money to help cover medical expenses, which would
surely bankrupt all but the very wealthiest in society. (2) Work within the
framework of proven scientific results to help push science forward. As a
computer guru, perhaps the best way to do this is to help develop programming
packages such as R, Octave, and Julia. Otherwise, pick up biology
books/manuscripts and just start reading for the next several years.

------
phreeza
My favorite science fiction author, got sucked in by _Matter_ , then quickly
proceeded to read all _Culture_ books. _Use of Weapons_ is my favorite, has
the perfect mix between the dark character and the utopian Culture space
opera.

~~~
stevejalim
Yep, _Use of Weapons_ is my favourite too. _Transition_ really stuck with me,
as well.

------
Nursie
Shit.

Amazing author. I want to live in the Culture. And I want to read new books by
him forever, this is not allowed.

------
satori99
This may of interest to anyone who is unfamiliar with his SciFi writing:

<http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm>

Originally posted to rec.arts.sf.written on 10 Aug 1994.

------
robin_reala
Google Cache:
[https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http%3...](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iain-
banks.net%2F2013%2F04%2F03%2Fa-personal-statement-from-iain-banks%2F)

------
zerovox
His site seems to be down. His statement can be found on his publishers
website: [http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/a-personal-statment-iain-
banks....](http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/a-personal-statment-iain-banks.page)

------
3amOpsGuy
I never read any of the "M" banks books but i read a few of his regular ones
when i was a teenager.

I remember thinking at the time, the wasp factory was a book i'd not forget,
yet i can only vaguely recall the plot and some events! Espedair Street on the
other hand i can recall pretty much everything. It's funny what you remember.

~~~
arethuza
Of all of his books I too have a soft spot for Espedair Street - Glasgow,
Weird, and that utterly wonderful opening.

~~~
tjic
Indeed; I've re-read it several times. A great book.

------
melling
Very sad, of course. He's only 59. I've gotta admit that I'm also a bit angry.
The war on cancer is 40 years old and we are still so far away from solving
the problem(s).

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Cancer>

The first commercial microprocessor was released in the same year:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_4004>

Solutions? Ideas? The list in my mind is starting to get painfully long:

Randy Pausch (47), Steve Jobs (56), Ian M Banks ...

~~~
drzaiusapelord
Jobs, more than likely, would have survived if he didn't try "alternative"
cancer therapies. Banks did everything by the book and his outcome is poor,
but at least he tried properly.

[http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/20/steve-jobs-refused-early-
canc...](http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/20/steve-jobs-refused-early-cancer-
treatment-regretted-alternative-therapy/)

~~~
Hannan
The 5-year survival for the earliest stage (I) neuroendocrine pancreatic
cancer treated with surgery is 61%. The latest stage (IV) is 15%. Stage II
puts you at about 50%.

That just doesn't seem like he "more than likely" would have survived to me,
but looks more like a coin flip. And that was with the "good" pancreatic
cancer.

~~~
meric
He survived for more than 9 years, so the coin flip was favourable.

~~~
drzaiusapelord
On the back of the liver he janked by being a billionare able to own property
near all the major transplant hospitals. Not to mention, 9 years of torture
and misery with the last 2-3 more or less being a housebound invalid.

------
engtech
I'm very sorry to hear this.

The first Banks book I read was in a palliative care room while my mom was
dying of cancer.

------
modernerd
<http://friends.banksophilia.com> for a personal statement and guestbook.

------
nicholassmith
He's a titan of British literature, I've loved his work for a number of years.
What a legacy to leave behind.

~~~
dcminter
As an English Brit I'd love to claim him for our own but, to be honest, I
think "Scottish literature" is the only appropriate description.

This is awful news. I've not been a big fan of his later SF works. But Feersum
Endjinn and Espedair St are tremendous and who knows, maybe the later works
will grown on me. I hope he lives to see his latest book on the shelves.

(Edit: Not that I'm claiming he's not a Titan)

~~~
nicholassmith
I'll agree with that actually, he's in favour of an independent Scotland as
his dream of a socialist Britain is unlikely (from a Guardian article he wrote
a while back).

------
IvyMike
My introduction to Banks was Robert Keogh's Culture Shock website, originally
hosted at my university. There's still stuff there I haven't seen anywhere
else.

<http://www.enthea.org/phlebas/>

Note that this site seems to have last been updated in the mid 90's, so later
novels are not included.

------
Wintamute
There isn't nearly enough wantonly optimistic sci-fi about. Banks does it so
well. This is sad. His vision of the Culture reminds us what we're all
struggling for.

------
Mc_Big_G
Is there really no preventative tests we can take periodically to discover
these things before they get out of control? I have the feeling that future
generations are going to ask WTF we were thinking.

~~~
bzudo
I agree. I go to the dentist twice a year to check for cavities.

I can only guess the costs for the tests are too expensive. Still couldn't
insurance cover the tests?

~~~
engtech
The only great change I can think of is getting cheaper MRIs.

The problem with MRIs is that there are so many false positives, but maybe
regular scanning would help reduce that noise?

It is thought that most people fight cancer 5-6 times in their life before
anything is ever detected.

~~~
akrasia
Little known fact - most MRI machines are always on because they are made via
a superconducting magnet, I know some residents who climb into them at night
and scan themselves for educational purposes.

------
ed_blackburn
Gutted, incredible author. Am going to miss my Culture novels dripping through
every few years. :-(

------
abrookewood
I wish to god this news had arrived 2 days ago on April 1st :(

Ian (M) Banks is amazing and will be sorely missed.

I can't believe there won't be any more Culture novels.

------
crapshoot101
That blows. Banks is my favorite sci-fi author on the planet - Use of Weapons
blows my mind everytime I read it.

------
viraptor
It was a great surprise for me to see him at the book signing event a couple
of months ago in Bristol. Not a deep and mysterious person I imagined him to
be after reading the books - just a great, happy guy who shared some thoughts
about his imagination. He could really make the whole room laugh.

~~~
zbyszek
I met him on a couple of occasions many years ago and he really is great
company. And he got a round in.

------
richardjordan
Let's raise a toast to the launching of the GCU Fuck Cancer.

~~~
arethuza
And its sister ship the ROU Fuck Cancer Quickly

------
nemof
Seems like the site is down, for privacy or some other reason. Here's a
statement from Banks:

[http://www.orbitbooks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-
fr...](http://www.orbitbooks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-from-iain-
banks/)

------
jvzr
FWIW, I've ordered the first three novels of the Culture series. I didn't know
of Iain Banks until today and his terrible news.

I just wish he'll live the most playful last months of his life with his soon-
to-be wife. We cannot wish for anything less.

~~~
VLM
Does anyone know his financial situation, too many authors (two examples, RAW
and PKD) seem to end up dying while having to eat dogfood if that, and unable
to pay the rent and other bills. Not that its fun to die if you're rich, just
that he shouldn't have to eat dogfood in addition to the stress of the
disease. If he's in bad financial shape I could easily buy a couple more of
his novels in kindle form (not that I need to buy them in yet another form,
but if he needs some cash, well now's the time...)

~~~
jvzr
I don't know of his situation either, but instead of buying a copy for
yourself, it'd be even wiser to gift a copy to good friends or simply spread
the word of his great work here and elsewhere.

~~~
VLM
I guess what I'm getting at is if he can't pay the electric bill today, if I
finally get around to reading his 5th culture novel in 2015 that's
unfortunately going to be a bit too late to help him out. So he's better off
if I buy a copy today even if I don't read it for awhile. On the other hand if
he's very "comfortable" then there's little point in my accelerating my
purchase. I'm enough of a fan to have read and liked some books but not enough
of a fan to have crawled up into his financial life, for all I know he's the
richest author in the UK. I just don't want him to have to eat canned dogfood
like PKD supposedly had to.

------
rdl
This is really sad news. One of my favorite authors, and seems like a great
guy. Fuck cancer -- we really need to fix this, fast :(

I feel selfish for being sad that his last book is an Iain Banks book vs. Iain
M. Banks (culture). :(

------
jacquesm
That is very bad news in a large number of ways. What a pity!

------
epicureanideal
ALCOR. Sign up. At least it's a chance.

<http://www.alcor.org/>

Also, I would research if anything ever happened with this:

[http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/03/one-drug-to-
sh...](http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/03/one-drug-to-shrink-all-
tumors.html)

------
jeffheard
Two of my favorite authors now... Three if you count that some people consider
K.J. Parker to be a pseudonym of Iain (M) Banks.

My two favorites of his I think will always be Use of Weapons and Look to
Windward. Coincidentally, I just started re-reading Excession last night.

~~~
Suitov
KJ? A pseudonym of Iain? I reckon she'd be highly amused at that...

"For example, I don't much enjoy reading Iain M. Banks, simply because his
world-view and mine don't coincide much; but I’ve learned an enormous amount
from his masterful use of structure and language." -- KJ Parker
(<http://www.orbitbooks.net/interview/k-j-parker/>)

~~~
IvyMike
I think it's unlikely, too.

But Iain Banks criticizing and then praising his own work under a pseudonym is
something he would think was very funny.

------
ritonlajoie
I'm actually just starting reading a book from him. The first I'm reading from
him. That's sad.

------
edem
404.

------
apcherry
Sad news indeed.

In keeping with his macabre sense of humour I hope he has a suitable Culture
Ship names for the coffin. Dwindling Gravitas (VFP)?

------
sort3d
What can we as a community do for him?

------
roy_s
Is anyone else also getting a 404...

------
chris_wot
This seems to have been pulled, because I'm getting a page not found...

~~~
chris_wot
Ah! It's back. No need to downvote me on this, I wasn't on the attack. Try
hitting "reply" to say that's not the case. I merely wanted to see what was
happening!

------
stffndtz
404 :/

------
rookieljw
404

------
anu_gupta
By a large margin my favourite author. _The Wasp Factory_ was the first novel
of his I read and it was great, but _Consider Phlebas_ and _The Player of
Games_ utterly blew my mind.

~~~
satori99
Agreed. I became a fan of his after reading just a few chapters of The Player
of Games, and have since read almost everything he has ever published. He is
an author of extraordinary skill.

~~~
xradionut
The Player of Games is one of the few sci-fi books I recommend to readers
interested in the genre.

~~~
StavrosK
Which Banks book should I start with? I was going to start with the _Player of
Games_ after your comment, but it turns out it's part of a series, and
_Consider Phlebas_ is the first one. Does it matter?

~~~
jvzr
I've read in a Amazon review that it is recommended to start with _Consider
Phlebas_ , then _The Player of Games_ and finally _Use of Weapons_ (as a first
start into the Culture, that is).

I've bought them three myself and will read them in this order.

~~~
engtech
Read this: <http://nuwen.net/culture.html>

then: The Player of Games Consider Phlebas Use of Weapons

Use of Weapons is great, but the writing is poorer than the other two.

~~~
adrianhoward
_Use of Weapons is great, but the writing is poorer than the other two._

Heh. Interesting. I'd say exactly the opposite myself. Not that I dislike the
other two - PoG is one of my faves of his SF work - but to me UoW is a vastly
better work of literature, both in structure and character development. Less
full of SFnal goodies than some of his later work, but all the better for that
in some ways.

------
stefantalpalaru
Terrible news. If you're not familiar with Iain's work you owe it to yourself
to drop everything and start reading the Culture series[1] right now.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series>

~~~
john_i
I absolutely love the Culture series. Although it doesn't delve into the
Culture universe proper, Use of Weapons is one of the best books I've read.
Would highly recommend checking out this book. The two narrative flows and the
conclusion at the end, wow, just wow.

Definitely very sad news.

~~~
crapshoot101
Use of Weapons is maybe the best (or at least top 5) sci-fi novel I've ever
read. Amazing stuff - and a turn that genuinely changes the whole story.

------
locopati
This news puts his last two novels, Surface Detail and Hydrogen Sonata, in an
interesting light, the former being about virtual hells and the latter being
about a species transcending[1].

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sublimed>

~~~
aardvark179
Those aren't his last two books, those would be Stonemouth and the Hydrogen
Sonata.

I'm not sure what meaning you can draw from that unless you know of a sexual
indiscretion that Iain committed at a wedding. :-)

~~~
locopati
I should have been more specific in the original comment...'his last two
Culture books'.

------
madaxe
Damn. It's always the good guys :(

------
LatvjuAvs
People still struggling to accept life.

Man grow out of this world, created awesome books, then he changed to
something else. World as it is, is because he is.

------
geuis
He shouldn't just accept this. There has to be _something_ to be tried. With
his notoriety, the option to try some experimental new treatment should at
least be considered.

~~~
stevoski
He doesn't have a chance of lasting more than a few months, most of which will
be painful and with rapidly decreasing functioning. With the type and severity
of his cancer, an experimental new treatment will simply ensure that his last
days are more painful than they need be.

~~~
Sulfolobus
This reminds me of an interesting article I read about Doctors being more
likely to refuse cancer treatment - on the knowledge of trading quality of
life for a shorter period rather than hanging on for longer.

[http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/08/06/how-doctors-
die...](http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/08/06/how-doctors-die/)

------
reasonattlm
Another person that might be cryopreserved [1], but probably won't be, much
like the 150,000 who passed in the last day or so [2]. Many sorts of terminal
case can actually lead to better quality cryopreservation under present legal
restrictions [3], in comparison to the drawn out and uncertain end of aging,
precisely because they are more rapid and certain in time.

(Or might be plastinated [4] in the alternate history thread in which people
actually got up and started to do something about death in the late 1930s [5],
when the chemical industry started to be up to the task of building a mass
plastination concern).

If you've made no preparations but still have $200,000 or so sitting around,
then the certainty of oblivion is still your choice, even at the last minute.
(Most people who are cryopreserved fund it through life insurance taken out
decades earlier). No judgement on that choice is offered, as the right to
vanish is a good right, just judgement on the fact that while other options do
exist, they might be far more available for everyone and better thought of
were the world just a little bit different.

[1] <http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2002/11/cryonics.php>

[2] [http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2002/12/death-is-an-
outra...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2002/12/death-is-an-
outrage-1.php)

[3] [http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/02/to-die-in-
order-t...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/02/to-die-in-order-to-
live-thoughts-on-cryonics-and-legal-hurdles.php)

[4] [http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/04/plastinate-
everyo...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/04/plastinate-everyone.php)

[5] [http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/05/when-did-we-
becom...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/05/when-did-we-become-
suicidal-negligent-barbarians.php)

~~~
polyfractal
Hmm...except that cryopreservation is still, as of this point, a complete
crock of shit. Trying to find a necromancer would be more productive.

As an ex-biologist, I can assure you that horrible cellular damage is being
committed to these "preserved" people. I used to flash-freeze all sorts of
cells, ranging from bacteria (e. coli) to animal (IMCD3 and MDCK kidney) to
human (Human Embryonic Kidney, Primary cortical and hippocampal neurons).

These protocols are pretty simple. Pellet and re-suspend a small vial of cells
to dilute out the media, replace with a special preservation media then dunk
the entire 5mL vial in a big pot of liquid nitrogen for a few minutes. Then it
goes into the deep freezer (-80C).

Sadly, even though this is a tiny aliquot that is frozen almost instantly,
cell death on thawing and resuspension is immense. Like, it's a good day if
50% of the cells live. It usually doesn't matter, since these cell lines are
immortalized and they just start growing again, but it illustrates the point.
Despite the most ideal circumstances, cells hate to be frozen.

Now, imagine you are trying to flash freeze an entire body. They do this by
perfusing preservation media through your blood, relying on your body's
circulatory system to get the media in all the right places. This takes time.
Perfusing a small mouse with formaldehyde takes at least 5-10 minutes. A human
body? Practically ages I would guess.

All the while, cells are dieing left and right because they are no longer
getting a steady supply of oxygen (and instead a bath of relatively cytotoxic
preservation media). When the body is finally perfused fully and dunked into
liquid nitrogen...flash freezing isn't immediate. The outer layers freeze much
faster than the inner layers.

Ok, so just freeze the brain? Same problem as before, just on a slightly
smaller scale.

Ignoring all the cell death that has been happening for the last hour, how
about thawing? Well, let's pretend its a "good day" and 50% of your cells
live. That might be ok for your skin, liver, or spleen - they are going to be
unhappy but still alive. But 50% of your neurons dieing? Hmm. Also take into
account that neurons don't regenerate. You just killed half your brain. Even
super optimistic numbers, 70%-80% survival rate, still leave a lot of your
brain as goo.

This is all just biology. I'm not even touching the morals and ethics of
companies that are under no obligation to actually do what you paid them to do
(since you are dead).

~~~
gizmo
The cell damage inflicted by the cryo process is readily acknowledged by its
proponents. They argue that the neurological damage is not so large that the
original brain can't be reconstructed either by scanning it while still frozen
or by repairing it with nano-bots. Much like data from a wiped hard drive can
still be recovered by digital forensics.

As for the problem of outer layers freezing faster than inner layers, I think
this is mostly addressed by filling the brain with anti-freeze first.

Now, I'm rather skeptical of the whole process myself, but the crynoics guys
understand biology 101.

~~~
jellicle
> Now, I'm rather skeptical of the whole process myself, but the crynoics guys
> understand biology 101.

Actually, they mostly understand Psychology 101, which is that people are
willing to pay unlimited amounts of money for the promise of life after death.
SEE ALSO: turning lead into gold.

~~~
Jach
If they _really_ wanted to scam people, there are _far_ better ways than
suckering a couple thousand people out of membership dues, and a couple
hundred people out of leaving their $30k - $200k ( _hardly_ unlimited,
especially for software developers!) life insurance payout to a family member.

~~~
afterburner
There's always another way to skin a cat, but you get good at one way and keep
at it.

------
guy2221
This is tragic and heart-breaking.

Please be strong and live every minute to the fullest.

But I do have one constructive comment perhaps someone can get to this author.

>The bottom line, now, I'm afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer
patient, I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it’s extremely unlikely
I'll live beyond a year. So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be
my last.

>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.

As great as it will feel - I think this is a disgusting thing to do to a woman
and this author should reconsider.

[EDIT: Let me rephrase this to: I think they both should reconsider. I think
this is something that Adele will regret, regardless of whether she knows this
now, for the reasons I cite below. I say this with some experience.]

What are the two possibilities? That this short marriage and honeymoon will be
sad and awkard - or that it will be blissful and happy?

Both of those are terrible, horrible for her to live with for the rest of her
life. [Edit: again, something she might not realize now.]

Giving someone a few months of happiness before widowing them is something I
wouldn't wish on anyone.

Even the middle possibility (if the short marriage and honeymoon is neither
blissful nor very sad and awkward, but just is) would then simply give someone
Widow status.

I think this author should call this particular plan off.

There are a lot of great ways to enjoy life and do the most you can. Please
make the best of them all.

~~~
egypturnash
I'm a woman. And I say, if Adele wants to end her time with Iain this way, let
her. Wikipedia says they've been "together since 2006". In her position, I'd
rather remember six years with a wild last year or so of doing all those crazy
things that got put off than six years with a last year of just sitting there
watching the man I love die.

Also it is quite possible that Adele would pretty much consider herself a
widow for a good while whether or not she married Iain.

I mean, really. I don't think this is a thing being "done to her". I don't
know anything about her, but if she's <em>anything</em> like the kinds of
women Iain writes about, she's perfectly capable of making her own decisions,
and is quite aware of what she's gotten herself into. And is, as you urge in
your second sentence, trying to be strong and live life to the fullest.

