Iain Banks, Author, Dies at 59

He revealed his terminal cancer in April

Author Iain Banks has died aged 59, two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family has said.

The Scottish writer revealed in April he was suffering from terminal gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year.

He was best known for his novels The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road and Complicity.

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

Little, Brown Book Group said the author was "one of the country's best-loved novelists" for both his mainstream and science fiction books.