Ian Manzis Banks, a contemporary Scottish writer who wrote in the genre of science fiction, has been called one of the best science fiction writers of the century. His works have been used as the basis for television plays, radio broadcasts and film scripts. He worked under the pseudonyms "Iain M. Banks" and "Iain Banks".
Biography
Ian Banks was born in Scotland, in the city of Dunfermline, in 1954 and was an only child. His father was a military sailor, his mother was a professional athlete.
Ian had a lot of relatives - a large Scottish family with aunts, uncles and others. After high school, he entered the University of Stirling and graduated with degrees in philosophy and English philology. The student did not have enough money for all the needs, so during the holidays he did not work with anyone: an orderly, a field worker, a gardener and even a janitor.
Ian's character was independent, freedom-loving, and he decided that he needed to learn more about the world. And for this he went to travel: first by hitchhiking throughout Europe, and then to the USA.
On the way, he worked part-time wherever he could, right up to a technician at British Steel, and all the time he watched, thought, absorbed information. While the ideas of his creations were just being born.
He returned to Scotland for a while, and then left again to be in the midst of people and events and get new material for thought. True, so far this was an unconscious process, because he had not yet begun to write at that time. However, he knew exactly what he would write.
Writing career
In 1979, Ian moved to London, where he worked as a clerk in a law firm and began writing his first science fiction stories. And in 1984 his first novel, The Wasp Factory, came out, and Banks quit his job to devote himself entirely to writing.
In 1987, his book "Remember Phleb" was published, which marked the beginning of the famous cycle "Culture".
In total, Banks published twenty-six books during his lifetime, and one more was published after the death of the writer in 2013.
In 1990, Banks began teaching writing seminars at the university where he was previously a student. He turned out to be an excellent teacher, and soon he became a doctor of sciences.
Personal life
Bensk himself wrote in his autobiography that his hobbies are driving a car and a motorcycle, walking, reading and sailing with friends. As is clear from his recollections, he was not a good boy and often dealt with the police. But he treated this as a true philosopher and creative person.
The first wife of the writer was named Annie, they were together from 1992 to 2007, and then divorced. Because of this divorce, Ian could not write for several years, his books were no longer published.
In April 2013, he married his longtime girlfriend Adele Hartley. The wedding took place in a luxury hotel and the couple were happy.
At that moment, both already knew that Ian was terminally ill - he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away in June 2013.
