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Iain Banks has died aged 59 after suffering gall bladder cancer.

The writer, famous for science fiction works like The Wasp Factory, was given just months to live after being diagnosed with the disease in March.

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

Fans and friends paid tribute on Twitter. Fellow writer Ken MacLeod, who received an email from Banks' widow Adele breaking the news, commented: "Lost my oldest friend."

Olympic cycling great Sir Chris Hoy, a fellow Scot, tweeted: "Rest in peace Iain Banks. Such sad news."

Lord McConnell, Scottish First Minister from 2001-2007, commented: "Terribly sad that we have lost a creative genius, a storyteller, a patriot and a genuine guy. RIP Iain Banks."

Comedian Johnny Vegas said: "A sad and untimely loss. RIP."

Mirror columnist Ros Wynne-Jones commented: "RIP Iain Banks. Thanks for the Wasp factory. And all the others, but especially the wasp factory..."

Banks had told fans of his illness in April with a personal statement on his official website. He said: "I am officially very poorly.

"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."

The Quarry is set to be published on June 20, a date brought forward by his publishers to give him a "better chance" of being around when it hit the shelves. Sadly it was not to be, Banks losing his fight today, three days after being admitted to a hospice.

Banks revealed he initially developed a sore back in late January but thought it was because he was "crouched over a keyboard all day".

The Scottish author said his GP spotted he had jaundice and tests revealed the "grisly truth" at the start of March.

He said: "I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term."

He cancelled planned engagements to spend as much quality time as he could seeing friends and family.

Banks also said: "There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available. However that is still something we're balancing the pros and cons of, and anyway it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly reduced."

Thanking his doctor and medical staff and describing the standard of care as "deeply impressive", he said: "We're all just sorry the outcome hasn't been more cheerful."

Banks added: "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. We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us."

Banks, who was born in Fife and studied at Stirling University, published his first novel The Wasp Factory in 1984.

His first science fiction novel, Consider Phlebas, was published in 1987 under the name Iain M. Banks.

He has continued to write mainstream fiction as Iain Banks, with novel The Crow Road adapted for TV in 1996, followed by Complicity in 2000.

In 2008, he was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by The Times.