Steven Erikson finished THE CRIPPLED GOD, the tenth and final (sort of) book in THE MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN series, today. His announcement over Facebook:

"GASP! That would be me, coming up for air. How long was I down there? About twenty years, from conception to completion. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is done. Sure, editing and all that crap to follow. But ... done. I don't know who I am. Who am I again? What planet is this? Three months of butterflies ... maybe this double whiskey will fix that. Hmm. No. Delayed reaction going on here."

THE CRIPPLED GOD will be released in February 2011. Erikson's next novel project is THE KHARKANAS TRILOGY, a three-volume prequel to the MALAZAN series focusing on Anomander Rake, the Tiste Andii and Mother Dark. The first volume is expected in late 2012/early 2013. Erikson has already said that he will not be repeating his insane working pace on the MALAZAN series and future books will come at 18-24 month intervals, allowing more time for rewrites and editing.

Congratulations to Steven!