Comparing First Law Trilogy with Song of Ice & Fire

Recently I discovered First Law trilogy written by Joe Abercrombie. I was happy to have discovered a brilliant new series and one that did not make me wait to find out how the series concluded. The conclusion was in line with the how the series was, which is to say it was not a story book ending.  

What I liked most was that there were no obvious good or bad guys in the books. In fact, all the characters were flawed. If I have to identify two of the favorite characters in the books that I liked, these would be a torturer who shits in his bed & a mad berserker who can kill even a child when he is in rage. I wouldn’t consider these guys to be heroes in any way.  

And after reading the book, I was reminded of the Song of Fire & Ice series by George R R Martin. It is currently all the rage with a big HBO TV series, Game of Thrones, making the work mainstream. What makes GRRM’s books notable is that almost all the characters are with gray shades though the Stark’s are mainly on the lighter side of grey. GRRM is the standard bearer for the more realistic fantasy which is in contract to Tolkienesque world composed of good & bad.

Scope of the GRRM universe is much wider as compared to First Law universe. Also GRRM has larger set of strong characters. I found the writing style of Joe Abercrombie to be funnier, especially the insight into the torturers mind were constant delight. I found myself laughing at most horrible situations.

All in all, GRRM books have larger canvas and bigger promise. On other side, First law trilogy is complete & ready for consumption. So while waiting for next installment of Fire and Ice, fantasy fans can enjoy the First Law trilogy.

When should Sachin retire?

India won the third test against Australia in Mohali today. I was not very optimistic last night that this will end up in our victory but it has. All credit to our bowlers though I suspect that the mental state of Aussies has equally contributed to the victory. The Aussies uncharacteristically do not believe that they can win & for me, that is having an significant impact on their performance. Chances are now high for a white wash and I hope that India does inflict the ignomy on the current Aussie team. Aussies have given us enough of them in Australia so it would be nice to return the favor.

I still have my doubts about how good the Indian bowlers will do in different conditions. It has worked well in Indian conditions against Aussie batsmen though. The next three test series will be in SA, NZ & England so the question on how good the bowling is will be answered compresively in coming months.

Coming to question of Sachin & his place in test squad. His average in last few series has been dismal. His last century was in Dec 2010 & since then he has not crossed 50 in series average.

Pataudi Trophy (India in England), 2011
	4	8	0	273	91	34.12	0	2	0	21 Jul 2011		England
West Indies in India Test Series, 2011/12
	3	5	0	218	94	43.60	0	2	0	6 Nov 2011		India
Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia), 2011/12
	4	8	0	287	80	35.87	0	2	0	26 Dec 2011		Australia
New Zealand in India Test Series, 2012
	2	3	0	63	27	21.00	0	0	0	23 Aug 2012		India
England in India Test Series, 2012/13
	4	6	0	112	76	18.66	0	1	0	15 Nov 2012		England
Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia in India), 2012/13
	3	5	1	159	81	39.75	0	1	0	22 Feb 2013		-

If I look at upcoming fixtures, we are away in SA, NZ & Eng before we host WI.

Sachin should have ideally declared this to be his last series. It would have made sense as Aussies have in a way defined him. His most memorable innings have largely been in Aussie context (Perth, Sharjah, Chennai, Mumbai WC).

But Sachin has not done so.

One way would be for India to just drop him. If this series wasn't an unqualified success till now, it would have been easy decision. But current series against Aussies has been good from results point of view. Also, considering what he has contributed to Indian cricket scene, I hope that there is graceful exit.

I see two scenario’s that can work well. Both depend on Indian selectors having a useful chat with him.

First scenario is that he does well in upcoming matches. If that happens, he can retire in maybe 2/3^rd test against WI in Oct 2014. Hopefully Mumbai test.

Second scenario is that he continues to struggle. In that scenario, he should be given chance in SA & if he is unable to get his average above 40 in first two tests, he should retire after 3^rd test.

Now this depends on all parties being reasonable. I hope they are and Sachin goes in the graceful manner. It would be a pity if such a steller career ends in pitiable conditions. He was my favorite cricket player ever & I just want a good farewell.