The Wonder series - Blurbed out

[James]

Hello there

I have discovered I'm terrible at blurbs (and so is my publisher). I've changed the blurb for my ebooks a few times but now my Victorian-based fantasy is about to come out in paperback, it's a lot more difficult to fiddle with...

The story is about "a bunch of not-classically heroic" (barmaids, college lecturers, psychopaths, boxers, a valet, a few random nasty mercenaries) heroes who end up accidentally having to save the world from a zombie army and steampunky monsters..

And the world's magic is not just for "special" people, but can be used by anyone so has been industrialised by corporations and what have you.

The fantasy action adventure hides the larger theme of Imperialism and Industrialisation - the remaking of the individual in the modern (Victorian age) and the rewriting of history by the "victors".
(Alternate histories are remade for colonised territories so individuals lose the continuity with their own culture, the dehumanisation of the individual to feed mass-production required to build an Empire, so there's mind-control, zombies, yeah, you know.)

I find if I try to sell the story USP AND the world USP it gets a little too confusing. And dry...

The series has been compared to The Princess Bride, Brent Weeks (I don't know who he is but he seems popular), M Banks' non-Culture sci-fi and Pratchett. Which is great but I can't seem to create the blurb to set THAT tone...

Book 1 blurb is bubbly, book 2 is almost academic in tone.

If you have the time, take a look at the blurbs and any feedback would be gratefully received.

Cheers

James