I would at least give it a look, based only from what I get of the plot and setting from the summary.
:D That's the idea.
@Aldraia I understand removing the orphan, I'll have to weigh that. For sake of brevity, it probably will be removed. Would you care to explain your other modifications, I don't quite understand them.
This seems like a large-scale story - whole worlds colliding sort of thing with one guy at the center - which is not exactly my cup of tea, but it's not to say I wouldn't buy it.
now this is really bizarre. In later books the story grows to that scale, but the focus is rather intimate in the first book. If people go into this expecting national/kingdom-level politics they're not going to find it... I assume it is the the fact that we're talking about armies and magic resurging that gives it a sense of scale? Those are the backdrop for the action, like mountains in the distance, everything else is happening a lot closer scale.
This could present a problem. Hm.
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As for "gangs", good suggestions guys, I'm going to think "out loud" over them.
-Guild: there are ready an advanced systems of guilds within the city that have nothing to do with the violence the gangs are causing. Reusing the term would be confusing in this case.
-Horde: implies a size (amount of members) and possibly a disorderly nature that doesn't apply.
-Bandits: did you have to like attack passing caravans to be abandoned? I tend to visualize a motley group of petty thieves, not something you're so vicious as gangs. Then it's, on some level, steal to survive. These gains have no such sympathy garnering excuse.
-tribe: I see potential here. I'm afraid it doesn't bring the grittiness with it that "gang" does, and with so little room to explain in the blurb, could be easily misinterpreted.
-Mobs: feels too disorderly. You average citizen could be a part of a mob, but the gains are made up of skilled fighters.
-Crew: I did some thesaurus hunting and found this word. It implies a size more accurate than Horde, and the organization these gangs have. It doesn't portray viciousness, though. So, "[adjective] Crew?", like Blood Crew? The particular combination seems to unclear for the blurb, but maybe not.
-Ring: such as criminal ring. Hm, I like crew more, because it has a certain original flavor to it that I like (same with tribe), but this may serve the blurb best.
Thanks everybody! I knew I made the right choice when I asked this forum.
"That didn't make me cry. I'm just shedding manly tears over something completely unrelated and super masculine. Like an explosion. An exploding robot. An exploding robot that's on fire. DON'T LOOK AT ME!"
-Farmer10