What’s the strangest Kickstarter campaign you’ve ever heard of? Help Fund My Robot Army!!!, a unique speculative fiction anthology edited by John Joseph Adams, provides an imaginative takes on what would happen if this crowd-sourcing platform were injected with projects straight out of science-fiction and fantasy.
Book Review: Help Fund My Robot Army!!! and Other Improbable Crowdfunding Projects, edited by John Joseph Adams
As an Internet user, you’ve no doubt heard of Kickstarter, a crowd-sourcing platform that allows people to gain funding for a project. Imagine if you could use Kickstarter to fund a fantastical project, such as the titular robot army, a spell to allow you to shapeshift, or performing a Shakespearean play in outer space. This is the premise of Help Fund My Robot Army!!! and Other Improbable Crowdfunding Projects, a speculative fiction anthology of thirty-three fictional Kickstarter campaigns edited by John Joseph Adams.
I particularly enjoyed the format of this collection. Each story has the structure of an actual campaign, complete with the description of the project, fundraising goal, updates, and even what each backer would receive at each level of contribution and comments from Kickstarter users. I found the format to be successful in creating a sense of realism – while the projects are obviously supposed to be fantastical, I still felt like I was reading about actual campaigns. I found humor in the ridiculousness of some of the projects, while the backstory of one of the campaigns in particular (I won’t spoil it by saying which one) made me feel quite emotional. Regardless of tone, the anthology as a whole is an imaginative take on what this crowd-sourcing platform could be used for in a world- for better or for worse.
If you enjoy speculative fiction or if you’ve ever wondered just how far people could go with Kickstarter campaigns, definitely check this book out. Help Fund My Robot Army!!! is available for $4.99 on the Amazon Kindle store, the editor’s website, and the Kobo and Nook stores.
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Check out my previous review on another anthology, Machine of Death.