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Roland pens "Oddities & Entities" in six short tales of horror that will curl your toes and make you want to hide under the covers. The author's imagination, writing and characters are very unique and strong which stands out in each story. Highly recommended for all horror/thriller fans!
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.
Perfectly titled
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/12)
“Oddities & Entities” by Roland Allnach is composed of six engrossing, and sometimes grossing short stories. Each one is unique in its own way, and completely different from anything I have ever read before. Reading these twisted stories gave me an awesome escape that made me feel like I was on a ride through a fun house with no idea when it would be over or where I would end up. As a result of the uniqueness of the author’s ideas, he is in control of the journey because you will have no idea what is going to happen next in his creative imagination.
If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you. Although there are several relationships that are involved in most of these stories, they tend to be out of the norm. Way out of the norm as a matter of fact. For example, in “Elmer Phelps,” the main character has two relationships to deal with. One would be perfect, if it wasn’t complicated by Elmer’s secret dire need for consuming raw flesh. There is also a bit of an issue with how well he gets along with his sister who shares his dietary needs. I will stop there because I don’t want to spoil it.
As I read each story, I appreciated how well Roland Allnach was able to write such complete, detailed scenes in the space of a short story or a novella. He does a wonderful job of describing the scenes and helping you dive right into the characters’ minds. He will take you to some dark and twisted places, and you will enjoy having goose bumps on your arms. And when you are done with reading “Oddities & Entities,” you will be extremely relieved to find yourself back in your mundane world, as I was. Then, if you are like me, you will find yourself looking on the Internet to find out what else Roland Allanach has written so that you can dive right back into that twisted darkness.
TheStarLady
Posted July 21, 2012
Normally books I choose to review are non-fiction, upbeat, positive, and life-enhancing. Horror is not a genre that I read, but when Roland Allnach’s Oddities & Entities crossed my desk, I was intrigued by the sentence “Set in the mysterious space between the everyday world and an existence just beyond reach, ‘Oddities & Entities’ traces a path through the supernatural, the paranormal, and the speculative.”
The read didn’t disappoint. Oddities & Entities is an anthology of six tales that explore the meaning of life beyond flesh and bone. The stories are gritty, gruesome, bewitching, and beautiful. Allnach began writing as a hobby when he was a teenager without dreams of becoming an author. After more than two decades working the night shift in a hospital, he had experienced an abundance of strange and abnormal activities, many of which found their way into his writings. Allnach is a master storyteller with a powerful pen. His words flow as gently as a stream meandering through a bucolic meadow even as he describes nightmarish scenes.
Roland was a guest on my internationally broadcast radio program, Starstyle® -Be the Star You Are!® and he enthralled our listeners around the world as he described real life happenings hidden beyond the veil, his writing process, and his runaway imagination. An avid reader, Allnach has a do-it-yourself personality, thus when he writes, he studies what he reads then designs his own musicality for his sentences. The fluid transparency of his words catapult the reader into the world of his macabre characters forcing one to make a moral judgment on his philosophical musings. We experience the paranormal, the speculative, and the crazed with Allnach’s poetic prose. He is a master writer of the surreal and deserving of the numerous awards he is winning.
Oddities & Entities will entice, frighten, and shock as the little voices that live in the author’s mind jump into yours. Enjoy the creatures, the complexities, and the curveballs. The horror and the haunting have never been more therapeutic!
Cynthia Brian is Producer/Host of StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® Radio and a New York Times best selling author
Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers Favorite
"Oddities & Entities" by Roland Allnach, categorized as horror fiction, is unlike any other horror fiction I have ever encountered. The book is comprised of 5 stories, each of which is written a cut above the norm. There are no recognizable monsters in these stories, no sophomoric zombies, no evil ancient vampires, and none of the standard fare I have become accustomed to in the horror genre. I do like the usual run of the horror genre, but this book is written with thoughtful intelligence, for an intelligent adult reader. I do not mean to imply sexual situations or coarse language. What I mean is, any intelligent reader, capable of deep thought, will find this book irresistible. The 5 individual stories are as unlike as any 5 stories can be, yet each one is so sufficiently well-written that, if sold as individual short stories, I wouldn't hesitate to award 5 stars to each of them.
To say I like this book is a crass understatement. Each story drew me in and evoked my empathy for various characters. These stories forced me to actually think beyond what I was reading. Each premise was unique, at least in my experience; I have never encountered any other stories that even approach the situations these present with authority and authenticity. If I could boil down my perception of this book into a single word, that word would be WOW! Roland Allnach's first anthology, "Remnant", which I have also read, was placed as a finalist in the Science Fiction category in the 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards. I absolutely expect "Oddities & Entities" to follow suit. If you read only one book this year, make it this one. Be prepared to have your comfort zone challenged.
Overview
Set in the mysterious space between the everyday world and an existence just beyond
reach, "Oddities & Entities" traces a path through the supernatural, the paranormal, and the speculative. With moments of horror, dark humor, and philosophical transcendence, these tales explore a definition of life beyond the fragile vessel of
the human body.