Oddities & Entities 

by Roland Allnach

Horror Short Story Collection

Book Description

Oddities & Entities is a surreal, provocative anthology of six tales within the supernatural/paranormal/horror genres, exploring a definition of life beyond the fragile vessel of the human body. The stories are: ‘Boneview’, in which a young woman struggles to balance her ability to see through people with the presence of a supernatural creature in her life; ‘Shift/Change’, in which a hospital worker struggles to regain his memory as he is confronted by a series of desperate people; ‘My Other Me’, in which a lonely college student finds himself displaced from his body by his alter ego; ‘Gray’, in which a frustrated man is stunned to discover a little creature has been living in his head; ‘Elmer Phelps’, in which a brother and sister find themselves linked in a strange reality by a bat bite in their youth; and lastly, ‘Appendage’, in which a cynical mercenary is hired by his son to protect a research lab on the verge of a stunning discovery.

MY THOUGHTS: 3.5 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach

A varied collection containing short stories and novellas, Oddities & Entities gives exactly what its’ title says. The supernatural is at work in these tales in ways that make you think, maybe this world isn’t so far away after all…

My favorite story was “Boneview.” It told the tale of a girl who grew up with an otherworldly protector. As she matured though, they grew apart. And eventually she had to make a huge sacrifice to have a happy life. As a mother, this tale in particular spoke to me.

“Shift/Change” was also good. It took me re-reading parts of it to truly understand what was going on, but the last line reveals a twist ending that makes you view the rest of the story in a completely different way.

“My Other Me” is the other notable tale in the collection. The author presents some mind-bending theories on what we, as humans, perceive as our reality. This story really made me think hard, and if I’m being honest, to me the thoughts it made me have were the scariest part of this entire book.

The other three stories in the collection, “Elmer Phelps,” “Gray,” and “Appendages” were longer and kind of seemed to drag for me. Although “Elmer” gave me a couple of chuckles.

There are some unique and creepy supernatural entities in this short story collection, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a scare that is different from the norm!

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About the Author

Roland Allnach has been writing since his teens, but did not actively seek publication until 2007. He has numerous published short stories to his credit, one of which was a 2010 Pushcart Prize nominee, as well as two multi-award winning books, Remnant (2010) and Oddities & Entities (2012). His literary inspirations arise from classic literature, history, and mythology, and his aim is to invest his stories and characters with a complexity and depth that continue to reward upon repeated readings. Writing aside, his joy in life is the time he spends with his family.

Find out more about Roland at his website, see what he’s writing about on his blog, and follow him on Facebook.

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