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Roland has been writing since his early teens, first as a hobby, but as the years passed, more as a serious creative pursuit. He is an avid reader, with his main interests residing in history, mythology, and literary classics, along with some fantasy and science fiction in his earlier years.
After the initial stumbles of starting a writing career, he has since secured publication for numerous short stories, has received a nomination for inclusion in the Pushcart Anthology, built his own website, and in November 2010 realized publication for an anthology of three novellas, titled 'Remnant', from All Things That Matter Press. 'Remnant' has gone on to favorable critical review and placed as Finalist/Sci-fi in the 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards. Roland's second publication, 'Oddities & Entities', also from All Things That Matter Press, followed in March 2012.
His writing can best be described as depicting strange people involved in perhaps stranger situations. Sometimes speculative, sometimes sci-fi, other times supernatural, at times horror, with journeys into mainstream fiction, and even some humor - or perhaps the bizarre - his stories are as varied as his interests. Despite the category, he aims to depict characters as real on the page as they are in his head, with prose of literary quality.
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.
