Angela's Arm


Fiction - Horror
202 Pages
Reviewed on 11/05/2018
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Angela's Arm by Roland Allnach is a combination of science fiction meeting horror, set in the mid-west in the late 1800s. Reverend Nathan Purdy, an apocalyptic minister, had a vision, a dream, a prophecy if you like. And when his daughter was born, that prophecy came to pass. Angela was born with just one arm. But this was no normal arm. Coiled like a pink snake at her side, Angela’s arm has 6 fingers surrounding a single eye; an arm that can think for itself. As she grows up, she sees what her father has in store for her and wants none of it. Angela wants to go it alone, to make her own path in life but can she survive on her own? Can she finally be free or will the prophecy of doom stay on course?

Angela’s Arm by Roland Allnach is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. It is a skillful blend of horror and science fiction but, a word of warning for the faint of heart, there are some pretty gruesome scenes here. Roland has used an incredibly descriptive way of writing to bring the story alive with a surreal plot that starts exactly as it means to go on. If you can get past the first chapter, you will be drawn into a rollercoaster ride on a strange journey that takes you places you never dreamed of. His character development is excellent and he really knows how to drag you kicking and screaming head-first into a world of terror. As I said, not for the faint of heart but definitely recommended for those who want something very different to read – I guarantee you won't find another story like this one!

Lit Amri

On a piece of land called the Range, a peculiar group of people isolated themselves from the rest of the world that they dubbed as the Outsiders. The Purdys, the Semenics, and the Eddingtons have their own way of life. Lead by the austere Reverend Nathan Purdy, they raised his prophesied child Angela, who was born with a right arm that has a mind of its own. It’s akin to a strong serpent with an enlarged hand possessing six long fingers, with a single green eye in the center of the palm. Nathan has foreseen his daughter’s fate, but will Angela and her arm obey him to fulfill her destiny? A mysterious underground pool they called Thetis Springs is the source of the characters’ uniqueness. With the gift of foresight, Nathan Purdy has a weird puritanical mindset. His affair with the tenacious Mena Semenic and his antagonism towards Woolly Ben-who helped Nathan acquire the Range in exchange for gold prospecting-heighten the silent tension of what’s to come.

Angela's Arm by Roland Allnach is unusual from the start. The plot has an impressive originality. Coupled with a prose with poetic flair, the narrative is easily engaging. Cult comes to mind after several pages into the story, but the people in the Range are more than just individuals with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices. The late 19th century background provides a provocative atmosphere with elements of the surreal in portraying the distinctiveness of the group living on their own terms and secrets, guarding the land that they shared with strange large beasts known as stargazers.

Angela and her arm are strong but strangely vulnerable at the same time. Her love for her cloven-feet mother Calliope, her friendship with the strong and fast-healing Ivan Semenic, and her feelings for the crippled but kind and knowledgeable Kyle Eddington provide the tender moments in the story. Overall, Allnach’s Angela's Arm is at times disturbing to read but oddly fascinating. Readers who want a slightly different kind of horror fiction will find this story satisfyingly intriguing.

Kris Moger

Angela’s Arm by Roland Allnach is the story of a father, who sees the world ending, and his daughter, who is central to his plans. However, there are others who have no hesitation in living the way they want and making others do the same. Meanwhile, Angela’s arm has a will of its own and is ready to do what is necessary to protect Angela, who has no idea what her father is up to. As his plans unfold, she realizes her father may ask her for more than she is willing to give. Will Angela be able to stop the doom heading her way and save herself and her loved ones, or will she lose everything, even her life?

What an unusual story. Angela’s Arm by Roland Allnach is somewhere between a dark fantasy and a horror story, truly fascinating and unique. I want to pinpoint the world as being earth but everything is so odd that it is difficult to tell. There are moments when I wondered if it wasn’t some realm between earth and hell. The author does a wonderful job of creating creepiness in an ordinary and natural way, which makes everything all the more creepy. Kudos to the mind that created Angela’s Arm, a strange and mesmerizing tale that drew me to shadowy places whether I wanted to go or not. This is certainly written by a creative and dark imagination. It reminds me of the Sandman comics and American Gods. I would highly recommend it to anyone into Neil Gaiman, Lovecraft, or Poe.