Inside Out

by Will Elliott

INSIDE OUT is the story of Denton, a down-and-out no-hoper who lives with his mother and hits rock bottom one day during a road-rage incident. What should be the lowest moment of his life turns into a moment of revelation when he is rescued by members of the Sect of Bliss. Denton is quickly drawn into their world, mostly thanks to the attractive qualities of Sister Sarah and the persuasive power of the Sect’s leader, Daniel Mason.

Mason and his sidekick Coolan are initially less than impressed with their new recruit, until they discover Denton has just inherited an enormous amount of money, and doesn’t even know about it yet… They have no qualms about getting the money, even if it means getting rid of Denton permanently.

But INSIDE OUT is also the story of another group of characters - the people in charge of Denton’s mind. Mr Scott, the brisk and orderly man who runs the logic department; DM, the calm enigma creating Denton’s dreams; Len, who enjoys inventing nightmares; and Wetpatch, who runs amok with Denton’s libido. While the outside Denton is being lured into the cult, those inside Denton are well-aware that something is very wrong … and they will do whatever it takes to save him.

357 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Will Elliott (born 1979) is an Australian fiction writer who lives in Brisbane, Queensland.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Ryan Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll read anything Will Elliott writes, and Inside Out did not disappoint. This is a story about a man named Denton who becomes stuck in a cult, but it is also a story about the people who live inside Denton's head who, faced with the threat of being brainwashed, do whatever it takes to get Denton out of that cult and back to the real world.

This story is very similar to Nightfall, but its been dialed back a little in order to make the book more accessible. Which is probably a good thing given that a number of people struggled to get into Nightfall. One thing not dialed back was the charm and humour, this book had plenty of it from start to finish.

This is a highly recommended book from me, just like every other Elliott book.

[Andy Downe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is tough for me. I enjoyed Pilo Family Circus and Nightfall by Will Elliott but I just couldn't really get into this one like those. It has the trademark bizarre characters and surroundings and it is very clever, but i just didn't seem to care for the cast or what would become of them.
This still was not a bad book at all, but comparing it to his other novels I felt a little let down. I will still come back for more of his work however.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a tough thing to say but so far this has been my least favourite Will Elliott, though that's definitely not to say I didn't like it at all. I love Will's style; it's a bit kooky, it's a bit crazy, it's very different. Which pretty much sums up my first meeting with him too. I liked all the little people running around Denton's head running the show, I liked their different personalities, I liked the concept of the cult and the sorta behind the scenes aspect of seeing what's happening. I don't know why I didn't love it as much, I just didn't fly through it nearly as quickly as any of his others.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre)]

Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.

[Robert Rojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the simple, but sometimes predictable story of Denton and his inner friends. Have to say I had a great laugh at Wetpatch and his antics. Great little read.