When I read the blurb for In Moonland, I was excited to read something vastly different from anything I had seen from contemporary adult fiction. Adult fiction is, in general, primarily hit or miss - with many authors seemingly writing the same story with mild variations. There are only so many mid-aged self-discoveries I can handle at once.

However, as I began reading, I wasn't initially planning on giving In Moonland a particularly good review. The novel starts incredibly slow and drags itself out to the point where I was genuinely going to give up. This is In Moonland's most significant fault, and the reason why it took so long for me to finish in the first place; it waffles around for quite a while before entering its main standout point, and this is a detriment to Allinson's overall writing. Around the halfway mark, the pacing picks up slightly from there, as does the narrative overall. Vincent, Joe's father, goes to Pune in India and ends up at the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. We can see the threads of cult indoctrination and manipulation begin to seed and the disastrous after-effects. Once this section of In Moonland was introduced, I found it compelling enough to devour in a manner of days. It was exciting and well researched. Allinson masterfully displays the methods cults use to manipulate and influence prospective and current members, as well as the long-lasting trauma caused after someone has left or been excommunicated from a cult.

The last section of In Moonland follows Joe's daughter, Sylvie. Sylvie travels across a near-future Australia to meet up with Joe again, with whom she has a strained relationship. While not as compelling as Vincent's section, Sylvie's recounting of authoritarian, dystopia-Australia was an unexpected tonal change from the previous sections. However, the continuous theme around the flawed and not-so-beautiful aspects of human experience threaded through these last few pages. Similarly, the relationship between parent and child continued, which - without spoiling anything - was a welcome surprise.

Overall, In Moonland is a decent read and one where Allinson certainly stands out from his contemporaries. However, getting past the first good chunk of the book is a slog, and whether other readers view Vincent and Sylvie's narratives as reward enough is up for debate.