Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Everything was fine. Life was moving at a normal pace when suddenly the moon was no longer made of normal moon elements. The moon was now made of cheese!! In this multi-pov story we follow many individuals from many different parts of the world all experiencing this crazy phenomenon. From scientists trying to find the answers, to billionaires attempting to land on the moon, we get to see all the insanity up close and personal over a lunar cycle. What would you do if the moon was suddenly cheese?

This book was a lot of fun. If you’ve seen movies like “Don’t Look Up” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” and found them enjoyable, this may be up your alley. This reminded me a lot of Good Omens. It has very similar vibes for sure. If you want to read something “with your brain off” this would be for you! The plot is literally in the synopsis and it is really only that deep. The moon turned to cheese and everyone goes crazy in one way or another. It was seriously such a good time. 4/5 stars!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book. I was really excited to have been offered the opportunity to read it before everyone else... But of course my schedule didn't allow me to actually do that. Anyway I’ve been a fan of the author since last summer when I read Starter Villain and then Lock In and Head On. I enjoy all of his writing styles, and this book was no exception.

The premise of the book is pretty simple. It chronicles the days over which people are reacting to the moon having turned to cheese. You get many different perspectives and types of writing from Reddit rants to transcripts of text conversations to traditional narrative.

I thought that the story was incredibly clever and there were some really neat characters, but I think the difficult thing for me about this book was that you got so little time to get to know characters because it wasn't a character-driven book. I am very much a fan of character-driven books, so this was outside my normal type of book; that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it, though. I really thought that it was creative and that he did a good job of making fake science seem real. As always with John Scalzi you get a fair bit of tongue-and-cheekness to the writing, and I always appreciate that. I would highly recommend this book to someone who's looking for something a little bit different, a little bit sarcastic, a little bit funny, and pretty compelling.

Well, that was a book.

Loosely billed as a trilogy of regular people dealing with high-concept sci-fi ideas alongside The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain, I think this was my least favorite of the three. I loved Kaiji as a fun, bubble-gum spree of monsters and capitalism and weird. The schtick was enjoyable.

It grew less enjoyable with SV, which felt like a rough draft of a story: lots of great ideas with a lot of formulaic writing.

And it grew downright annoyed with Moon, which started off really strong and then devolved into entries filled with either copy/paste repartee or heartstring-tugging moments of togetherness (usually framed in a speech of some sort).

Mainly, I was annoyed because of the ending. Commit, Scalzi! And for fuck's sake, tell me what kind of cheese!

Fans of Starter Villain and Project Hail Mary will really like this one. It has strong Project Hail Mary vibes.

Personally, I think that this would have been great as a novella, but as a full-length novel it was just too long. The repetitive pattern of the dialogue got old really fast.

Two stars, because at least the obnoxious billionaire dies horribly in the end.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

Hilarious, silly, and so much fun. I loved this book and was so thrilled to get an ARC. Scalzi is one of my favorite authors, and his newest didn’t disappoint!

John Scalzi has produced a rather nonsensical story about the moon turning into cheese for a period of time. Of course it is a hoax that is difficult to prove. Was it God? Was it aliens? Moonage dream. He runs with the theory of this nonsense as if it is real until suddenly the real moon returns. Hard to believe.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is a quirky story about what would happen if the moon suddenly turned into cheese. There are alternating chapters from the White House, NASA, and a fascinating cast of characters. There's a little science, a little politics, and a lot of entertainment. I really enjoy Scalzi's books. I read Starter Villain, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I also liked this one a lot too. The author's creativity, quirkiness, and intelligence really shine through in his writing. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I love Scalzi's writing, his stories are always so interesting. Unfortunately, this one did not hit the right notes for me. I had a lot of trouble because of the way the story follows so many different characters and settings. I had trouble really following the story. I did enjoy the idea of the moon turning to cheese and the scientific side of the moon being bigger and also because of the heat, the volcanic eruptions coming from it. There were definitely interesting bits included.

In this novel, one day the moon suddenly is replaced by an object of the same mass that is an organic substance which sure seems to be a giant ball of cheese (even moon rocks on Earth!) Each chapter thereafter represents a different character in a day of the lunar cycle, from scientists to astronauts to politicians to business people to an array of ordinary folks.

I have read and enjoyed six of John Scalzi’s previous books, so sorry to say this one just didn’t do it for me. Some chapters were quite good, but because generally each character is a one and done (or at least not seen for 20 or so chapters), it didn’t really all hang together as a novel. Plus, sometimes the satire just felt a little too broad, and while I can suspend disbelief for all kinds of science fiction, this just felt too unrealistic. I’ll still read more of Scalzi in the future though.

The link below contains my spoiler free review thoughts on this book. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at my email in my profile.

https://youtu.be/AqV33-oFRQo

An exciting look at scientific development and exploration of how people react to unexplainable events. Great read!

I enjoyed the his other books, Starter Villain, so I knew this was going to be a good one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

If I used a more nuanced review scale, this would probably fall slightly below 4 stars - maybe 3.75? Alas, I do not, so 4 stars it is.

This novel really highlights Scalzi’s masterful writing ability. Each chapter is a short story featuring different characters dealing with the absurd experience of living in a world where the moon can spontaneously turn to cheese. Some chapters actually brought me to tears with the tangible emotion the author was able to create.

My main qualm with this book:
The RELENTLESS quippiness was almost too much. The story was “quip quip quip quip POIGNANT quip quip quip quip quip quip quip ASTUTE POLITICAL COMMENTARY quip quip quip…” for 300 pages. While there were some moments that were genuinely heartfelt, it just got to be a bit exhausting. I think I could have handled this pace better if it was a shorter novel or novella.

The moon has become what we always thought it was and now what?!? It’s the journey this book takes you on that is one of the reasons this author is one of my favorite authors to read and enjoy. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 rounded up

Another fun book by John Scalzi. He is an author I will always recommend and read especially to people who are scared to try scifi books.

This book wasn't my favorite by him but I still had a good time. Since each chapter followed a different person, it was a bit hard to care about any of the characters but the fast pace and story helped keep me entertained.

I’ve been reading Scalzi for a long time and I’ve absolutely loved the more fun focused books he’s put out in the last few years. This one was probably the most unexpected one of them all. I had a lot of fun reading this one. The premise of the moon turning into cheese randomly might seem like a goofy writing prompt (even though moon being made out of cheese as a saying has been around for centuries). I really did love how Scalzi ran with it though. If you’re looking for realistic science in this sci-fi, you would be disappointed. Instead it’s a very good examination of society’s reactions to such an event mixed with all types of humor. It’s told through vignettes focusing on different people (some more with a recurring role than others) and at different points of time. Given the very absurd timeline we’re currently in, reading this was cathartic. Scalzi has been very cognizant of politics and how social media reacts to the world which made this crazy scenario feel very real.

Oh this was so goofy, but in a good way? And it could have been too goofy, too out there because well, the moon is cheese, friends. The moon is cheese. The thing is, the characters acknowledge how absolutely batshit this is, and how little sense it makes, and they are as befuddled as we the reader are. That makes it so much more palatable. Also, it was far more heartfelt than I'd expected, too. Good surprise, that.

It's told in a vignette style, popping into the lives of folks who are dealing with the moon-cheese aftermath. From random civilians to astronauts to world leaders to feuding cheese shop owning brothers, we encounter so many folks who are dealing with the fallout- because honestly who isn't dealing with the fallout of the world as they knew it potentially falling apart? And the ending was kind of perfect, tbh. I didn't see things working out the way they did, but man, I loved it. Pacing was a little slow at times, but it was very much worth the journey!

Bottom Line: Who knew that the cheese moon could bring so many cool stories, once you go ahead and suspend your disbelief.

WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE is a wacky, humorous yet introspective sci-fi novel that takes a very silly premise and turns it into a story about the complexity of humanity. One day, scientists around the world wake up to the shocking revelation that the moon has turned to cheese (or something that very closely resembles it). At first no one knows how to respond - it's a scientific impossibility, it must be some kind of miracle or apocalyptic curse, or else it's simply a lie.

As the days and months progress, the cheese moon becomes more than just an oddity, and it becomes clear that it may mean the end of the world. Suddenly life with a cheese moon isn't a laughing matter.

This book was hilarious at times, and deeply emotional at others. Scalzi manages to hit on some pretty tough ideas, especially when the end of life itself is looming in the not-too-distant future. It made for an interesting glimpse into the many different reactions that people might have to massive changes and potential endings. We saw many different characters (most repeating), in a sort of vignette style that showed perspectives from across the country, at all stages of life, and in many different professional settings. There's something for everyone here. The ending lost me a little bit, but the book as a whole was a delight.

I highly recommend this book for any fans of Scalzi's recent work, as well as for fans of PROJECT HAIL MARY.

This book is simultaneously exactly what you'd think it would be and not at all what you're expecting... while I acknowledged from the start that the premise was odd, I did not expect to actually feel emotions! Laughing? Sure. Crying? WTH?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

You know the curse of the monkey paw? Highly recommend the subreddit for some fun reading. But anyways, you make a wish with the monkey paw and then while the wish is granted, it takes the wish VERY literally and will lead to unforeseen consequences.
So that's this book. Someone wished that the moon was made of cheese, and this book takes you through the lives of people across the US, who now have to live with a moon made of cheese. And it's a fun ride.
Scalzi's character dialogue is always so spot on. It flows so well that I usually feel as if I am there with the characters listening to them. I also really enjoyed how he wrote this. From the perspective of so many different characters, across different beliefs and ideas.
Each chapter was a joy to read. Especially the later ones, where they realize they might not have much time left on Earth. It was also a cool though experiment that I now ponder daily. What if I did know I only had a certain amount of time left?

I have enjoyed all three of Scalzi's recently published works and will forever be thinking of them and the absurd scenarios that take place.

I am not the biggest fan of the ending though unfortunately. It felt too abrupt, but I also know why he did it.

A bestselling New York Times novelist, John Scalzi specializes in taking weird conceits and putting them at the heart of SF novels: space armies staffed by the geriatric? Old Man’s War series, check; dinosaur preservation in an alt-Earth? The Kaiju Preservation Society, check; underworld business conspiracy run by cats? Starter Villain, check. But Scalzi has taken it a step further with his new novel, When The Moon Hits Your Eye.

https://bookandfilmglobe.com/uncategorized/john-scalzi-misses-his-moon-shot/