One of my favorite books I read last year- and I immediately bought it for our library's Great Reads section! Hopeful, fun, and lighthearted in the way only Scalzi can do, the premise is fun and the characters are even better. Each chapter feels like a complete arc, and you're rooting for characters and science each step of the way. I laughed out loud at multiple points, and can't wait to recommend it to readers (I already told my entire family they need to get ready to read it!).

I love Scalzi's humor, there aren't enough funny sci-fi books and his are my go-to.

With that said, while this was a good attempt at making this premise interesting... this wasn't my favorite book by him.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye is a perfect example of what Diane Callahan termed curio fiction. This book (like Starter Villain before it) is the link between the zany-but-just-this-side-of-believable satire of Christopher Buckley and the screwball fantasy of Jasper Fforde. Highly enjoyable, and an excellent escapist read.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this as an eGalley from NetGalley to review..

Thoughts: DNF'd at 50% of the way through. I am generally a big fan of Scalzi's stories; I like his humor and off-the-wall premises. I really tried to finish this but realized I was completely ambivalent about the story. The premise is a bit too far-fetched, and the book was just too disjointed.

The moon turns to cheese and humanity has to deal with this now. What follows are looks into the lives of various people at how they react to this. One theme that does continue to throughout this story is billionaires trying to take advantage of this strange occurrence.

The first part of the story seems like it is ridiculous but also sort of funny in a goofy way. Then we start jumping from sector to sector and hearing how everyone is affected by the moon being cheese. It was really disjointed. We rarely see the same characters twice, and I struggled to follow how anything was related to anything else. I think Scalzi is trying to make some social commentaries around billionaires here but I am struggling to figure out what they are (aside from the most basic billionaires are unrealistic, wasteful, and have huge egos).

This went quickly from potentially entertaining to flat out boring and ridiculous. I kept sticking with it, hoping that the story would come together at some point. Then I realized I was avoiding picking up my Kindle because I didn't want to struggle through more of this....so, it was time to stop.

As I said, I am a huge Scalzi fan, but this was just a miss for me. It doesn't come off as clever or even intriguing and definitely not as funny.

My Summary (2/5): Overall I found this disappointing. The premise is far-fetched but seemed like it might work for the story. However, things just get sillier and sillier and more disjointed as the story continues. We hop between many different people and how the moon being cheese affects them. Unfortunately, their stories never really came together with the main story. This started to feel like a bunch of random silly thoughts and maybe an effort at some political statement that I didn't quite grasp. I am a huge Scalzi fan, but this was a miss for me

I haven’t been a John Scalzi fan for long, having only first read The Kaiju Preservation Society in September 2024. That was enough to make me fall in love with his writing, though. I promptly read Redshirts (review of that is on my TikTok) in November and then Starter Villain in December of the same year. So when I saw I could get an ARC of his next book, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, I knew I had to try.

It’s a science fiction novel about Earth’s moon turning into a giant ball of cheese. That’s what it’s about on the surface, at least. It’s outrageous and highly unlikely to ever happen (science says to never discredit the improbable). Underneath, however, it’s a lot deeper.

Each chapter of the book explores a different character or group of characters, showing how they react to such an unbelievable event. Unfortunately, because the story unfolds this way, it’s difficult to get attached to any of them. You can argue that’s not what it’s about (and it’s not) but it made the story feel disjointed. I struggled picking up the book a few times because of a lack of interest in what was happening. It doesn’t need to be a character driven story, but I do want something more than what this was.

I don’t know if it was intentional or I was simply reading too much into it, but it seemed like the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) were explored throughout. Granted, it would take a the most well-adjusted human on the planet to not be in disbelief after learning the moon turned into cheese, so experiencing denial initially is to be expected. But the other stages are displayed by riots (anger) chanting “Fuck the moon,” a woman refusing to get out of her bed (depression) with the curtains closed in her resort suite, and more. Whether intentional or not, it was fascinating, regardless.

The ending was uninspiring and too simple, as well. Could I have done better? Most likely not. I guess I expected more.

Overall, it was a decent novel. I think it was a realistic look at how different people around the world would react to such a life-changing event and everything that comes along with it. Billionaires would still be greedy, people would express regret, others would try to rationalize it all, and chaos would gradually envelope the entire world.

I don’t think When the Moon Hits Your Eye is Scalzi’s best work. Granted, this is only the fourth book of his I’ve read. I would rank it 3rd or 4th, depending on my mood. Like I said, I found myself struggling to even care about picking it up again and the only reason I finished it was because I was so damn curious how it would end. Sure, it got me to read the book, but I wish there was a little more to it than that.

Scalzi always makes me wonder where we are heading, leaving me a bit confused for a bit, but when it comes together, it's a homerun. This book was no different. Even with a book about something as silly as the moon turning into cheese, he makes you think about social and economic issues.

I read this book in two sittings. One of the sitting was about an hour. The second sitting was most of today....

The premise of this book- the moon suddenly turns into cheese and everyone has to just kinda deal with that- lends itself well to the way the story is told; as a series of vignettes, some of which continue, many of which are one time looks at characters. The book is full of humor, warmth, and the occasional very serious depth.

This is a great book. I loved the patchwork view of the world and the different lenses Scalzi examined his premise through. It's a tough story to end...he very nearly wrote himself into a corner. But the ending worked.

Another good read from Scalzi!

4.5 rounded up!
WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE is a story that only John Scalzi could think up. The premise? What happens when the Moon becomes an "organic matrix" aka cheese. How would the world respond in the digital age? Filled with humor, contemplation, and, honestly, scarily accurate responses, this book is one that is an interesting read and is a unique story.

The blend of a number of things made this story one that has stuck with me in the few days since I've read it. The concept is one that seems so outrageous it could never work. But it does. I enjoyed all the facets of such a strange idea come to life and how the moon turning into cheese would impact the way people live in 2025. Touching on very real topics, through this satirical approach and such an idea was an extremely clever way to tell this story. One that I think speaks to how skillful the author is as a writer. I even had to put it down a few times because the situations and reactions felt too REAL, even for a fictional story about moon cheese. And that says a lot about the author's talent.

The reason this isn't a five star read for me is because of the organization of the story. This is told vignette style, with the moon turning to cheese being the central thread holding the narrative together. There is no true main character, though the characters appear in each other's stories. This wasn't what I was expecting and, while narratively interesting, I wanted a main character and a central conflict beyond just a new character's reactions to the premise. 

Overall, this was a really complex and engaging story. While the narrative style might not have been fully for me, it was an incredibly written book that I think is worth the read, especially if you liked Don't Look Up or other stories of that genre. To me, I think this book is a masterclass in writing.
Thank you to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi isn’t structured like a traditional novel. Instead, each chapter is a character vignette, offering glimpses into how different people react when the moon suddenly turns into cheese—and how society as a whole handles this bizarre event. Through these snapshots, we see a wide range of human responses, from the practical to the absurd, all tied together by an overarching narrative.

This book is both humorous and deeply philosophical. Scalzi does a fantastic job exploring the many ways people might react to such an impossible situation, highlighting the quirks and resilience of humanity. His writing is smooth and engaging, making for an easy yet thought-provoking read. I laughed, I cried, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

The author even acknowledges in the afterword that the science here is loosey-goosey —so don’t go in expecting scientific accuracy. Instead, just suspend disbelief and embrace the ride. If you’re looking for a poignant, funny, and insightful take on human nature in the face of the absurd, this book is for you.

Thanks to TOR publishing and NetGalley for the gifted ARC

When the Moon Hits Your Eye releases on March 25, 2025, make sure to check it!

One day, without warning or cause, the Moon turns into an organic matrix that appears to be… cheese. For the length of a lunar cycle, we hop between multiple POVs as humanity grapples with this new reality.

It’s a credit to Scalzi that such a ridiculous concept is successfully stretched into a full-length novel that’s enjoyable. Scalzi himself describes the book as the third in a loose, unconnected trilogy of books about regular humans thrust into high-concept situations. (The other books are Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain.)

The different POVs are a pretty interesting approach. It means, fundamentally, there isn’t a true main character (or characters) in the book, though several POVs are repeated. Instead, it shows a cross-section of American citizens and shows how, no matter what happens, people are going to people in both the best and worst ways– create interesting things, fall in love, make money, cheat one another, and so on. I prefer character driven books myself, but I think I still got the main message.

This tactic also partially ameliorates what I think of as the biggest flaw in Scalzi’s writing: every smart character is just Scalzi. Female character? Scalzi in a wig. Child character? Scalzi walking on his knees. Only spending a bit of time with most of the characters in the book gave me less time to picture each one of them as Scalzi himself.

Throughout the book, I couldn’t help but wish, despite the looming apocalypse, that we lived in a world where our biggest problem was the Moon turning into cheese.

I’m in a quandary of how to rate this. I think I enjoyed it at about a three-star level, in part because of the lack of satisfaction on certain matters, but the book did make me reflect more than I expected on the nature of humanity, so I’m rounding this up to 4-stars.

"When the Moon Hits Your Eye" had the same lighthearted, fun approach as John Scalzi's last two books. The premise of this one - what if the moon turned to cheese - was utterly ridiculous, but fascinating when taken seriously, as Scalzi does. The book danced between a few too many viewpoints for me, but each was a well-developed character you rooted for (or against). And the responses from the media, the government (especially NASA) and everyday citizens were wonderful. I would definitely recommend!

My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of novel of speculative fiction dealing with one constant in the night sky changing from rock to edible food, and the way the world deals with the repercussions both good bad and uniquely human.

When the Moon hits your eye like a cheese in the sky, that a Scalzi. My apologies to Dean Martin but this refrain ran through my head constantly while reading this novel. Very few authors could come up with an idea so strange, one used by, Wallace and Gromit creators for a cartoon, which I recommend, and create something that at the end makes one both think, and feel maudlin. Like something is in one's eye. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is a story about what happens to the world when something that is taken for granted, suddenly is different, and how people accept and deal with the new normal, something we are all dealing with today.

Virgil Augustine is thinking only of date night with his wife, when he receives a call advising him that their workplace, the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, has just had a robbery. Somehow a master thief has taken a moon rock from a sealed display, and replaced it with something that looks completely different. All without setting off an alarm, of seemingly opening the case. Upon opening, the moon rock turns out not to be a moon rock anymore, but a chunk of cheese. What is at first thought of as a joke, turns out to be shockingly real. All the moon rocks on Earth have turned into cheese. As has the Moon itself, suddenly closer to Earth, and brighter in the sky. As soon as the secret escapes the Earth is suddenly at a loss. How can rock turn to cheese? Why would this happen? Who could have done this? Soon lunar missions are planned, ideas are developed, love is found, human act like humans, and many bad decisions are made. All under the light of slightly cheesy, once silvery Moon.

I have read most of John Scalzi's works, Red Shirts and a few novellas, I believe are the ones I still need to catch up on. To see this author's progression is really amazing. From militaristic stories, toe space empires, to the stories he writes today, one can't help but be impressed. Scalzi no matter the idea, real Kaiju, Super villains, makes one care about what is going on, no matter the unreality presented. The characters are real, reacting like humans both good and bad. Reading this story I did not expect to care as much as I did. There are real emotional moments here. Characters feeling lost, finding each other, sharing deep thoughts, and reminding us all that we can share a world together, though it might be hard. Scalzi also makes one not even notice the odd plot, throwing readers right in, giving a quick chance to acclimate, than pushing the pedal to Muenster, and never letting up.

I think it was Scalzi's book on Kaiju were he talked about how his writing changed after the 2016 election, and COVID. One can see that. Though I am finding these stories to be of great comfort, and something to look forward too, until we declare war on the Moon, or something weird. Another great book by an author who lets his mind roam, and has the skill to make readers follow along, quite happily.

Another hit by Scalzi. What would happen if the moon turned to cheese? This story explores that through various chapters, following a main cast of characters (like the president of the US and a billionaire who wants to land on the cheese moon) as well as chapters that are one off viewpoints. The book never talks about the why of how the moon turned to cheese, but rather explores different aspects of humanity when something seemingly impossible happens. Be aware, some of the last few chapters can be rough, with very heavy existential dread.
I do feel as if the ending was a bit rushed. Suddenly, during an eclipse, the moon is back to normal. But I do love the chapters after where people point to it all as a hoax.

This lands in one of Scalzi's "fun" books. He's written some serious hard sci-fi and then he'll do a book like "Redshirts" or the villain one he wrote. This one has a cool premise and is in the fun category. I liked it a lot and will keep buying Scalzi.

An emotional rollercoaster about the moon turning into cheese

Why am I crying? I know why I'm laughing (which I did many times), but I wasn't expecting the tears.

The premise is classic Scalzi, and only he could pull this off. The moon suddenly turns into cheese. Now what? I loved each chapter that explores a sequential day after that fateful event. Some characters are recurring; some are not. But each chapter balances the physics, philosophy, political, pop culture, financial, macro behavioral sciences, etc. on forever, potential impacts such an event would have on earth. Each chapter poses a different idea and explores it in short story fashion. Scalzi is light on descriptions and heavy on witty dialogue. The dialogue and fun characters will keep you reading, as with every Scalzi book.

The breakout stars are the starcrossed Cheese Shop workers Felix and Annette. I want an entire book of their romance. John Scalzi, I think you may have missed your calling as a romance novelist. You can easily remedy that by giving us a full, expanded version of Felix and Annette's love. Please?

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 5 ridiculous cheese-filled stars
Character Development: 3 stars (there's not much since characters change each chapter)
Writing: 5 cheese-filled pun stars

John Scalzi's latest novel is his cheesiest to date and that is saying something. The premise is as absurd as it is intriguing: the moon is suddenly replaced by a giant wheel of cheese. The story features a wide-ranging cast of characters over a 30-day moon cycle to discover how they all handle this strange new reality. The book satirically comments on modern society, addressing conspiracy theories, political maneuvers, and the human tendency to seek profit amid disaster. As a long-time fan of the author, this is not in the top ten of his work, but I would still recommend it for fans of science fiction and anyone looking for a good laugh with a side of introspection.

Scalzi is always ready to take craziness far past what almost anyone else will do in order to prove a point. The moon turns into cheese and in alternating chapters, he puts his characters through the agony of the almost-certain destruction of Earth because of this astronomical phenomenon. And yet he still retains so much love for his characters that this reader is completely invested, despite expecting an ending that will be the written equivalent of the pandemic movie "Don't Look Up." Loved everything about this in part because his storytelling and characters' dialogue and reactions to events are so understandable even in the face of unprecedented disaster.

As someone who loved starter villain, I expected better of this. What happens if the moon suddenly turns into cheese? A great many things I suppose, and a few scenarios here are intended to make the reader chuckle, but felt more like a microphone was passed to a bunch of people and they were asked "give us a random idea of what might happen to just one person in this case".

The result is neither thorough nor engaging. No one is more disappointed that this didn't work for me than I. Full review to come on the blog.

"What kind of cheese?"

One morning, an impossible event occurs—the moon is suddenly, inexplicably, impossibly, now made of what appears to be... cheese. So, what do we do about it? Is there anything we can do about it? What will happen next, what could happen next, what does it all mean?!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye is essentially structured as a series of vignettes—(mostly) one-day-long slices of the lives of the scientists, politicians, billionaires, authors, celebrities, and just plain ordinary folks, all trying to figure out what to do and how to handle this new, cheesier world. Some of the stories are intriguing, some are laugh-out-loud hilarious, and some will tug at your heartstrings; it's a real smorgasbord of emotions, in the best way. I can see a ton of book club discussion potential in this one—favorite chapters, favorite characters, favorite types of cheese, the sky's the limit!

“When the Moon Hits Your Eye like a big pizza pie…”-That’s Amore (song) written by Jack Brooks and Harry Warren

The Moon turns to cheese.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi can be explained with the words above but..thats just the tip of the story. Thats the concept that launches the book into Scalzi’s upcoming 2025 book. I was very lucky to get to read this book early. And I loved it.

I don’t want to give away too much about When the Moon Hits Your Eye but I do want to say a few things. First of all: this book is funny. It is exactly what I needed right now. It made me laugh so much. The brilliant thing about the book is that it takes itself so very seriously. That makes the book even funnier. The characters in this book are constantly questioning the concept of the book. I’m laughing just thinking about it. What a book.

Though, also, the book is often beautiful. There are some chapters are that just so wonderful. The book changes characters with every chapter but then goes back to revisit some of them. There is one chapter that is absolutely one of the cutest things you’ll ever read and its follow up is adorable too. There’s another that is beautiful and heart-breaking. The characters in this book are even more important than the moon turning to cheese.

John Scalzi took a bizarre concept, a fable about the moon being cheese, and turned it into a one of the funniest, most beautiful books you’ve ever read. I also admit when I got the end, I was like “Thats it?!” I wanted more. I wanted to find out what happened to some of the characters. I didn’t want the book to end.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is one of my favorite books that he’s ever written. Its just a great book. If it doesn’t win some awards, then they should just stop giving out awards for books. What a wonderful book. You must read it when it comes out.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an early digital copy of When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi. The book releases on March 25th, 2025.