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.

The moon has turned to cheese, but there are still bills to pay, so what's the world to do but keep turning?

A collection of stories set during a single lunar cheese cycle, Scalzi brings us into the lives of different characters experiencing their own personal flavor of existential crisis at the looming threat of death by cheese.

From the president to cheese shop star-crossed lovers, to a writer trying to get past their first three chapters, a crusty rock star dying of cancer, and a host of other characters, each chapter and lunar day was its own spin on the end of the world as we hopefully will never know it.

Scalzi has done it again! Another novel with a ridiculous premise (and great cover design): what is the moon WAS made of cheese? It can't always have been cheese, but what if instead it became cheese? I love the opening with the moon rocks and how the novel just goes on from there, as though this were something that could happen. I'm not sure about Scalzi's science, but it sure was a lot of fun!

An absurd scenario = suddenly and without explanation, the moon turns to cheese. Pecorino romano, to be exact. The book follows 28 days of the moon cycle and contains short stories from all walks of life and how they react to the moon turning to cheese.

In real life if the moon turned to cheese, I would be surprised, but not surprised-surprised.

NASA Astronauts. Moon museum workers. A Reporter. The US President. A particularly humorous slack thread of a bun of 20 something dudes. A Congressman embroiled in a sex scandal. A multi-billionaire who owns a rocket space company, reminiscent of supervillain Elon Musk. An Iowa Pastor facing a fearful and angry congregation.

This book is endearing, funny, and probably symbolic. How do we face the world today and our inability to control the world that continues to change. This book asks a simple question and takes you along on the answers.

File under Speculative Fiction, not Sci Fi, no science explained here. This is about human behavior, not science.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor publishing for the ARC. (How "Tor publishing" is this title, right?)

Book to be published March 25, 2025

I understand that most people associate John Scalzi with his award-winning science fiction novels, but I will always and forever know him as the movie critic for my hometown newspaper, The Fresno Bee. The Bee eventually awarded him a column, which became my favorite weekly read. When the Moon Hits Your Eye is exactly the book I would expect from the writer of that column. It's timely, kind of touching, and above all, delightfully bonkers.

As a reader who does not generally go for audiobooks, I think When the Moon Hits Your Eye is one of those that will work exceptionally well in the format, and I actually cannot wait to listen to the Will Wheaton-narrated version, As a librarian, I'm already thinking about the type of student I'd recommend this book to. I think it will be exceptionally easy to handsell.

Look, am I saying it was a good choice to read a book about the potential end of the world during the first full week of this new presidential administration? It was .... a choice. But I guess if it's a choice between going down in full despair mode and going down laughing, I'd choose to go down laughing.

Fan-freaking-tastic! I can't say enough gouda things about this book. I loved the many different stories throughout the narration, so many of them were characters I could have read a whole book about. Scalzi knocks it out of the park again with this seriously cheesy novel.

This was a goood time! As a fan of Scalzi, this all made sense! Right down to the "science" of it all! I like the feel of connected short story format and characters from all walks of life. The Scalzi humor is there, as expected, and the main reason I am drawn to his titles. The premise of the book is so unique, to me, it is a "don't miss out" title. Would I recommend this title? Absolutely. Will i "re-read" this when the Audiobook is available - you bet I will. 4.5 stars in my notes. I am sure this will top the charts!

The moon turns into cheese, a goofy premise which Scalzi explores with scientific rigor, or as much scientific rigor as is possible given that it's about the moon turning into cheese. It's actually more about people's reactions than it is about the scientific implications.

Solid Scalzi title, will definitely recommend to Scalzi fans. Very fun premise.

We've all thought it, we've all jokingly learned it. The moon is a HUGE wheel of cheese! Logically, we all know it really isn't a wheel of cheese. What happens if one day we wake up and the moon actually did turn into a HUGE wheel of cheese? You follow a lunar cycle jumping from one perspective to another through this fun ride of a book. As a lover of science fiction and speculative fiction, this one is so different and quirky. I loved it! John Scalzi can do no wrong in my book. Thank you to Net Galley and Tor Publishing Group for making this advanced copy available to me!

One day, the moon transforms into cheese. Yep, you read that right. I like how the author plays it straight, but the characters' reactions and situations are at times really funny (the cheese shop war), and poignant at (the prospect of the world ending). I enjoyed it a lot.

I recommend the book for readers of humor fiction, sci-fi (who can suspend disbelief), and general fiction readers.

I am a library associate and received an advance copy from #NetGalley.

Having a new book coming out by John Scalzi is always exciting, and after reading the synopsis, I was even more intrigued. The concept alone, well, is so…Scalzi. When the Moon Hits Your Eye does not disappoint, in premise or execution. The book starts with an average day at the office, if you work at NASA, and before you know it, “Houston, we have a problem.,” and it’s not just a Texas-sized problem. The moon, earth’s nightlight, tide-bringer, natural satellite becomes what we’ve always heard rumors of as children: cheese. Earth’s greatest minds, and others, scramble to solve the mystery while not alarming the public. I don’t want to give the plot away by revealing too much, but readers of John Scalzi know that his novels are anything but boring, actually everything but boring. Case in point: When the Moon Hits Your Eye….it’s apocalyptic.

Another fun speculative romp from Scalzi, who has been taking his readers on over-the-top what-if scenarios for his last several books - so we shouldn't be surprised by a novel that is "What would happen if the moon turned to cheese?" Like all of Scalzi's recent works, we see what happens when normal, mostly very likeable people have to deal with extraordinary situations. As silly as the premise is, Scalzi gives it the serious treatment by thinking about how would world governments react, dealing with the size of the moon if the mass of the moon stayed the same and the reaction of our tides and the brightness of the night sky. We see how such a weird phenomenon might affect people in all walks of life all across the country.

This is a lighthearted and fun read, with slice of life scenarios throughout so it's easy to pick up and put down. Read this if you are looking to escape our world that makes absolutely no sense and is on fire and full of nightmares to a kinder, more reasonable world, where the moon has turned completely to cheese.

This is a bit slight, but that's not a criticism, just a description. Really more of a set of interconnected short stories about "what would happen if the moon turned into cheese suddenly", some with a lot of charm to them. A pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

This was my first book by John Scalzi, and it was such a fun and easy read! Take a wild event - the Moon turning into cheese - and explore dozens of people from different walks of life and how they react to the aftermath. Even though each character only got a chapter or so, they were all so distinct and it was fun to get to know them all! The writing style was also just so easy to digest and filled with humor which made for such a fun read! I'll definitely be reading more of this author in the future when I'm in the mood for something light and to laugh!

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Neal Stephenson, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Andy Weir are three of the best known and bestselling hard science fiction authors writing today. Their books are logical, technical, and full of scientific detail. If that’s what you’re into - scroll on - because WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE is as opposite as can be. Soft as cream cheese, this book verges on fantasy in it’s implausibility…but if your not a stuffy nerd bogged down by “how” questions, get this book on release day because it is great!

Scalzi takes a ludicrous premise: the moon has suddenly turned to cheese. He then plays it out day by day with a wide ranging cast of characters exploring the consequences of such an unprecedented marvel. In a format similar to World War Z or Fantasticland, readers get to experience the cheese moon through the eyes of all kinds of different people. Some parts are hilarious, as Scalzi readers would expect, but other parts are poignant and heartbreaking. Despite the absurdity of the concept, Scalzi does an excellent job of creating characters the reader can root for and tying in both classic tropes and contemporary interest.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. It’s a great popcorn book, and will be perfect for fans of his last two releases.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available for me.

Fun little book, Mostly vignettes about how the event of the moon being turned into cheese affected various people. Many of the characters appear in just a single vignette, while others return several times. And as long as you don't look at the science too closely, it all seems to hold together pretty well. Do we find find out how and why the moon was transformed? Sorry, but I'm not going to spoil that. You'll have to read it yourself to find out.