This book is truly unique, and I’m eagerly anticipating its release—especially the audiobook. Since Wil Wheaton narrates John Scalzi’s works, I always opt for the audio version. In my mind, Wil is John!
The story unfolds through multiple characters and vignettes, exploring how different people might react to a global catastrophe. It feels incredibly authentic, capturing Scalzi’s signature humor while offering a remarkable representation of human behavior.
It took me a moment to adjust to the book’s rhythm, but once I did, it became a fascinating read. I think this would make an excellent book club pick—I can’t stop trying to discuss it with my husband, even though he hasn’t read it yet!

Thanks to @netgalley and @torbooks for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

As always, so much fun. The science is "loosey goosey" (Scalzi's words) but still believable.

The moon turns into an "organic matrix", i.e., cheese, and then things get weird.

Scalzi considers this, not a trilogy, but *connected* to The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain. None of the same characters, or settings, or plot points, but I can see how he considers them connected.

A fun, emotional, quirky read that only Scalzi could pull off. I'm convinced that he became obsessed with cheese puns and had to write them all down or risk insanity. Those brain-addled, desperate (cheese) doodles curdled into a full-fledged book.

It may be cheesy, but I think it's grate.

Scalzi allows one fantastic element (spoiler alert; the Moon turns to cheese!) but then plays out all of the consequences realistically and logically.
How would the government react? How would churches react? how would social media react? There is plenty of the typical Scalzi snark, but also optimism and thoughtfulness. A good, fun, emotional read.

*When the Moon Hits Your Eye* by John Scalzi is a witty and engaging science fiction novel that combines humor with thought-provoking themes. Set in a world where the moon is a prominent part of daily life, the story follows an intriguing cast of characters caught in an unexpected, high-stakes adventure. Scalzi’s trademark blend of sharp dialogue, humor, and social commentary shines throughout the narrative. The plot is fast-paced, filled with twists and surprises, while exploring deeper questions about humanity and technology. *When the Moon Hits Your Eye* is a delightful and imaginative read for fans of quirky, character-driven sci-fi.

How this book manages so many perspectives is as Improbable as the moon turning into cheese.

Seriously though, I've read books that struggle with the voices of just three characters yet this one quick changes with every single chapter.

I've had my issues with the way Scalzi writes in the past two standalones I've read from him (Starter Villain and The Kaiju Preservation Society) but what I think he does best is at the center here and it shows. His dialogue and construction of believable dynamics between people is just delightful and I think there will be at least one chapter that will speak to every reader.

It manages to pursue a solid narrative while continuing the different character per chapter structure.

Although the diversity of humanity could never be captured in a single novel, each cheese slice sized piece of "When the Moon Hits your Eye" does an admirable job.

Enjoyed the premise very much and appreciated the character development throughout. Scalzi never fails to entertain with his stories and this one is no different.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is a quirky and imaginative tale that showcases Scalzi's signature wit and humor. The premise is intriguing, blending science fiction with a touch of absurdity, and the dialogue crackles with sharp banter. However, the story occasionally feels rushed, and some plot points lack the depth needed to fully engage. While the humor lands more often than not, it sometimes overshadows the emotional beats of the narrative. Overall, it’s an entertaining read, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Scalzi’s best works. A fun diversion for fans of lighthearted sci-fi.

Endearingly hilarious.

John Scalzi does it again. Once again, he takes a wacky concept (the literal moon turning into cheese!) and manages to twist it into something ridiculously beautiful and heartfelt.

At first, I didn’t know if I’d vibe with an entire book where each chapter is written from the POV of a new character, but this book manages to do it perfectly. It was fun seeing all the storylines intertwine and come together to form a unique narrative.

Featuring a cheese shop version of Romeo & Juliet, a billionaire and his dream of going to the moon (what could possibly go wrong?), loads and loads of cheese puns and many more humans having the most human reaction to such a strange circumstance as the moon turning to cheese.

I’ve really enjoyed the other two John Scalzi books I’ve read (The Kaiju Preservation Society & Starter Villian) so I knew what I was getting with “When the Moon Hits Your Eye.” It was the most ridiculous and fun sci-fi romp. The moon suddenly turns to cheese and the book is written in the form of snippets of how the world deals with it, from governments, NASA and regular people. It was a fresh take on a sort of apocalypse situation but some portions were a little slow and hard to get interested in. But most were hilarious and entertaining. The ending was a bit abrupt but sadly felt like a realistic take on how the world would react. Overall, I enjoyed it and it was a fun, weird read!

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this advance copy and review it!

The premise for this one almost kept me from reading it (the moon turns to cheese? Really?), but I'm glad I went ahead and read it. It's more like satire/fable than science fiction (though there is some science!) and yet it's very heartwarming. Scalzi shows us what people are doing wrong here, but also what we're doing right. His best book so far, in my opinion.

this is a wonderful book, probably the best John Scalzi book since Redshirts as far as deep concepts go. It’s entertaining and delightful.

My first Scalzi and I can see why he's popular. However, he isn't for me. I think it might be the writing style.

I admit I didn't complete the novel in time but what I've read so far was fantastic. More to come later after I finish. That being said I always have delightful conversations about Scalzi's titles with the collection & development team and I know our library will have copies on order. I always have a great time reading Scalzi.

Strange story. Moon is turning to cheese. Not only the moon but also all moon rocks that are on earth. Interesting read. Lots of different characters who show up in each day. Book follows each day in the lunar cycle. Not my favorite by author but still an interesting read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

This is my second Scalzi and his books make me laugh quite a bit. In this book, the moon has turned to cheese. Yes, that moon.

Each chapter is a different day after the moon has made its mysterious switch. This is almost like a collection of short stories where we get to see how each person is reacting.

The story of the two brothers and the group chat in Day 19 were some of my favs. The book is cleverly written and I look forward to more people reading it, so we can chat more about it!

This book is so good. I truly enjoyed reading an advanced readers copy. Thanks TOR and Netgalley. Yeah it has a kind of silly premise, and utilizes seemingly unrelated characters in telling a story, but raises so many questions. Stick with it - look for the connective tissue and know you will be rewarded at the end. John Scalzi does a wonderful job of wrapping it up (or maybe I should say folding the cheese) at the end of the book. Raises a lot of questions to just go hmmm... A perfect companion (even though really un-related) to Starter Villain.

I've read all of John Scalzi's books -- loved most, found a few just "good" -- but I'm afraid this one was too stupid to be redeemed. I ended up skimming a lot. It's humorous in places, has some semi-interesting characters, but was really just a set of character sketches of people and their reactions when they find out the moon has suddenly turned into an expanding blob of ... cheese. Very disappointing.

One fine day, when NASA is in preparing for early tests of the new moon lander for the Diana missions to return to the Moon, the NASA director gets word of an emergency with the lunar samples brought back from the Apollo missions.

Have they been stolen? No. Have they been destroyed? Not exactly.

They've turned to cheese.

The Moon itself, right now at quarter phase, is also looking mighty strange, with a much higher albedo than the gray, rocky world should have. Almost as if...it's also now made of cheese.

It's also quickly determined to be larger, at least in diameter. Large enough that even with the lower density of cheese, it's still the same mass. So, no immediate disruptive effects on Earth, as tides and other effects remain unchanged. Although, the upcoming annular eclipse of the Sun will now be a total eclipse of the Sun.

Over the next month, we follow a variety of small groups, reacting to and coping with the sudden and inexplicable change in their own ways.

NASA has to decide what to do about the test flight of the new Mars lander. Should the unmanned flight go all the way to the Moon and return, as planned, or only to low earth orbit, instead?

The billionaire whose company designed and built the new Moon lander decides to exploit the confusion to fulfill his own lifetime dream. (Jody Bannon is not Musk; we know he's not Musk because he hates Musk and Bezos both.)

A science writer whose first book has, well, flopped, is looking for a chance to recover from that, writes a book about the sudden change in the Moon and its possible scientific impact.

A minister at a small Evangelical church in the Midwest has to guide his flock through what this means for their faith--and reaches into unsuspected depths in himself.

Two rival cheese shops in Madison, Wisconsin, find themselves confronting, together, a mob that tips from shouting their confusion, fear, and anger at the Moon, to turning it on a more accessible form of cheese.

A variety of small stories, some funny, some charming, play out over the next month.

It's a good little book, not up there with Scalzi's best, but an enjoyable read nevertheless.

Saw this on NetGalley and thought it sounded fun, so I’m coming back from a multi-year review hiatus to say a few things about this book!

“Moon” (as Scalzi abbreviated the book in his afterword) is what you would get if Don’t Look Up didn’t take itself so seriously. The premise of the moon turning to cheese is absolutely goofy but made for some interesting questions about what motivates us when we know “the end” has a specific date and time. This isn’t a unique theme, and none of the insights about it were particularly unique either, but the weird setting made for some comical situations that were well done.

Each chapter depicted a day in the lunar cycle from a different character’s point of view, but generally revolved around the same few stories. There were a couple one-offs that were super enjoyable and managed to build a convincing vignette in just a few pages, while some of the chapters were a bit too on the nose. Despite the few parts I didn’t love, I can acknowledge that Scalzi knows how to write.

Overall, it was fast and light and entertaining. A nice break from other things I’ve been reading. and 3 stars is a good rating for me!!