The moon has turned to cheese. And what does everybody do? Hit up Reddit, buy books, throw Flip Off the Moon parties, and have an existential crisis or three.

This was very silly, but very fun. The jokes were great, and I was completely immersed in the mystery of the moon suddenly turning to cheese. And we get a whole bunch of POVs, which was really interesting and got us a lot of different voices, but it also frustrated me a bit because nobody really got a lot of time.

I loved all the different media types from Reddit to chat conversations to video transcripts and interviews. It was such a clever way to keep my attention engaged.

I enjoyed this, but the way everything was left felt a little bit of a let down. Nothing had changed in this world at the end of all things. We end with a time skip epilogue, and nothing is different. And we don’t even get an explanation for how or why the moon changed? I was disappointed.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the opportunity to read When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi. Funny and engaging. Just what we always expect from Scalzi - excellent storytelling

In John Scalzi’s When the Moon Hits Your Eye, the moon has turned to cheese, what now?

So, When the Moon Hits Your Eye did not work for me for a couple of reasons. First, the structure of the story, looking at an event from a variety of perspectives as they experience it, is one that is hard for me to stay engaged with. Second, I had a hard time reading this story in this particular moment. I found reading about governments responding competently and listening to scientists painful at a moment when the infrastructure of the government of my nation is being dismantled with a sledgehammer and scientists are being treated like parasites. Other people may find it comforting.

There were things I liked. This is still a book written by John Scalzi so it’s got some very funny and engaging moments. The revelation in chapter one of the moon rocks suddenly becoming cheese is a strong start. Some of the moments of perspective are great. I very much enjoyed the way the tech billionaire character ended.

One of the reasons that Kaiju Preservation Society worked so well was that it met the moment in which it was published with hope and creativity. It was such a relief to read a book that addressed the realities of Covid and then moved to an alternate reality. The billionaires sucked and were hoist on their own petard. The tech billionaire in Moon was something of a double edged sword. On the one hand his ending is delightfully ignominious. But in this moment in time, it feels watered down. It’s not Scalzi’s fault that the political reality changed before publication. I’m looking forward to his next book.

Again, my experience is mine. Other people will find it fun and comforting.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Tor and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

A profoundly silly premise treated relatively seriously. The Moon turns into cheese, and Scalzi covers all of the ramifications of it, the changes in science, politics, entertainment and every day life. It reminded me a bit of Max L. Brook’s World War Z, less of an adventure story and more like a narrative history. It felt a bit like Scalzi wrote this book because he lost a bet, but he kind of pulled it off.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this title. I generally enjoy John Scalzi quite a bit, but When the Moon Hits Your Eye didn't work for me at all. I put it down after the first few chapters and never picked it back up. The premise is just far too unbelievable, and while I am sure he has an explanation in there, I'm not interested enough to keep reading to find out.

Thank you so much to Tor publishing group and NetGalley for this copy!

Ok, so this has to be one of the weirdest books I've ever read, but I had so much fun reading this, like SO much fun.

What would you do if the moon suddenly turned to cheese? You'd probably think that it wouldn't have much of an impact on your life... but you never know! This novel follows various characters in the world in their individual lives trying to live through this bizarre thing that's happening, and how the moon being a wheel of cheese impacted their lives in the strangest, most unexpected ways. People found love because the moon was cheese, people got revenge because the moon was cheese, people buried old hatchets because the moon was cheese. You see the pattern? The moon connects everything LOL.

On a more serious note, I really loved how Scalzi portrayed human nature in this book. It was so incredibly accurate. Some people used this situation to their advantage to rise while putting others down (especially in the case of rich vs poor, where money gives you a lot of shortcuts) while others used this weird time in their lives to self reflect. Yes, it had an incredibly strange plotline, but the main message of this book felt so strong and really highlighted our society as it is today. Who do you want to be when the unexpected occurs? Who will you lean on? What will you do? Those answers are different for everyone, and said answers were portrayed so well and believable in this book.

So, I'll leave you with this: I giggled like a manic while reading, I also shed a few tears too. And my faith in humanity went on a wild rollercoaster ride. I didn't think I'd be so emotionally impacted by this book (because it's a silly storyline) but I really thought about our society and how unforgiving this world may be and the impact that we as individuals leave on this earth and our loved ones. I finished this book absolutely loving it and I highly, highly recommend it.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye is yet another Scalzi book that I, my husband, and my grown son & daughter will enjoy equally. It brings all the humor and wit and ridiculousness (in the best way) that we come to expect in a Scalzi novel.

Scalzi writes loosely connected vignettes in such a great way to examine human nature and how events affect different people in various ways. While I found the book humorous, I also found it to be touching and a wonderful departure from my other reading. I also think the timing of this book could not be more perfect with the backdrop of so much renewed interest of NASA and private companies to return to the moon.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to not only traditional sci-fi readers, but to all readers who want to shake up their reading a little bit.
Many thanks to #NetGalley and #TorBooks for access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

John Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye is an entertaining absurdist satire. It begins with the discovery the moon has turned in cheese, or rather, what NASA is calling an organic compound.. In the time following this discovery, NASA is launching a mission – originally is was to go to the moon, but given the moon’s transition from rock to cheese, it was deemed unsafe, until the billionaire who built the moon lander sneaks on board and pilots the lander toward the moon. Aren’t we glad we let billionaires influence our government and government agencies with their money? This billionaire, much like Musk, never invented anything, he just used his inherited wealth to buy into technology companies, name himself CEO, and pretend he invented everything. I wonder where Scalzi got that idea? Hmm. NASA, of course, must pretend this was the plan all along so they don’t look stupid.
We spend time with an author whose latest book has taken off in popularity because there is a chapter in it about the moon being made of cheese. We even get a diner interview with a NY Times stringer interviewing three old friends who smart and insightful and witty and philosophical about what is happening. It makes you wonder why during the election coverage, NY Times and every other reporter only finds people to interview that struggle to string a cohesive thought together and lack any higher education.
Then there are the feuding cheese shops in Madison. WI. I have to admit to being partial to this story. Brothers competing against one another and who don’t speak because of a long held fued.

The satire here is pitch perfect for the time in which we are living. I loved reading this book, it gives me a new perspective on the realities of today. Do something that makes your heart happy.
I gave this book 4 stars and I need to thank Net Galley and TOR Publishing Group for my advance reader copy. This book comes out March 25, 2025.

When The Moon Hits Your Eye
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Star Rating: 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀
Scoville Spice Scale: 🌶

It's a really gouda book! The cheese jokes are going to be worse than cow flatulence. But, as I always say after reading a John Scalzi book, "Oh to be the mind of John Scalzi!". This entire concept, the moon turning to cheese and the ensuing effects it has on everyone from the President (USA) to NASA astronauts to 3 locals in a small town diner to a poor, to an unfortunate wheel of brie that now needs psychological counseling, is downright zany, brilliantly executed, even tender in places.

Written from multiple points of view, that at times coalesce, as people try to make sense of a phenomenon leaving them perplexed. NASA is trying to present a unified scientific response. A middle American pastor has to deal with the Christian response. Three friends in a diner work out their thoughts & plans. A Pseudoscience/Fiction Writer suddenly finds himself at the center of attention and in a fancy suit. All of this and more comes to a (cheese) head in such a brilliant way. I really appreciate the crafting of the story Scalzi quilled at his computer. I've already told several people to make certain they get copies of this book because I know that, without it, they camembert (cheese joke).

I am looking forward to getting an audio version of this book. In fact, it would be great to have a blopper reel of Wil Wheaton making this recording.

I truly, thoroughly enjoyed this soiree into the alternative reality of what if and how the world would process it.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Tor Books for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. I was over the moon 🌚 to be included.

*no wheels of brie were actually harmed in any way in this book - read it if you want to know more

When the moon suddenly changes into a spherical ball o' cheese, shock waves are felt all over our planet. From Sunday school songs to new moon-themed TV programs, everything is centered around our new celestial cheese wheel. But things take a dark turn when it appears the yummy orb may actually wipe out the planet. The parts of the book where the characters consider their coming extinction were surprisingly (coming from Scalzi, anyway) heartfelt and touching.

Sniff.

These chapters added a warm, human touch to what is mostly a rather silly, fun read. I enjoyed this immensely.

This book was the perfect blend of completely ridiculous, hilarious, and thought-provoking. I liked all the different, loosely-connected, characters that we were introduced to. There were a few characters that I wish we got more from... Did Lessa Sarah publish her book?! While I can understand the vague ending (the author's note said we avoided hard science for a reason), I wasn't quite satisfied with it. I feel like if you're on a literary journey where you've suspended your belief enough to accept there's a moon made of cheese, you can accept a little weird science as an explanation. The time lapses into believing its a hoax was very believable though, and I could definitely see how society would come to believe that. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to sci-fi fans, or anyone looking for a little craziness in their stories.

I usually like John Scalzi books without reservation.
This one sounded even kookier than some of his others.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye tells the story of what happens when the moon suddenly gets turned into cheese.
It’s goofy. It’s funny. It’s absurd.
I can’t really say that I didn’t like this book.
It had its moments. It had great characters. It had a few intriguing ideas.
But what it also had was a bunch of talking heads. I know not every book needs to be a thrill ride of action moving from place to place and battle to battle. Honestly, I just need a little more action in my reads.
I debated whether to give this book 3 stars or 4. The ending did wrap things up for me satisfyingly enough to nudge it to 4 stars.

If you need quirky books, that have unique plots, then look no further than a John Scalzi book. Once I read Starter Villain, I was hooked on his book and was crazy excited to get an Advance copy from Tor books a few months ago.

The moon has literally turned to cheese and it’s melting fast. Nobody knows how or why, all they know is that the moon is cheese. Through one entire lunar cycle, we follow multiple storylines as regular people, kids, scientists, billionaires, and politicians are confronted with something completely unexplainable.

This is such an unserious premise, but it really makes you think. How do we, as a society, deal with the unexplainable? Do we lose control? Do we try to find any explanation possible? Do we rally together? I don’t know but I do know that I loved the way Scalzi gave us short stories of each character, jumping around on POVs, while trying to answer this question. I didn’t love every character’s POV, some were far more enjoyable than others, but it was interesting to see how Scalzi wrote the way different people contend with this unexplainable phenomenon.

Absurd in all the best ways, as Scalzi’s books tend to be, When the Moon Hits Your Eye is just a fun read. If you like his other works or just want something ‘different’ with some humor, highly recommend. And yes, I sang That’s Amore for a week after reading this.


When the Moon Hits Your Eye comes out March 25, 2025. Huge thank you to Tor for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my: Instagram @speakingof.books.
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Leave it to Scalzi to create the most unhinged book concepts.

How would humanity react if the moon turned to cheese? This is the main plot of When The Moon Hits Your Eye and it's handled in a very humourous but human way. I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts and shaking my head at others because Scalzi just nails human nature. We see reactions to this bizarre turn of events from all walks of life and in turn we see all different kinds of coping mechanisms.

I loved this and the ending is making me question my entire existence. Another great entry from John Scalzi!

I picked up this book because I loved Scalzi's Starter Villain. I was hoping for much more in this book. i wish Scalzi had stuck with just a few of the characters and focused in on those stories. I will still recommend the book, but I think readers would be more engaged if he had focused on LeMae, the President and the men at the diner in Oklahoma.

In John Scalzi's latest novel, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, the world is thrown into delightful chaos when, without explanation, the moon is replaced by an orb of cheese of the same mass. Told through the perspectives of various characters across a single lunar cycle, from school children to scientists and politicians, the book explores the diverse and often humorous reactions of humanity to this absurd and impossible new reality, examining how individuals and society grapple with the unbelievable and the potential ramifications of a celestial body suddenly becoming dairy. An absolute riot of a book that puts you through the full gambit of emotions, with plenty of Scalzi's famous wit and humor. Nothing short of a 5 star read and highly recommended!

I love Scalzi's lightly twisted sensibility, and this book was a lot of fun to read! I enjoyed how each chapter was from the point of view of a different character (or group of characters) and how some came back and others were one-and-done. I laughed out loud a few times! I did not care for the ending as I found it lightly depressing but also, likely very accurate as to how things would have gone.

Thanks to Netgalley for the E-ARC and to Tor for sending me a physical ARC when Netgalley changed their download options to one that I was unable to open on my Kobo.

This is my second John Scalzi book and it was so much fun! The moon turning into cheese and the hilarity of everyone's reaction from each POV made it a great, light-hearted read! It was a bit slow for the first half but finally picked up in the latter half. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

Nearing the end of the book I was really questioning if I read the description wrong. Which is on me for assuming this would be another humorous Sci-Fi outing for Scalzi. This was not a humorous, sure there were moments, outing from the author but a more realistic take. Through a cast of over twenty characters (one for almost every chapter) we see how people handle the crisis of the moon turning into cheese. Generally, there is shock, disbelief and lots of opportunity seekers. It is a look at how people would deal with this revelation, from an average citizen to astronauts to a billionaire (who really seems to be based on a specific person) each has a different outlook. The story takes place over one lunar cycle ( a month roughly) as we watch the waxing crescent moon become full and make its way toward the solar eclipse.

Overall I didn’t really enjoy this book. Part of me wants to give it the benefit of the doubt of being a good book because I went into it with the wrong expectations. I gradually understood we wouldn’t see the same characters again but sometimes would get a POV with people adjacent to them. Then we did get a second chapter from one and it was the annoying billionaire, at least he got cheesed. Also, there were some that seemed incredibly pointless except to point out how messed up a certain thing was (looking at you, Las Vegas chapter). But what really makes me feel upset about the book more than myself is the ending. Everything this book took us through just to do that. I feel like I wasted hours for no reason as we didn’t get character growth, humor, or even cheesemageddon.

I was a big fan of John Scalzi’s most recent book, Starter Villain, so I was very excited to get this ARC. Let me tell you - it did not disappoint! It was a light-hearted and fun ride that’ll keep you entertained from start to finish.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the moon turns to cheese (or an “organic matrix”). What does humanity do next? This was an interesting character study of how the world grapples with what it means for the present and future of humanity. Each day there is a new story, often from new people, which explores how to process an absurd reality and potentially life-threatening fate.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a comic reprieve from the world, with quippy dialogue and snappy characters. The characters were fun, delightful, and often, absurdist - in all the best ways. Despite the hopping around from character to character, there was a clear, cohesive narrative and throughline. I also appreciated the ending, which felt timely and relatable. Definitely pick this one up for a quick, lighter read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC!