When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is an absolutely stellar, very highly recommended science fiction satire. This will absolutely be on my list of the best books of the year.

The moon has turned into cheese. A new lunar cycle marks the moment when the moon was replaced with cheese, or an "organic matrix," as NASA prefers to put it. All the lunar rock samples on earth have also turned to cheese. One concern is that a mass of cheese sixteen hundred miles in diameter isn't likely to be stable.

Now everyone around the world is confronting and struggling with the existential questions regarding all aspects of the moon turning to cheese. These discussions include average citizens, scientists, politicians, astronauts, authors, billionaires, filmmakers, philosophers, religious leaders, students, comedians, bankers, and more.

As expected, the writing is excellent. My appreciation of When the Moon Hits Your Eye only increased while reading. The premise is introduced and then chapters are various people reacting. It covers one lunar cycle. There are no main characters, however there are several recurring characters. The narrative can be extremely humorous but also serious and touching at times.

The plot unfolds through a collection of a wide variety of people reacting to an absolutely absurd occurrence that challenges everyone's fundamental understanding of the universe. It is a satirical book about a cross section of humanity faced with a large scale crisis and how they react. The crisis here is a moon made of cheese but comparisons could be made to the varied and numerous reactions to other world wide events.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye is a perfect choice for readers who can appreciate the surface level absurd situation and understand the deeper implications it induces. Thanks to Tor/Macmillian for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

For a book the made me laugh a lot it also ended up being quite a reflective look at past and current events. The moon turning into cheese 🧀 is ridiculous but the book handled the ridiculous with what might actually happen. The more I read the more I felt the collective relatable experience of existing through several once in a lifetime events. This books draws on how life is still moves forward even when crazy things are happening. I highly recommend for anyone wanting some chuckles and needing some different insight of how to process the world right now.

The moon has turned to cheese. On the first day of the lunar cycle, the moon and all of its samples here on Earth have suddenly changed. Enter John Scalzi’s When the Moon Hits Your Eye. In this mostly absurd alternate universe, the moon has suddenly changed to cheese and this oddly captivating story follows a kaleidoscope of perspectives as Americans traverse the first lunar cycle of a cheesy moon. From NASA Scientists to small town pastors, this book includes someone we can each relate to. Some of my favorite chapters include a studio executive who has a day of appointments loaded with various screenwriters and such pitching their new film ideas, a very very unlikable billionaire involved in rocket making, and an adult worker who takes an odd job with a senator. It’s rife with perfectly placed pop Culture references and had me giggling and even crying at times. If you have read Starter Villain, this is very similar in tone.

It’s one flaw? Didn’t stick the ending but I could make a good argument on Scalzi’s behalf that this was indeed the point and very much intentional. Despite being ironically funny, it fails to leave you with the warm fuzzies and instead has you questioning what the heck you actually read.

The was 4 stars for me and would make the perfect book to read while reading a long series. Pop in for a bite size chapter every time you need a breather and I really think you will enjoy this.

I really like John Scalzi, Starter Villian has a special place in my heart. For some reason, I had a really hard time connecting with this book. The premise was interesting but didn't feel as flushed out as I would've liked. The characters are kind of lovable. Just a whole lot of "just ok". I hate saying that!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye asks the question, how would humanity respond if the moon suddenly turned to cheese? Told from the point of view of a wide variety of characters, including but not limited to the President of the United States, NASA Scientists, a table of high school students, and a discord chat group, each group/person deals with the moon changing in their own unique way.

There were points in this novel where I laughed out loud and there were points when I almost teared up as Scalzi addresses the fragility of life and what should really matter. When I read the description of this novel, I was not expecting a book with philosophical points that really made me think about life the way this book did.

If you are a fan of John Scalzi, or are looking for a great science fiction read, pick this book up!

4.5 stars. If I had gotten around to reading this a couple months earlier, I think I'd be able to round up to a full 5 stars. But, in March of 2025 some of the darker, more tragic themes in this book are a little too relevant and/or realistic to fully enjoy. Otherwise, it really is (mostly) quite funny, and I look forward to working my way through his back catalog of novels.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

This book takes an absolutely bonkers premise, "What if the moon abruptly turned into cheese?" and runs with it. Chapters hop to different characters, most in America, but some beyond (WAY beyond) as they take in the scope of the disaster. Perspectives include astronauts who'd been preparing for a lunar mission, retirees at an Oklahoma diner, rival cheese shop employees in Wisconsin, and a very memorable bit with a down-on-her-luck real estate agent in Las Vegas (not the Brie--no, not the Brie!). Actual science is given some heed, but don't expect a firm explanation for the inciting incident or how things wrap up; this isn't a book to give deep thought. Go with the flow (like a good queso), be ready for frequent cheese puns and humor, and enjoy.

I devoured this like a wheel of Brie! (I know, pretty bad). Truly enjoyed this one with a ton of laugh out loud moments. Scalzi has a knack for taking something so preposterous and making it believable. If you enjoyed Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain, then you'll love this one. Thanks for the advance copy, I'll be recommending this one!

"New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi flies you to the moon with his most fantastic tale to date: When the Moon Hits Your Eye.

The moon has turned into cheese.

Now humanity has to deal with it.

For some it's an opportunity. For others it's a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.

Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives - over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you'd expect, and then to so many places you wouldn't.

It's a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket."

Freak out. Far Out. In Out.

WOW. wow wow wow. I avoided Starter Villian as "fun" in books is not usually for me. I LOVED When the Moon Hits Your Eye. It doesn't shy away from the absurdity of the moon turning into cheese, rather, the book engages with it! Not only did I laugh aloud, somehow John Scalzi also made me shed a tear. What a book.

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**TL;DR**: Another fun Scalzi, a sort of cheesey thought experiment.
**Source**: Netgalley, thank you to the publisher!!

**Plot**: This one bounces around as the moon turns to cheese and everyone looses their mind.
**Characters**: We don’t really focus on the characters but I enjoyed the ones we saw, even for as briefly as we did.
**Setting**: Again, we moved about but the settings were real and felt genuine in the representation.
**Science Fiction**: ****Even Scalzi in his notes says the science is loose-goosey but it was fun!

**Thoughts**:

Scalzi is always fun for me. I see the critiques and I can agree, but I still enjoy his quippy style and somewhat ridiculous plots. This one is no different from previous books. The moon turns to actual cheese, or as NASA says within the book an ‘organic matrix’. Naturally this causes absolute chaos for the scientific community and populace as it makes the moon large and very bright. It’s not something they can hide. How people react is the real focus of this and it’s pretty wild.

Take a moment and think about how you’d react to this impossible change. Scalzi probably hits it with at least one character. The dialogues are fun, the characters relatable and believable. I’ll admit the story is fairly shallow outside of some tickles at deeper thought and theory, but that’s Scalzi’s strength. His books have just enough information and thought to get you going and to be readable for everyone.

My favorite part of this by far was the ending, which actually hit very hard and feels a little topical to certain events occurring now. This is a Scalzi like many Scalzi books. If you enjoy his work this is a great one to pickup, try it if you’re interested!

This was so fun! Each chapter is a day after the moon turns to cheese, an inexplicaple phenomenon the entire world is trying to figure out. We get perspectives of two rival cheese shops in Wisconsin, NASA, the Evangelical church, the US President, among a few others. This was a scientifically innacurate joy to read. My only complaint is a couple of the chapters/point of views felt unnecessary (I'm looking at you author chapter)

I really wanted to like this silly, fun science fiction novel more than I did. Scalzi takes a ridiculous premise: one day, the moon, and all moon rock samples on Earth, mysteriously turn to cheese. This inexplicable event has a number of effects, which are explored throughout the novel in more of a series of vignettes than a through-composed storyline. It was cleverly done, but I struggled to stay engaged without more of a connected story. It may just have been the right book at the wrong time for me, as I am generally a huge Scalzi fan. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a digital review copy.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye
By John Scalzi
This is a short book but packed full of craziness of a full novel! I mean this in the most positive way. I enjoyed every weird thing about this.
It's hard to review without giving something away. I want people to experience this book fresh.
What I will tell you is that something extraordinary happens all over the world. Then they find it's because of the moon. Then it gets worse.
The story is told through several people as the different stages happen. I was hooked.
It does have a happy ending for earth, but the explanation does not explain the very first stage. So, the book keeps you wondering. I can't tell you how much I love this book!
The wonderful characters, the plot, the scifi/fantasy, the humor, the heartbreak, and the brilliant absurdity!
I want to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this fascinating book!

As I should come to expect from Scalzi this book was nothing like I expected but was still everything it should be. It was irreverent, fun, and somehow cathartic (which I was skeptical about from the first 25% of this book but I should have trusted more).

Oddly more a character-based than plot-based book, which makes the seemingly endless POV shifts an odd choice, but it worked really well. The framing of the story with the jumps of POV took be a bit to get used to but Scalzi balanced the disparate views with overlap perfectly to maintain a thread that almost makes the reader feel like a detective for finding it. The many in-jokes and callbacks pull this book together keep the book from falling too far into bleak (which is a real possibility in some chapters). And each chapter did a good job of establishing each character and setting and despite there being so many characters I never sat there wondering "wait who is this" which I think shows the work of a great author.

This is a book that made me laugh, cry, and angrily yell and I think any book that makes you feel all of those (intentionally) is a book worth shoving in everyone's face to also read. While this won't knock Starter Villain off the post as my favorite, it is such a good book and I think leaves much to talk and think over - which is a lot from a book about the moon turning into cheese (but what kind??).

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley.
I generally really enjoy Scalzi. This one was solidly ok. It has all the charm and silliness of his books, but it lacked a little in plot. Every chapter is good by a new character, some intertwining to tell the story of the moon turning to “cheese.” A fun book, but if you haven’t read Scalzi before I would pick a different one of his books to read first.

This book is hilarious and delightful. John Scalzi manages to take a premise that is absolutely improbable (and probably impossible) and treat it with the seriousness of an actual global tragedy. This juxtaposition makes for a book that is simultaneously one of the most amusing books I've ever read while also tugging at my heartstrings and getting me to consider what I might do in the face of a similar event (even though I highly doubt the moon will be turning to cheese any time soon).

I was skeptical of the jumps from place to place and character to character at first, but Scalzi manages to create a cohesive narrative even while the POV characters almost never repeat. There were a few chapters here and there that didn't seem to matter to the wider narrative, but as I continued to read, I was struck by the variety of realistic responses that represent realistic American experiences in this scenario.

If you enjoy cheesy moon based humor (pun intended), don't mind some language, innuendo and a few crass jokes and are delighted by references to obscure nerd culture, I highly recommend this book. It was a breath of fresh air and a quick read.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for my eARC.

This was actually my first Scalzi read - sand I admit I was pleasantly surprised! A book centered on a snapshot of characters realistically trying to respond as best as they can to the moon turning to cheese of all things was a nice mix between an almost childishly absurd premise and total sincerity. Between the general plot and the way that the book is basically a collection of short stories, it turned out to be a quick, fun, and (mostly) light read that breezed by over the course of a weekend.

John Scalzi has said that he considers this book the third in a thematically related trilogy, the first two entries of which are Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain. When I say that I think this one is the weakest entry, that does not mean I think it’s a bad book or not worth reading. The other two books are absolutely fantastic, and this one has a few flaws that Scalzi can’t quite smooth out.

The premise is very funny--what if the moon literally turned to cheese? How would the world/politics/technology/astronomy DEAL with it. (Spoiler alert: Not well lol). If you’re a fan, as I am, of Scalzi’s irreverent, funny tone, you’ll still find a lot to like here. Where I thought this book was slightly lacking was in the fact that it’s almost more a collection of loosely related short stories. This means that we don’t have a consistent narrator to follow, to root for, to hang our hat on, which means there are some structural problems with pacing and plot.

The plot is...weaker, as unfortunately Scalzi hasn’t done much other than have the initial thought of the premise, which means the disconnected vignettes feel scattered and disorganized, and there’s not a consistent character to buttress against that feeling.

To be clear, I enjoyed reading this and had a great time. But it’s not Scalzi’s best work and you’d be better off starting with Kaiju or Starter Villain to get a taste of his style. If you liked both of those you’ll still probably have a good time here, just set expectations appropriately.

I received an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Links to be added once posted closer to pubdate

I want to start off by saying I love John Scalzi’s books and his writing. I think I have read everything (or just about everything) he has published and his stuff is some of my favorite stuff. I will probably reread the Collapsing Empire series soon, because I miss the story and characters, and his stuff is rich enough to enjoy multiple times.

This book is pretty far fetched, very much along the lines of the last two books: Starter Villain and Kaiju Preservation Society. These are my least favorite of all his books, but they were each entertaining in their way.

This one started off slow for me because I had a really tough time with the premise. The characters were varied and interesting and by the time I got 80% into the book, I did start to care about the characters, and even shed a few tears. I laughed aloud a few times, as well, so a book that makes me laugh and cry is worth my time to read.

This is the part of the review where I recommend other, similar books, and I can think of no other books exactly like this one. I can say that if you like John Scalzi’s writing, you would probably enjoy Andy Weir and Ernest Cline, and vice-versa. The only other book that comes to mind when thinking of this one is How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler but I can’t put my finger on exactly why—maybe because they’re both preposterous yet entertaining?