I received an advanced reader's edition from Net Galley in exchange for my honest reviews.

I had been saving this book, and then I got sick and didn't feel like reading for a bit, and if I could go back I would just reread this book over and over! It's probably my favorite thing I've read so far this year, I also bought the audio version ( and be still my heart the whole magnificent thing is read by Wil Wheaton!!).

The premise is there's a freak event where for all purposes the moon has turned to cheese, and what does life look like. There were all these lovely vignettes of people from all walks and parts of life just figuring out how to live and what that looks like. The astronauts who's space mission scrubbed, the cheese shop owners, the white house, people filling their bucket lists. I LOVED LOVED everything about these little stories. (could've done with less F word, mostly because I was listening out loud with my kids several points- but it did convey a real emotion of the world ending so what can you do?) (also, definitely could have done without the senator convention scene).

And the epilogue (chef's kiss!!) so perfectly captured what would've happened, how people would've responded. I loved this

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi takes the premise of the moon turning to cheese and volcanic action with the John Scalzi wit and offers up another crazy, funny and amazing story with thwarted astronauts, rich spoiled rocket makers and all the surrounding characters it takes to see what is going on up in space before disaster hits the Earth. This is a fun way to learn the real history of the space program plus whatever history John Scalzi wants to make up.

When the Moon hits your eye by John Scalzi is a lot of fun, much like his two previous post-pandemic books. This one, though, I feel is the weakest of the three. However, it’s loads of fun and a nice way to take one’s mind off the chaos in the world. I would rather read a weak book by Scalzi than some other people‘s best efforts, to be honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and to TOR for my advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

I think this is John Scalzi’s most ridiculous book premise ever, but somehow that makes it even more endearing. The moon turns to cheese overnight, (oops, I mean “organic material”), and planet Earth is left to deal with the externalities. Over the course of the moon cycle, us humans scramble to make sense of the impossible.

Like usual, Scalzi’s humor shines through each chapter, and yet criticizes the human condition. We are flawed, privileged, stupid little mammals within the vastness of our solar system, especially when disaster strikes. This book reminds me of our ineptitudes during the pandemic, but still remains lighter in tone. I had a fun time reading this book, because each chapter shifts to a new perspective after the moon changes. Scalzi’s dialogue was probably the best element about this book. The topics were well researched and received, since there’s a lot of astronomy happening. Fun read if you’re in the mood for something different.

Another unique plot filled with craziness, humor, and curiosity from Joh Scalzi. How do you write a book about the moon turning to cheese without it really being focused on survival? I don't know, but it happened. Rather than one streamlined plot, this book was more like short stories about different characters and scenarios centered around a crazy event. What could happen? How would people interact? What madness would ensue? Grab this book for a fun, quick read!

I love John Scalzi and was excited to read this. But ultimately it just wasn't for me. The story seemed thin and was mostly different people's reactions to the moon turning into cheese. Should be hilarious and interesting. Just wasn't for me, I guess.

I don't know exactly what I was expecting from this book but it wasn't this.. This book was awesome! It honestly felt like I was watching a tv series while I was reading it. I loved all the timelines and characters and all their individual existential crises while they were waiting for the world to end. The world building was simple and easy as it was set in todays setting. This was both fantastical and extremely relatable and really I was in from page one. This would make an amazing movie. Just saying.

What an excellent piece of literary/humor/sci-fi. I need to read all of Scalzi's books. I liked the quick chapters, the multiple perspectives (scientists, politicians, astronauts), the mild use of mixed media, the smart humor. I liked the inclusion of religion and finance and all the pieces of the world that would come together or fall apart as the end approached. I liked that it was thoughtful but not overly so, that characters are relatable.

This gentle kind of sci-fi is my favorite, where the world is just like ours, except for the whole moon made of cheese thing.

Thank you for the ARC. I will share widely and purchase for my library.

With a ridiculous idea comes an equally ridiculous, but oddly fun and slightly harrowing book... what would happen if the moon suddenly became.. cheese?
Told through many, many pov, "When the Moon" follows several characters from astronauts to movie producers to a billionaire to regular folk through a very long month in which the moon has become an organic matter, resembling cheese.
Some of the pov were endearing, some were irritating, but all were interesting and made me wonder.. what would I do... especially when a cheese meteor threatened Earth's very existence?
Not sure how I felt about the ending, what it fitting... was it anticlimactic?
But overall, it was interesting and fun!

In line with the previous books in this not exactly trilogy (i.e., The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain), this novel of speculative fiction is both hilarious and could cause existential strife. It highlights the vagaries of humankind when faced with potential future destruction that is not regularly predicted. Unlike the dystopian futures of AI and robots taking over the world, or a world ravaged by climate change that forced humans into confined spaces (artificial or otherwise), or a war that wipes out the majority of our cultures, When the Moon Hits Your Eye asks what would happen if something fundamental changed that we can't predict. Or something we might have predicted if we weren't so focused on other things. Spoiler alert, there isn't a clear answer. And the world doesn't actually end in the book, but the question remains. And this question, along with those posed in the previous two books, perhaps deserve some of our attention in addition to the current crises in the world today. I really enjoyed this book, and I sincerely hope that I can somehow bring it in as required reading in my university classes because I think it can act as both an escape from reality and a motivation for the future.

I love John Scalzi's books so much. I just know going into them that I'm going to laugh and just enjoy the ride. This was another hit for me.

I’m amazed at how a story so silly can also be one that is so profound and brings my thoughts to a point of existential ennui. Absolutely beautiful and hilarious. Scalzi doesn't miss.

In his latest science fiction novel, John Scalzi ponders what would happen if the moon suddenly turned into cheese. How do you keep the world running when something absurdly impossible happens? Through the course of a lunar cycle, When the Moon Hits Your Eye showcases humanity's reaction - the laughs, the tears, the hope, the panic, and the lost and found faith in the face of the fantastic.

The moon suddenly turning to cheese with no explanation: hilarious! I cracked up so many times in the first quarter of the book. But then the story didn't go anywhere. Instead, Scalzi just kept giving vignettes that never added together to make a larger message. The best thing that came out of this book is my husband finally showed me the Wallace and Gromit cartoon about the moon as cheese that he is always quoting. "We've forgotten the crackers!"

This one was a DNF for me. I read about 40% and felt that the story was going no where and was just a series of characters explaining the same situation over and over again. I thought the premise of the moon changing to cheese was hilarious and I was surprised that the science was actually well thought out and explained. It just wasn't working for me past that.

I've loved other Scalzi books, though. His humor and satire are usually spot on!

Some Scalzi books are sweeping epics of space opera, hard science and personal triumphs and tragedies. Some are more intimate looks at people in imoplssible situations.

And then some of them are just freaking weird. That's where we are here,

In "When the Moon Hits Your Eye," the moon turns to cheese. Or as NASA scientists put, an "organic substance."

That's it. That's the plot.

Oh, there's also dozens of vignettes as each chapter tells a different story about how someone in the world is or isn't dealing with the change. There's the billionaire who's not exactly Elon Musk whose space program contracts are threatened. There are the astronauts whose plans have been pulled out from under them, and the politicians and scientists dealing with the issue, and the former sex worker who gets pulled in, and a pair of feuding cheese shops, and teenagers just watching it happen, and the pop science author who strikes it big, and many more.

And then things get worse.

The book is funny and silly and touching and sort-of-kind-of scientifically accurate once you get past the whole cheese thing. It's an easy read, you'll chuckle all the way through, and Scalzi's strength in dialogue is on display. Read it, and look up.

This book had been waiting patiently on my shelf for quite some time, and I finally gave it a try. Scalzi’s trademark wit and sharp dialogue are present, which longtime fans will likely appreciate. That said, the story didn’t quite click for me in the way that Starter Villain had. It may have been a case of mismatched timing or expectations on my part. While the premise is intriguing, I struggled to stay engaged with the plot or connect with the characters. Still, it’s a decent read that might land better with readers looking for lighter speculative fiction with Scalzi’s familiar voice.

John Scalzi has become one of my favorite authors over the past year and I loved this book. He's got a knack for comedic sci-fi with loveable characters and intriguing plots.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Not my favorite of Scalzi's books, but still a good read.

More of a connection of short stories, connected through the days. The format worked really well for the book, although I almost wished I could fast-forward a couple of the characters to get to the ones I liked more, however each one had their interesting traits.

Overall, an enjoyable book I'm glad I read.

Scalzi does it again! In the same vein as his Starter Villain, Kaiju Preservation Society, and Redshirts, Scalzi marries a humorous concept with hard science fiction. I now know more about the physics of the moon (and the consistency of cheese) than I ever expected. It’s rare that such a humorous book can pack such an emotional punch but Scalzi has shown himself to be a master at that time after time. This book does stand apart from his other work in once unique way: each chapter is told through a different POV. This was a fantastic way to show such a world defining event as the moon being turned to cheese!

In typical Scalzi fashion, the ridiculous happens and it's not actually explained. The moon turns to cheese, and each chapter focuses on a different day in the lunar cycle with a new character's perspective. I'll be honest --I didn't even read the book description before reading it. I'm always going to pick up a Scalzi book. This was both lighthearted and whimsical while also introspective and fiercely character-driven. It's not my favorite Scalzi book, but it was still a great read!