When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi – Review

Published: March 25, 2025

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: N/A

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 326 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Starter Villain comes an entirely serious take on a distinctly unserious subject: what would really happen if suddenly the moon were replaced by a giant wheel of cheese.

It’s a whole new moooooon.

One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters — schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians — as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.

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John Scalzi yet again brings a fun and unique science fiction story to the table, this time exploring what might happen if the moon were to suddenly turn to cheese. The story follows numerous POV characters in all walks of life, giving perspective to how anyone from the president to poor college kids might react. This is definitely one of Scalzi’s more bizarre topics, but it was done thoughtfully despite the absurdity.

While the general premise is fully explained in the synopsis – moon turns to cheese, panic ensues – it doesn’t quite cover everything. Yes the moon turns to cheese (or perhaps tofu?) but what does that really matter? Well, turns out it might matter quite a lot. The moon being made of something other than rock really changes things on a level you might not have expected. When the Moon Hits Your Eye explores this and many other implications from the theological to the conspiratorial. There are POV chapters from astronauts getting ready for a moon mission, an arrogant tech billionaire, a church pastor, the president, college kids working at rival cheese shops and numerous others so the story certainly feels fresh throughout. 

I admit, this is not my favorite of John Scalzi’s books, but it was memorable in terms of content. I was particularly fond of the college kids working at rival cheese shops and a particularly cheesy moon explosion. While I did like the variety, I did ultimately feel like things were getting repetitive near the end of the book and I found myself just wanting to know how it was going to end. Would the moon tragically break apart in the night sky like so many space borne cheddar chunks and therefore create a planet ending disaster à la Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves? Or would the strange new wheel of dairy in the sky persist as the strange new normal? Overall, I think if you’ve enjoyed John Scalzi’s other recent books you should give this a shot because it was fun and has that same unique authorial voice that Scalzi is known for.