When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Sclazi
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When The Moon Hits Your Eye is the newest novel by New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi. He mixes humor and science fiction with fantastical questions of “What if?” to create delightful, thought-provoking books. When The Moon Hits Your Eye imagines what would happen if the Earth’s moon turned to cheese, with each chapter representing a day in the lunar cycle. It’s a ridiculous concept and the book’s Preface (written like a children’s book about the moon) gives readers a reason to question what kind of book they’ve stumbled upon. Then we’re thrown into Day One at The Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Ohio and grounded in the first of many points of view. With his magical story-telling, Scalzi hooks readers by showing a concrete setting with solid characters in such a way that they can suspend their disbelief when things start to go off-kilter.
From a little-known town in Iowa to the very well-known city of Las Vegas, Nevada, and even the White House in Washington, D.C., When The Moon Hits Your Eye covers a wide range of people sprinkled across the United States of America. Every point of view offers a unique perspective and explores the impact our moon has on everyday lives. The story is not only told through different viewpoints, but is peppered with subreddit posts, newspaper articles, Slack channel chats, and NASA press releases to break up the narrative and add realism to the novel.
My favorite chapter is of a child with an impressive imagination who grows up into a writer who hasn’t lived up to her potential – yet. It spoke to the little girl I was, and the author I have become. It was beautiful, hopeful, and brought me to tears. I didn’t expect such a weird premise to pull so many emotions from me; that’s Scalzi’s talent. When The Moon Hits Your Eye is based on such a comical concept, but within the chosen viewpoints we get deep philosophical debates alongside religious and scientific discussions.
If you enjoyed Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society or Starter Villain, you’ll appreciate this book, too. Wildly different and yet clearly written by the same master wordsmith, all three books share a sense of whimsy and amusement. While all three books are standalone novels with nothing specific in common, Scalzi notes in his Afterword and Acknowledgements that they are all about “Everyday people dealing with an extremely high-concept situation, in contemporary settings,” and “were all released in sequence.”
I preordered both a hardback copy and the audiobook versions, and I did wait to listen to the audiobook before writing this review because I absolutely adore Wil Wheaton as a narrator; he brings life to Scalzi’s books. I highly recommend both versions.
The book is currently listed by Amazon as one of the Best Books of 2025 So Far: Science Fiction and Fantasy, along with Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite, which I reviewed last month.
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Visit the author’s website and follow him on Instagram, and/or BlueSky.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye cover design credit: Peter Lutjen.
Advance Reading Copy provided by Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley at my request.
I also purchased a hardback copy of the book, as well as the audiobook version via Audible.
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Audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton.
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