Bingo: Black
I’ve been a longtime Scalzi fan since a friend insisted I read Old Man’s War. However, his last trilogy, The Collapsing Empire, didn’t do it for me. Then along came The Kaiju Preservation Society, 5 star read, followed by Starter Villain, 5 star read. Scalzi was on a roll! After seeing him at an event for Starter Villain, I was so geeked for the final book in this triptych, When the Moon Hits Your Eye. Scalzi explained this at the event and here is a concise description from the afterward of WtMHYE:
Moon is what I consider the final installment of a very loose conceptual trilogy of novels that also includes The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain. The books share no characters, nor do they exist in the same universe, and none of them can be considered a prequel, sequel or sidequel to any of the others. They are standalone novels that can be read by themselves. What they do share, however, is a similar conceit of “Everyday people dealing with an extremely high-concept situation, in contemporary settings,” and a chunk of time: Kaiju, Villain, and Moon were all released in sequence. For this reason, my brain groups them together. Maybe one day they will make a nice boxed set.”
We saw Scalzi in 2023 and he said that the pub date for WtMHYE wouldn’t be until 2025 for publishing reasons so I patiently waited. Eager for the conclusion of this triptych. Then on a Cannonball zoom chat earlier this year, emmalita had me worried by saying that she was part way through and didn’t know how she felt about the book. Uh oh. When the book arrived, I bought it, but then it sat on the shelf for a few months as I was hesitant to start. Worried that it wouldn’t hold up to the previous two books and I’m sad to say that, imho, it doesn’t.
The premise is simple: One night the moon suddenly changes size and composition to an organic matrix (i.e. cheese but NASA refuses to use that word). All moon rock samples on earth also change into cheese. Society is thrown into chaos as a result. The book is a series of vignettes as people from grade schoolers to adults grapple with this cosmic change. Some characters are brought up more than once but for the most part the book is short chapters depicting peoples’ thoughts and reactions to this strange occurrence. Like much of Scalzi’s work there is snappy dialogue and inclusive characters. Parts did have me laughing out loud and the whole thing is rather silly.
However, as a book it never gelled for me. The ending in particular soured me as time passes and more and more people believe the whole thing was a hoax despite documented evidence of it having happened. We have enough of that in the real world as people deny reality on a daily basis. I do not need that in my escapist fiction. On the most recent Cannonball zoom, emmalita brought up how sad it was to read about a competent president who listens and follows the advice of scientists, considering the US’s current administration. On reflection I agree. I think this book might have landed better with me had it come out a few years ago as opposed to the toxic reality that’s come into being in the year of 2025.