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.

If you’re shocked to see a 5-star rating for a book about the moon turning to cheese… well, join the club!

Actually, I can’t even pretend to be all that surprised. We’re talking about a John Scalzi book, after all. No matter how silly or ridiculous the plot synopsis sounds, it’s a safe bet that the execution will be delicious.

So it goes with When the Moon Hits Your Eye. As the book opens, a moon rock on display in a space museum has been replaced by… something. The display case hasn’t been tampered with, and yet, the rock is clearly no longer there. Instead, it’s something distinctly un-rocklike… and why does the sliver of crescent moon visible in the night sky seem so unusually bright?

Within 24 hours, it becomes clear: It’s not just the museum’s artifact (and every other sample of moon rock anywhere on Earth) — the entire moon is now composed of cheese. Or, the NASA scientists put it, an organic matrix. But really, it’s cheese. How? Why? What does this all mean? As the ensuing month unfolds, the effects of this cheesy mystery are felt far and wide.

The story is told day by day, with each chapter highlighting a new setting and group of characters experiencing life following the great moon-to-cheese change. It’s a terrific and bizarre mix of subject matter and people, including a small-town pastor and his flock, a team of astronauts who’d been about to launch on the first moon mission in decades, an egotistical tech billionaire who happens to own a space company (hmmmm…..), the President and his staff, a popular science writer, a cheese shop proprietor, and many, many more. Through these characters, we see how ordinary people’s lives — as well as the lives of the rich, famous, and powerful — are dramatically affected by the moon. Their stories weave together to create a rich, meaningful story of human connection, scientific inquiry, and big helping doses of WTF situations.

I listened to the audiobook, and of course, Wil Wheaton’s delivery make this a funny, fast-moving, totally engaging experience.

I’m finding myself at a loss for what else to say about this book. YES, IT’S ABOUT THE MOON TURNING TO CHEESE. And also, yes, it’s simply awesome and utterly entertaining. You’ve just got to experience it for yourself.

One final note: The author photo on the back flap of the book should win its own award: