I listened to John Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye because the combination of the premise and Scalzi's reputation for irreverence reminded me of the film Don't Look Up, which I remember as one of the best movies I've seen in recent years. Perhaps that was not the most ideal place to read from, but that's where I started anyway.
In short, I found the book amusing with a few good moments. However, having listened to the whole thing, I'm left with the sense that it was too #superficial to be satisfying. Some scenes did go a bit deeper, especially those that dealt to any significant degree with the emotional implications of the impending #apocalypse, but on the whole, I thought that the opportunities for #satire afforded by the #absurdity of a moon made of cheese were used mostly for simpler humor instead.
I think that the chapter involving #writing deserves special mention. I experienced it as the most moving part of the book by far and suspect that it might have been even stronger standing on its own as a short story, possibly with a bit added for context.
I was surprised and somewhat aggravated by the abrupt twist near the end, but what I thought was really clever about it despite my frustration was the amount of #doubt that was left open as the book ended.
From the afterword, I got the sense that this book probably would have been more satisfying if I had approached it from the perspective of a dyed-in-the-wool Scalzi fan (which I am not, even if I often enjoy his writing) who just wanted to read something amusing, be entertained, and enjoy some light satire. I can also imagine that the lightness of the satire might make it something of a "gateway" to considering things from a different perspective for anyone who would find something like Don't Look Up difficult to digest.
#Scalzi #JohnScalzi #DontLookUp #WhentheMoonHitsYourEye #Moon #Cheese #CheeseMoon #Luna #Caseus #ScalziFan
![Screenshot of a post by A.Alamo @phillyguy25.bsky.social:
The Scottish Sunday Herald TV guide featured this preview of the Trump inauguration.
It's fucking brilliant.
[photo of donald trump including following text]
President Trump: The Inauguration
4pm, BBC One/ STV
After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories - among the most common is the "What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War" setting - but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present. The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president.
It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today's feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It's a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we're not careful.
January 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM](https://pub-1146fd6c5b9443ce8a2adde617e7847d.r2.dev/images/status/ef74da98-fb57-418b-b66a-8951436a0ddb.png "Screenshot of a post by A.Alamo @phillyguy25.bsky.social:
The Scottish Sunday Herald TV guide featured this preview of the Trump inauguration.
It's fucking brilliant.
[photo of donald trump including following text]
President Trump: The Inauguration
4pm, BBC One/ STV
After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories - among the most common is the \"What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War\" setting - but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present. The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president.
It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today's feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It's a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we're not careful.
January 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM")