Off on a Comet

4 out of 5

By Nathalie Brossard on Nov 15, 2010

This is a book based on remarkable concept. The protagonists along with a large part of the Mediterranean coast are suddenly placed on a comet. A large part of the book is devoted to the way these people discover this fact. The chief characters are Captain Hector Servadac and Count Wassili Timascheff. Captain Servadac also has an orderly named Ben Zoof While the count has a yacht called the Dobryna which is commanded by Lieutenant Procope, a learned sailor who has good knowledge about several other domains other than navigation. They embark on a tour of exploration to determine the extent of their new world. The Captain and the Count also rescue Nina a little child. Upon returning from their tour, they find that Ben Zoof has also found a group of Spaniard agricultural laborers and a German Jew. The book then goes into detail about their winter quarters and their meeting with the astronomer professor Palmyrin Rosette, Servadac's old science-master at the Lycee Charle-magne. The professor is able to throw light on the questions of the travelers and they realize that the comet is going to pass close to earth once again. This happens and all of them are back on earth. The book is pure science fiction but assuming for a comet to have an atmosphere, is correct in every scientific detail. The only part that Verne cannot account for satisfactorily is the strange separation and uniting of the part of the earth that has been taken away by the comet. Still, the book is an excellent read and is a good way to develop an interest in science and survival skills. Written by Pranav Lal.