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Review by : http://www.hardsf.org/HSFROffO.htm (Use Translator in the side bar, if you want)
The introduction to the edition I listened to warned that unlike most of Verne's books, this story rests on an entirely unbelievable premise. That is, that a comet has picked up several hundred square miles of Earth’s land surrounded by hundreds of miles of sea water, and carried them off into space intact with living plants and animals, fresh water streams, a breathable atmosphere, etc. Once one gets past that, Verne does return to conforming to science (at least as well as it was understood in his time).
The introduction to the edition I listened to warned that unlike most of Verne's books, this story rests on an entirely unbelievable premise. That is, that a comet has picked up several hundred square miles of Earth’s land surrounded by hundreds of miles of sea water, and carried them off into space intact with living plants and animals, fresh water streams, a breathable atmosphere, etc. Once one gets past that, Verne does return to conforming to science (at least as well as it was understood in his time).
There are
certainly signs that this was not written in our lifetimes. For instance, the story begins with a dispute
between a Russian nobleman and a French army officer, who decide to settle
their differences with a sword fight.
For my tastes, Verne's work has been too old. To take what may not be an entirely
representative example, my scientific interests can't be stimulated by a story
about riding a hot air balloon around the world. I expected the scientific reach of this story
to be of more interest to me. This did
not turn out quite as I had hoped.
The comet
has swept up a few men with this section of land without serious injury. They were knocked unconscious and do not
realize they are on a comet rather than the Earth. They soon discover that gravity is not as
strong and the air is thinner, but that is the main practical differences they
initially note. The sky is always
overcast for the first period of time, so they can't get any information from
the sky - aside from the fact it is dark as night for 6 hours and then light
like day for 6 hours.
I had
expected the book to be more about the solar system, comets, etc. In fact, much of the book is about the people
who have been taken away on the comet – how they explore the fragment from
Earth and deal with its climate. They
have no idea that a comet or other body came near the Earth. They assume they are still on the Earth - or
after a time they eventually conclude they are on a part of the Earth that flew
off because of something like a huge volcanic explosion. They sail a boat around the sea trying to
find other people who may be able to tell them what happened. Later in the story, as the comet moves
outward in the solar system, the temperature declines. By this time they understand they are on some
body which will increase its distance from the Sun for some length of time,
resulting in a long, harsh winter. They
make preparations to survive the cold.
A few months later, their winter housing begins to become unusable, and
they must find other quarters to live.
These kinds
of matters in an essentially Earth-like (even if arctic) environment make up
most of the book. There are some
descriptions of some of the other planets when the comet gets relatively close
to them. Verne gives us figures of
distances between this and that (sometimes in miles, more often in
leagues). There are references to the
equations used to calculate the attributes of the comet and its orbit. However, these are neither the bulk nor focus
of the book. What we have is much closer
to a story of a ship that has lost its bearings at sea that deposits its crew
on an island in the arctic and how they proceed to survive on that island. It is not bad as a 19th Century adventure
story of that type. However, there is no
significant exploration of the comet beyond the part taken from the Earth. Jupiter is viewed from no closer than 30
million miles away. There are no real
adventures dealing with celestial bodies they pass. If Verne offers anything that 19th Century
readers considered an interesting insight on the planets they pass, it was lost
on me reading it in 2008.
There were
also some negative stereotyping and comments about Jews, Spaniards and dark
skinned Africans. (Englishmen were also
portrayed as being too full of themselves as a country and being indifferent to
the plight of non-Englishmen.) There is
an ongoing subplot about a miserly merchant – with constant references to him
being a Jew and describing his unappealing character.
If you like
other works by Jules Verne and his contemporaries, and would enjoy what is
mainly a 19th Century adventure story, you may find this book worthwhile. If you are looking for a story focusing on
interplanetary travel, it would probably be better to look elsewhere.