Summary
In this cosmic adventure, French army captain Hector Servadac and his orderly Ben-Zouf find themselves caught in a cataclysmic event when a rogue comet collides with Earth. Rather than being destroyed, they — along with a bizarre assortment of people, buildings, and even parts of the landscape — are ripped from Earth and carried away on the comet as it hurtles through space.
The passengers aboard this unintended cosmic journey come from various nations and backgrounds, including Spanish soldiers, Russian nobles, and a reclusive astronomer named Palmyrin Rosette. As they travel through the solar system, they must adapt to wildly different environmental conditions, including changes in gravity, atmosphere, and seasons.
Captain Servadac, both heroic and occasionally comically pompous, attempts to bring order and diplomacy to the group, who must overcome nationalistic rivalries and philosophical differences to survive.
All the while, Rosette obsessively charts their comet’s orbit and seeks a way back to Earth — if such a return is even possible.