Off On a Comet

Off On a Comet (Hector Servadac) is a novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1877. The fifteenth book in the Extraordinary Voyages series, this classic work of nineteenth-century science fiction follows a group of ordinary people whose lives are violently disrupted when a comet named Gallia collides with Earth and carries a fragment of the Mediterranean coastline into space. Blending scientific speculation with adventure and satire, Verne imagines how human beings might survive — and argue — while travelling through the solar system.

Among the stranded survivors are Hector Servadac, a French army officer; Count Timascheff, a Russian nobleman; the spirited young woman Nina; the merchant Isaac Hakkabut; and the brilliant but eccentric astronomer Palmyrin Rosette. Cut off from the rest of humanity, they must learn to adapt to strange new physical laws, dwindling supplies, and the realization that their “island” is no longer on Earth at all. As the comet sweeps past planets and through the cold depths of space, scientific curiosity clashes with fear, pride, and political tension.

Verne’s detailed scientific descriptions — combined with humour and sharp character dynamics — make this an engaging example of early space travel fiction and a cornerstone of classic French literature.

This edition was published by Charles F. Horne in 1911.