I suspect that with steampunk's popularity, classic SF novelists like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are getting a fresh look — if nothing else, to get insights into the society of the time. Compared to others of Verne's works, this one is obscure but still worth reading. Mostly.

A comet grazes the earth and carries off a few dozen Europeans, along with the dirt and buildings surrounding them. The mechanism of how this is accomplished is glossed over, somewhat of a departure from Verne's other SF works (for example, From the Earth to the Moon, in which he provides meticulous calculations to show how it could actually be done).

What makes this book worth reading is also one of its major drawbacks. Interactions between the various characters are thick with the Euro-ethnocentrism so prevalent in Verne's time; much of it adds some levity to the story. However, there's a strong anti-Semitic streak in this story — Verne gives Isaac Hakkabut no redeeming qualities at all, even if his Jewish merchant doesn't really qualify as a villain.

The ending wrapped things up well, but again glossed over important details so prevalent in other Verne novels. If you can stomach the anti-Semitism, you might enjoy this work.