One by one the rich nitrate miners of Antofagasta, Chile, were being hideously crushed to death by falling boulders. Then the Man of Bronze saw the evil hand of The Mad Earth Shaker — and uncovered his terrifying plot to control the world!
Founded the Hidalgo Trading Company (1997) and The Flearun Discussion Group (1999). Chuck currently serves as Editor for the Bronze Gazette.
(The Doc Savage novel synopsis are courtesy of Bantam Books or Altus Press.)
This is one of the first Docs I read and it is still one of my favorites. Great action, fast pacing and an interesting mystery. What Doc’s all about!
Scott Kimball
on August 24, 2003 at 1:29 am
I hate to nitpick, because I think that each Doc Story has to be enjoyed as a whole, and inevitably that means ignoring or just accepting parts that are ridiculous, incongruous, or totally unbeleivable. In The Man Who Shook The Earth, I could accept the idea of the evil mastermind developing the technology to create earthquakes, but the idea that he could cause earthquakes so accurate that they would kill certain individuals was a bit of a stretch. Otherwise, no complaints about this one… lots of fun.
This is one of the better early Docs with a great Bama cover (with one or two too many cracks in the ground). But this book got me through Sophomore Chemistry when it came out. I recommend it.
Lee Dorrance
on December 5, 2005 at 11:51 am
A great early thriller in Doc’s career with a very interesting plot as Doc thwarts the “certain European nation getting ready for war” the first of many times to come.
Mark Carpenter
on April 13, 2006 at 9:38 am
After reading two Donovan-ghosted Doc books in a row (the wretched “Haunted Ocean” and “Cold Death”), it was a pleasure to settle in and savor a true Dent classic like “The Man Who Shook the Earth.” What can you say? Dent just knew how to write. HIs characters were meatier, his plots were more interesting, his prose was tighter and he always added cool little extras that just made his books more fun to read. In this one, I love how Doc actually did some skywriting to warn the villain that he’d get caught in his own trap.
I give this one a solid “A.” Nobody did it like Dent.
Just got to chapter 10 on this one, thoroughly enjoying it. First Doc I’ve read in years I’m sorry to say. Was lucky to find it in a second hand book store.
Great story as only the master Lester Dent can do. Regards to all Doc appreciaters.
Richard Cording
on March 19, 2011 at 11:37 pm
Just finished this last week, and I have to concur with all of you… a classic!
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This is one of the first Docs I read and it is still one of my favorites. Great action, fast pacing and an interesting mystery. What Doc’s all about!
I hate to nitpick, because I think that each Doc Story has to be enjoyed as a whole, and inevitably that means ignoring or just accepting parts that are ridiculous, incongruous, or totally unbeleivable. In The Man Who Shook The Earth, I could accept the idea of the evil mastermind developing the technology to create earthquakes, but the idea that he could cause earthquakes so accurate that they would kill certain individuals was a bit of a stretch. Otherwise, no complaints about this one… lots of fun.
This is one of the better early Docs with a great Bama cover (with one or two too many cracks in the ground). But this book got me through Sophomore Chemistry when it came out. I recommend it.
A great early thriller in Doc’s career with a very interesting plot as Doc thwarts the “certain European nation getting ready for war” the first of many times to come.
After reading two Donovan-ghosted Doc books in a row (the wretched “Haunted Ocean” and “Cold Death”), it was a pleasure to settle in and savor a true Dent classic like “The Man Who Shook the Earth.” What can you say? Dent just knew how to write. HIs characters were meatier, his plots were more interesting, his prose was tighter and he always added cool little extras that just made his books more fun to read. In this one, I love how Doc actually did some skywriting to warn the villain that he’d get caught in his own trap.
I give this one a solid “A.” Nobody did it like Dent.
Just got to chapter 10 on this one, thoroughly enjoying it. First Doc I’ve read in years I’m sorry to say. Was lucky to find it in a second hand book store.
Great story as only the master Lester Dent can do. Regards to all Doc appreciaters.
Just finished this last week, and I have to concur with all of you… a classic!