The Earth-Shaker — Lin Carter

“I hold supreme power of life and death... Surrender, Zarkon -- or die!”

Knickerbocker City was paralyzed with fear. Two banks had been disintegrated by fiendishly targeted earthquakes. And the latest message from Lucifer, arch-villain and criminal mastermind, who had escaped from prison with his nefarious henchmen, was clearly a challenge to the city's last hope of rescue, Prince Zarkon and his Omega Men. But what good are their atomic submarines, scanner probes, and fantastical, foe-flattening firearms if they can't locate the malignant genius behind the plot? It is a dark hour for Knickerbocker and all mankind.

This is Prince Zarkon adventure #4. Zarkon is a man of mystery, a superhero who fights crime everywhere.

Lin Carter (1930-1988) was a noted American fantasy and science fiction author, anthologist, and critic who wrote over fifty novels, compiled over 25 anthologies, and authored multiple critical studies of the science fiction and fantasy genres. Best known for his Callisto and Thongor series of novels, Carter made a name for himself as a latter-day pulp author, imitating the successful adventure tale formulas made fashionable by earlier writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan of the Apes; The Mars/Barsoom series), Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian), and Lester Dent (Doc Savage). Carter helped to popularize fantasy and science fiction not just through his own stories, but by anthologizing and promoting the works of many authors who would eventually become famous and influential in their own right.