The Earthquake Man

by William L. Heath

When a troll, a throwback to prehistoric times, gives the O'Grady family a lot of misery, a peculiar man appears and vows to rid the family of the troll.

Hardcover

About the author

William L. Heath was born in Louisiana, but grew up in North Alabama in the small town of Scottsboro. He was raised by aunts and uncles who owned a mill; the combination of blue collar experience and a small southern town served as the eloquent background of many of his novels and short stories--like Max the Great, the Earthquake Man, Ill Wind, Violent Saturday, Blood on the River, and The Good Old Boys.

William L. Heath, known by his friends as Bill, wrote 13 novels and 36 short stories. Most Valuable Player was featured in grammar books as an exemplary Southern fiction short story. Violent Saturday was purchased by 20th Century Fox in 1955, and was made into a full-length movie starring Victor Mature, Sylvia Sydney, and Ernest Borgnine.

W.L. Heath attended Baylor Prep School and University of Virginia. He served as President of the Sigma Chi chapter at UVA before and after his service in the War. He was married to Mary Ann Stahler Heath for 30 years before her untimely death. Three sons--Will Carrington Heath, Warne Stahler Heath, and Merrill Louis Heath--four grandchildren and one great-grandchild survive his recent death.

Reviews

[Jim Kristofic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in a little middle school library ten years ago. I still remember it to this day as being one of the most strikingly original pieces of fantasy fiction I've ever read.

This re-read was no disappointment.

The setting seems to be an early 20th century England or Ireland, a land where folktales and myth have not died out with the ascendance of new technology.

It is a story of two brothers who, after finding a troll living in their apple orchard, are confronted by a traveling stranger calling himself the Earthquake Man. He has come to capture the subterranean-dwelling troll in order to help prevent an immanent earthquake of a magnitude that the world has never known.

The plot twists like a beheaded snake, wrapping you up in its entertaining prose. It connects on multiple levels, the issues of brotherhood, faith, courage, and the classic Science vs Nature's Will.

This book is a sweet apple in the dusty barrel of obscurity. Put this book back in print!!

[Kian · Rating 5 out of 5]

In brief: this was my favorite book as a child, and I continue to think it is a tremendous novel. The book is scary, mysterious, and hypnotic. I can't imagine life without this book being a part of my heart; in many ways, it is the seive through which I filter so much of my life. Reading (and re-reading, countless times) this book was the first time I recognized the power art has. Perhaps I will say more about this book at a later point, but this wil do for now, especially as I cannot imagine anyone actually reading this. Sadly, no one other than me seems to have ever read it...