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The Eye of Argon

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1970 fantasy novella by Jim Theis

"TEoA" redirects here. For the 2015 Indian film, see Tamizhuku En Ondrai Azhuthavum.

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The Eye of Argon Cover of the 2006 paperback edition<br>AuthorJim TheisLanguageEnglishGenreHeroic fantasyPublisherWildside Press (2006 reprint)Publication date<br>21 August 1970Publication placeUSMedia typePrint (magazine, 1970; chapbook, 1987; trade paperback, 2006)Pages23 in zine, 52 and 76 in book editionsISBN0-8095-6261-8OCLC71347850<br>The Eye of Argon is a 1970 sword and sorcery fantasy novelette by Jim Theis (1953–2002) that narrates the adventures of the barbarian Grignr. It has been notorious within the science fiction and fantasy fandoms since its publication, described variously as "one of the genre's most beloved pieces of appalling prose,"[1] the "infamous 'worst fantasy novel [sic] ever' published for fans' enjoyment,"[2] and "the apotheosis of bad writing".[3] Science fiction conventions have long held group readings of the work in which participants are challenged to read it aloud for extended periods without laughing.

History<br>[edit]

Writing and publication<br>[edit]

The novella was written by Jim Theis, a St. Louis, Missouri, science fiction fan, at age 16.[4] The work was first published in 1970 in OSFAN 10, the fanzine of the Ozark Science Fiction Association.[5] Theis was described by David Langford in SFX as "a malaprop genius, a McGonagall of prose with an eerie gift for choosing the wrong word and then misapplying it."[1] Many misspellings also arose from the fanzine transcription's poor typing. Theis was not completely happy with the published version and continued to work on the story. In an interview published three months later, he said:

In fact, I have changed it. I went over it for an independent study for English in school. You know, like adjectives changed and places where sentences should be deleted; things of this type. Even so it is nothing to be proud of and yet it is. Because how many people have had their first story published at 16—even if it is in a fanzine or a clubzine? How many writers have written a complete story at so early an age? Even so, "Eye of Argon" isn't great. I basically don't know much about structure or composition.[4]

Spread and notoriety<br>[edit]

The Eye of Argon original appearance in OSFAN, 1970<br>Sometime in the 1970s, science fiction author Thomas N. Scortia obtained a copy of The Eye of Argon, which he mailed to horror novelist Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Yarbro wrote to Darrell Schweitzer in 2003:

Tom Scortia sent me the fanzine pages as a kind of shared amusement, since both of us tended to look for poor use of language in stories. Don Simpson and I were still married then, and one of our entertainments was reading aloud to each other. This work was such a mish-mash that we took turns reading it to each other until we could stand no more...<br>About two weeks after the story arrived, we had a dinner party, mainly for MWA (Mystery Writers of America) and book dealer friends, and Joe Gores got to talking about some of the really hideous language misuse he had seen in recent anthology submissions and had brought along a few of the most egregious. I mentioned I had something that put his examples in the shade, and brought out "The Eye of Argon." It was a huge hit. [Locus reviewer] Tom Whitmore asked if he could make a copy of it, and I loaned it to him, and readings of it started to become a hideous entertainment. I never typed out a copy of it, but I am afraid I did start the ball rolling.[3]

The work was copied and distributed widely around science fiction fandom, often uncredited. Readings quickly became a common activity at science fiction conventions: "People sit in a circle and take turns reading from photocopies of the story. The reader's turn is over when he begins to laugh uncontrollably."[3]

Later editions<br>[edit]

An edition of The Eye of Argon was published in 1987 by Hypatia Press, illustrated by Lynne Adams (ISBN 0-940841-10-X).[2][6][7] The story was also reprinted in 1995, attributed to "G. Ecordian," as a nod to the story's protagonist.[citation needed]

Later, a version became available on the Internet, ARGON.DOC, which was manually transcribed by Don Simpson and placed online by Doug Faunt.[8] It bears this note at the bottom:

No mere transcription can give the true flavor of the original printing of The Eye of Argon. It was mimeographed with stencils cut on an elite manual typewriter. Many letters were so faint as to be barely readable, others were...