A lot of you have probably heard of this story. It is, after all, legendary in science fiction and fantasy circles for being the worst single work of fiction ever published. It was written in 1970 by a 16-year-old high school student, Jim Theis, and appeared in a magazine dedicated to short sci-fi stories and novellas. It became well-known quickly, and by 1980 readings of the story had become a major attraction at sci-fi conventions. It is also the subject of a game, whereby people sit in a circle and take turns reading it, passing it on when they start laughing. It has been reprinted in 1995 and 2006, and can now be read online.
The thing about TEoA is that, in many ways, it shows some writing skill. It starts in media res, makes a solid effort to develop its characters and the world where it is set, and contains many passages of (often vivid) description. It just has the most turgid, overblown prose imaginable, uses some incomprehensible grammar and language constructs, and appears to have been written by someone with a much-loved thesaurus but no dictionary. The effect is truly remarkable.
The Eye of Argon
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Túrin Turambar
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The Eye of Argon
Last edited by Túrin Turambar on Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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BrianIsSmilingAtYou
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You know, LM, I was just thinking of staring an Eye of Argon thread the other day.
I had brought it to my brother's attention many months ago when he was teaching a class on SF as literature, and he used it in class much as it is used in the game, and it became a teaching exercise.
I was trying to think how to treat such a thread here.
I had thought of starting something where we could all write sections of our own turgid prose.
The original mimeograph was truncated and the end was lost, which made it all the more absurd.
A complete copy of the fanzine in which it was originally printed was found in 2005, and so the complete version is now available.
There is some info on Wikipedia about the recovered lost end, and links to the various online versions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_Argon
BrianIs
AtYou
I had brought it to my brother's attention many months ago when he was teaching a class on SF as literature, and he used it in class much as it is used in the game, and it became a teaching exercise.
I was trying to think how to treat such a thread here.
I had thought of starting something where we could all write sections of our own turgid prose.
The original mimeograph was truncated and the end was lost, which made it all the more absurd.
A complete copy of the fanzine in which it was originally printed was found in 2005, and so the complete version is now available.
There is some info on Wikipedia about the recovered lost end, and links to the various online versions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_Argon
BrianIs
AtYou
All of my nieces and nephews at my godson/nephew Nicholas's Medical School graduation. Now a neurosurgical resident at University of Arizona, Tucson.
Ah, the case of the tortured Thesaurus. As LM said, the story would've been merely mediocre if the author only used words when he knew what they meant. I wonder what happened to the guy.
Brian, I like your idea of the game.
Brian, I like your idea of the game.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
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Oo, me too. I want to write me some Argonesque prose.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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themary
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*wimpers* I shouldn't have come in here big words scare TheMary 
I'm extraordinarily curious about what words this fella used in his book and is it just a large sting of hard to pronounce words? Can this book be read?
*is clicking the link Brian provided now*
I'm extraordinarily curious about what words this fella used in his book and is it just a large sting of hard to pronounce words? Can this book be read?
*is clicking the link Brian provided now*
...the embers never fade in your city by the lake
The place where you were born
The place where you were born
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Túrin Turambar
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Túrin Turambar
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truehobbit
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Re: The Eye of Argon
LordM, it seems that in order to make the link show up better, the tags have to be inside the url-tags.
I've never heard of that book, I'll have a look at that link!
Lord_Morningstar wrote:A lot of you have probably heard of this story. It is, after all, legendary in science fiction and fantasy circles for being the worst single work of fiction ever published. It was written in 1970 by a 16-year-old high school student, Jim Theis, and appeared in a magazine dedicated to short sci-fi stories and novellas. It became well-known quickly, and by 1980 readings of the story had become a major attraction at sci-fi conventions. It is also the subject of a game, whereby people sit in a circle and take turns reading it, passing it on when they start laughing. It has been reprinted in 1995 and 2006, and can now be read online.
Code: Select all
[url=http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/SF-Archives/Misc/Eye_Of_The_Argon][color=darkblue][u]online[/u][/color][/url].but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed.
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Túrin Turambar
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The link to the story no longer works.
Here's one that does. It includes the lost ending, which surfaced in 2005.
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/s ... eargon.htm
Here's one that does. It includes the lost ending, which surfaced in 2005.
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/s ... eargon.htm
When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
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Túrin Turambar
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And here's the acclaimed MSTing of the story.
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Impenitent
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Túrin Turambar
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