72 reviews for:

The Eye of Argon

Jim Theis

2.14 AVERAGE

t3rminus3st's review

1.0

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So bad it's good.

mabusecast's review

3.5

adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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There is little use to truly defend this as a "good" piece of writing but it is a oddly entertaining piece of writing done by a overly ambitious 16 year old from the late 1960s to early 1970s, that honestly has moments that show at least some potential when its not being overly descriptive! 

That being said I feel that what the world of SF&F fandom did to author Jim Theis over the years of his life after publishing this is downright criminal and should be studied as how not to treat a artist as a person! 

whattamess's review

4.0

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Buddy Read with a secret group.

winner of the Jay T. Rikosh award for excellence! Fancy smancy! Notice I didn't capitalize the "w"? Gotta keep my quotes real.

I knew this story was going to be bad. I didn't expect it to be so hilariously bad. I didn't think it possible to fit so many adjectives in so few pages. And what was even better than the book was all the comments in the secret group.

Thanks Marc! For picking an awesome book!

nerdkitten's review

2.25

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping

Minor: Rape, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Deportation

codyfrizzell's review against another edition

0.5

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

octophile's review

5.0

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I was a simple innocent in a dismal life. a opaque youngster with orchid twines of pale strings of hair sprouting a swill from my oval dome and furiously questingto lay my sapphire orbs on a page of altering literature. Another female, mine comrade, insightfully queried if I had chanced upon The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis

"no," I bellowed lustfully, my bronzehided fingers riveting. "What is the eye of argon wench?"

Through her pale blood red lips she sayeth, "Thou must read it, if you have not supposed to have read it in a previous time. Your pernnicious interests and glutton for sorely inesecapable literary horrors mark thee the perfect reader."

Throughout the long stygian years, black with ebony solitude and swathed in clouds of occasional forgetting I had never forgotten the doomed omen of my comrade even in the face of long faces of years. And today, this portentous day chocked with clouds I cast my prudence to the sward and read it, my orbs spinning without temperate through page after page. Never will i regret this day?

How canst I when the wench quoth rightfully and I found myself swirling at either side in shimmering ecstasy? The ventures of nobly Grignr and his spoilsome advertants, laid with maddening craft upon the page white as a virgin as a sacrifice to Argons red emerald eye, enslaved me with quaffing enchants. Has there been another shivering sight of such a book in the vast world? Mrift! I think not.

Read the Eye of Argon - if thou dares.

roromo's review

1.0

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Sure, it's bad, real bad, but I'm not even giving it a single star for that. It's for the condescension of the publishing itself making fun of a child who had their shitty rough draft published far too early, being exposed to a lifetime of bullying that threw him out of the creative sphere forever. It's clear the kid had a decent fantasy vocabulary, just very little understanding of how to apply it, and also redraft it. It was clearly done with love, and I'd love to read it a hundred times over rather than the rules of some shitty smug game at the start. Maybe we should nurture people's love of a medium and help them grow and improve rather than mocking them, god forbid.

Fuck the people who made Jim Theis' life miserable for this, long live Grignr.

lizzderr's review

1.0

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This deserves every bit of its reputation as potentially the worst fantasy story ever written. The structure isn't actually half bad, but the prose is atrocious. I'm still not fully convinced (based, among other things, on the way certain often-misused words are used correctly) that this wasn't satire. Either way, the best way to read this is with a group, aloud, round-robin style: see how far you can get without laughing or staring at the page in disbelief.

murphy___'s review against another edition

1.0

adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This was the best worst book I've read so far. Absolutely enjoyable to read with a friend and laugh and wonder about what's happening... 

bkoser's review

1.0

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The only 1-star book on my "to re-read" list. So funny.