• Cosmic Banditos

  • A Contrabandista's Quest for the Meaning of Life
  • By: A. C. Weisbecker
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (211 ratings)

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Cosmic Banditos  By  cover art

Cosmic Banditos

By: A. C. Weisbecker
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's summary

Mr. Quark is a down-on-his-luck pot smuggler hiding out in the mountains of Columbia with his dog, High Pockets, and a small band of banditos led by the irascible José. Times are lean, and to liven up their exile, José decides to mug a family of American tourists.

Among the spoils are physics texts, which launch Mr. Quark on a sidesplitting, boisterous adventure north to California, where he confronts the owner of the books with his own theories on relativity, on the nature of the universe, and on looking for the meaning of life in all the wrong places.

©2001 Alan Weisbecker (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A. C. Weisbecker outgonzos Hunter S. Thompson." (United Press International)
"Outrageous....An absurd and highly entertaining comic romp." ( Booklist)

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What listeners say about Cosmic Banditos

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    139
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Time Traveling Footnote

The most fun you'll have learning quantum physics. I would write more but I have other things to do right now, mainly psychotropic drugs and the dodging of flying debris.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the truly great and unique books!

If you are one of the lucky people who found this gem before it's resurgence and 2nd printing but have been putting off getting the audio version stop reading this and just buy it already....

For the rest of you:

I loved the audio version but seriously read a physical copy of the thing first. This is just one of those books that will be better if you can put it down and really think about the insanity that you just read from time to time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Um what?

Not my cup of tea I guess. Story moves but the ironic end left me wanting my time spent back. Ray's performance is okay but the sound edits were cheesy. Not as good as some of his more recent readings.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Laugh out loud

This is a book that makes you laugh but at the same time contemplate what is reality.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dear Quark

Littered between the pages of this book You will find the quantum mechanics of logic, life, and drug smuggling. A pleasantly authentic Bandito, his translator and Ours, along with their allergy fit companion make sense of a complicated situation filled with bananas at tree-top level. Follow the hum of the steel drums and open Your mind for the explosion to unfold.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Chapters are misaligned

If you could sum up Cosmic Banditos in three words, what would they be?

Absolute, Utter, Bullshit.

Any additional comments?

In the audio book chapter 1 is :02 seconds long then the author's rambling preface continues till 28:21, if you don't want to spoil the book skip the entro.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Funny; refreshing and different

Hunter thompson meets quantum physics and has the desire to understand the universe. Very funny and right on the level

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply an example of a review.

Fear and Loathing plus quantum physics. Dangerous and ridiculous circumstances abound. The. Best.
Read. Think. Enjoy. If lost, let it go.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly Enjoyable Listen

I read this book 15 or so years ago and remembered enjoying it immensely. But, people and times change, and often, some things you found to be enjoyable or enlightening earlier in life don't age very well and feel cringe'y. I was so happy to discover that this gonzo Weisbecker classic wasn't one of those things. 35 years after it's publishing, this book still made me think, cracked me up, and made me long for a movie adaptation. Another thing that hasn't changed is that this book is criminally underrated. -Sam

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun, entertaining and smart.

Had a great time listening to this book. Lots of laughs and deep thoughts happened

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