Big Maria

By: Johnny Shaw

Narrated by: David de Vries

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Somewhere in Arizona’s Chocolate Mountains lie the Big Maria Mine and a wealth of gold lost for 100 years. There’s only one problem: Those mountains are now the home of the US Army Proving Ground, the world’s largest active artillery range. But for Harry, Ricky, and Frank, three down-at-the-heels guys with few dollars but plenty of dreams, the gold offers each of them a chance for a new life. Are scuba diving through an underwater ghost town; facing down a hungry mountain lion; doing the hesitation waltz across a minefield; matching wits with potheads, pit bulls, and bikers; and braving the might of Uncle Sam’s full arsenal worth it?

With little more than a samurai sword, a severed head, and an impractical amount of optimism, these intrepid soldiers of (mis)fortune are about to find out.

©2012 Johnny Shaw (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A modern day Tressure of the Sierra Madre

Three down on their luck men become freinds, and a journey that will test their cores.

After relaying a old family tale of a lost gold mine, curiosity sets in and the hunt for gold begins.

Its difficult to give an adequate teaser with out giving away the glorious threds of this tale.
Probably my favorite Johnny Shaw novel so far but, I think I say that after each book.

I would recommend giving this gritty tale a chance.

Fun

thoroughly enjoyable listen great way to pass time I would highly recommend this book to anyone

Funny, dry humor

This book was so funny with dry humor. Loved the main characters and their relationship.

I liked the story until ...

I was enjoying the story until the group got "higher than they'd ever been" from eating raw marijuana... dumb and irritating mistake... cannabis has to be decarboxylated to be psychoactive...

Great Story & Performance

what a hoot, famtastic funny story. The narator was phenomenal and played all the parts great. I laughed from start to finish

Three men walk into a desert

Three down on their luck men (an unemployed bus driver, a "disabled" prison guard, and a Cancer stricken Native American) are in pursuit of gold they believe lays undiscovered in an abondoned mine named Big Maria, which also happens to be in the middle of a desert. If that wasn't bad enough, it's in the midst of an army artillery range. AND chasing after them are enemies, family members, and just old fashioned bad luck. You won't learn anything from this story, but the crude humor, the outlandish horrible plot twists, and just waiting until the end to see if there really is gold or not kept me entertained, which in this current day is quite a feat. I'd recommend to my friends who still giggle at dirty phrases, but hey, I'm still friends with them in spite of that. If there's one thing that Big Maria does help you figure out: the journey of life is better with friends, even if you get nothing else from it.

Adventure and smarmy humor - what's not to love?!

Awesome story! The excellent narration added to the depth of characters and the overall story.
I agree with some of the other reviews that there are crude parts and foul language - so if you find that offensive, you may want to take a pass on this.
But I disagree with comments that this is a 'guys' book. I am a middle-age female who keeps cursing to a minimum, but still really enjoyed this..

Crazy Adventure and Crude Humor - GOOD STUFF

Every now and then I find an author I've never heard of before and it's like hearing a great new song.
In this case it's Johnny Shaw. This guy has the right combination of crude humor, bad-ass plot, and a certain quirky, slightly crazy, twisted point of view.
I should say this too: IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY.
It's more of a guy thing.
If you're PC, or easily offended, don't buy it.
If dirty jokes turn you off, go read something on Oprah's list. This is not for prudes.
It's not the work of a genius of literature.
If you love a dirty joke and a crazy adventure this is for you.
It's funny. It's raw. It makes me laugh right out loud even when I'm not feeling very well.
It's the kind of humor I grew up with when I hung around up the schoolyard.

The Hilarious Antics of the Desperate and Stupid.

This book a was a delightful surprise. It's very different than what I normally read, leaning to the more serious works of fantasy and science fiction, but I am glad I got it. Shaw has a particular sense of humor that pokes fun at people in general. I can take every character in this story and apply them to someone I know. Even though his characters are ignorant in many ways, you have to root for them because, as you shake your head at them, you realize they are reflections of you and everyone else. The dialogue is superbly written, and the narration (I got the Wysper-Sync added) is incredible. David de Vries takes a well written story and really adds to it with perfect narration. I can't say enough about what a great job Mr. de Vries did with this story.

Epic Adventure

This is one of the funniest, most touching books I have ever had the pleasure to read. Highly recommend. Characters seemed actually alive, warts and all. Narration was great, I don't know how he got through it without laughing. I cannot wait to read another one of Shaw's books!