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    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life: JournalStone's DoubleDown Series - Book II
    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life: JournalStone's DoubleDown Series - Book II
    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life: JournalStone's DoubleDown Series - Book II
    Ebook229 pages3 hours

    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life: JournalStone's DoubleDown Series - Book II

    By Lisa Morton and Eric J. Guignard

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The DoubleDown series continues with two novellas that cast mid-twentieth-century America in a dark light. In Smog, tomboy Joey thinks she’s got the perfect life: It’s 1965 and she lives in an idyllic Southern California suburb where everyone works for the aerospace industry. But when something goes wrong with a rocket test, the smog thickens and the teenagers change into rampaging killers. Can Joey survive long enough to escape the neighborhood before she joins their ranks? Joey Third will gamble on anything, but the old suitcase he wins at a baggage auction turns out to be a bad bet. Inside is a record player, and the song it repeats lures the listener to surrender to its mysterious voice. Charlie Stewart senses the music’s intent, but can he find a way to turn it off forever, or will the cursed song possess the souls of all who listen?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJournalStone
    Release dateSep 6, 2013
    ISBN9781940161020
    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life: JournalStone's DoubleDown Series - Book II

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    Reviews for Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life

    4/5

    40 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Unfortunately for some reason my old review disappeared, but this book was decent read, two stories thrillers that makes you keep reading.Smog: Chemical factory spews smoke around town, and strange things are happening to kids.Baggage: Gambler buys bag that has awful secret.
    • 3/5
      I won this Advance Reader Copy from LibraryThing through their Early Reviewer's Giveaway. This book is a combination of 2 short stories/novellas. The first story, Smog by Lisa Morton, was a disturbing account of how smog affected the teens in a small California town. It was creative, imaginative, and graphic. I enjoyed it and rated it 3-1/2 stars.The second story, Baggage of Eternal Night by Eric J. Guignard, was about an auction where Joey won a gramophone inside a piece of luggage, that holds the spirit of Rasputin. This story was very creative and imaginative but for some reason seemed to drag on. I wasn't as interested in this story as much as I was with the first one. My rating is 2-1/2 stars.
    • 5/5
      This is another of the Double Down series that delivers two novellas in one neat little package.Smog by Lisa Morton was a really easy read that flowed beautifully. Set in the 1960’s when everything was more innocent and the only thing to fear was the Russians. This little slice of Americana becomes the setting of a chemical induced lord of the suburban flies where the main character , the tomboy Joey, has to fight for survival and deal with her first period. A fun take on the coming of age story.Baggage of Eternal Night by Eric J. Guignard is less of an easy read but a far grittier story. This story touches at the hoarder and collector in all of us. Charlie’s friend, the recovering problem gambler Joey Third, gets more than he bid for on the purchase of a suitcase from the hotel auctions. Feeling a bit like House of Leaves, this story uncovers the things in the shadows that we don’t like to think about to truly giver the reader the yips.The two novellas are certainly worth the Sunday afternoon perusal.
    • 2/5
      I couldn't decide whether or not I was reading a young adult novel (or pair of novellas rather), or just a simple adult pair of stories. In the end the conclusion is that neither story has enough weight to carry their own book, and would have been better placed in a greater collection of short stories, as filler to a headliner.
    • 3/5
      This is the second volume of Journalstone Press' Doubledown series, which contains two novellas in one volume. The better of the two is Baggage of Eternal Night by Eric J. Guignard. It is both a "hard-boiled" detective story and a supernatural thriller. It is set in 1950's Detroit, where the protagonist purchases an abandoned suitcase which turns out to contain a collection of very old (and very strange) phonographrecords. Through these recordings, Rasputin, the Mad Monk of Tsarist Russia, is able to communicate through space and time and lure new followers to eternal damnation. The story was pretty well-done, and holds the reader's interest. The other (and shorter) novella, Smog, by Lisa Morton, is set in 1960's LA. A strange smog covers a suburb and turns the teenagers who live there into violent, sex-crazed cannibals. (Pretty average 1960's teens, actually!) The story is too short to do it justice, and the ending seems just tacked on and not very believable
    • 4/5
      Second of the Journalstone 'doubledown' books, books with two separate novellas. I also read the first one and am really liking the series, hoping for a third one soon...The first novella, Smog, tells of a science experiment gone wrong, leading to a smog that affects all adolescents in town. A story that is at times horrifying, but also tells us of courage. I think I'd give this story 3 stars, if it had been on its own. Though it's a good horror story, for me it lacks the something extra it would need to make it great. The characters and storyline are somewhat predictable.The second story, Baggage of Eternal Night, I did like very much, so therefore I ended up going for four stars for the entire book.The story tells of a mysterious suitcase, which hides a secret that can bring doom to many people. I really liked the characters in the novel, I thought they were very convincing and worked our very well. I also thought the story was great, very original and I really liked the tie-in to Rasputin. I generally like these sorts of horror/supernatural stories that have a link to actual history, and I found it very intriguing to read. Lovely storytelling, well-written and a good plotline.
    • 3/5
      I won this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. This was an ok book. It was a bit difficult for me to get into. This book actually is two stories, Smog written by Lisa Morton and Baggage of Eternal Night written by Eric J. Guignard. Overall Smog was the better story of the two.
    • 2/5
      This is a private review, having received the books from the library thing website early reviewer programme.The authors sent me a kindle download format of their book which is much appreciated since I have a kindle fire only.But having realised how gruesome they were, noir type horror stories both with an original twist.Not really to my taste, hence the private review.
    • 5/5
      There are two novellas in this one book. The first, Smog, was harder for me to read and believe than the second, Baggage of eternal Night. In Smog, the main character, tomboy Joey feels she has the perfect life. The author describes this life well in enough detail to firmly set the stage for the story to come. After a rocket disaster, the smog begins to settle into the neighborhood, and young people, to include Joey’s brother, begin to do strange, dangerous things to others who live in the area. Joey has to decide whether she will go along with the crowd and be sucked up into the maliciousness of the moment, or whether she will remain strong to her convictions and do what she knows is correct. I found a lot of this story unbelievable and frightening. The book flowed along quite well but almost too suddenly ended. I think this author has good potential for dark stories. She writes well, presents well developed characters and a carefully orchestrated plot with enough twists and turns to hold the reader’s attention. In the second novella, the author presents a dark story about the mesmerizing influence of a well-known and documented evil persona, Rasputin. Joey Third and Charlie Stewart buy discarded, lost or confiscated baggage for the “treasures” they hold, hoping to sell something to a collector or store owner. Joey gets a gramophone with disks to play. When he hears the music recorded on the disks, Charlie senses bad things, but Joey becomes mesmerized, listening to the disks day after day. After some research, Charlie discovers the ominous future for anyone who listens to the disks and works to get Joey away from them as well as to stay away himself, with some success, though not total success. I found this story haunting and weird but very interesting. It was almost like I was mesmerized by the tale, as others had been by the music on the disks. The author pulled me in from almost the start and kept my attention throughout, with solid writing and descriptions. If you enjoy reading this type of dark tale, then this is the book for you. In addition, this book can provide a needed relief from the chick lit and routine mysteries that abound. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.
    • 5/5
      This book initially intrigued me due to the similarities in my own Southern California childhood. However, Lisa Morton takes a radical, and rather unexpected deviation, into a world that is fascinating, confusing, and even at times, obscene. This is an EXCELLENT READ! It is the perfect length to accompany an afternoon soak in the hot tub, hooking my interest from the first page, and reeling me slowly along until it's conclusion. I have often felt that novellas fall short on detail, and ability to get attached to the characters, but this book proved me wrong. I have shared it with a friend, and will be re-reading it, as the concept is just so fascinating to contemplate. Excellent work!
    • 4/5
      I received this book through Library Thing Early Reviewers. Smog- Baggage of Eternal night is two stories released in one book. It is part of the "Double Down" book series from JouralStone Publishing."Smog" is a coming of age story mixed with extreme horror. The main character is a young girl named Joey who grew up in the 1960's. She is stuck between being a kid and being a teenager. When a strange accident happens and "smog" comes into her neighborhood, all the teenagers in town begin to act crazy and violent. Even her older brother and her best friend act insane. I thought Smog had some truly frightening moments. This book was also filled with plenty of blood and gore. I felt sad for Joey because her life was turned upside down. I identified with her and the story of her fright filled coming of age. "Baggage of Eternal Night" is about two men who make a living bidding on people's discarded suitcases. Joey Third is a seasoned veteran and Charlie is his friend. When Joey and Charlie win a suitcase that has a gamma phone filled with records of strange chanting, they are forced into a nightmare. They cant get chanting out of their mind. Charlie does some research and finds out who is chanting the old records and the sinister motives he has. I thought that Baggage of Eternal Night built slowly with tension and then grew extremely frightening as it progressed. When I found out who was chanting on the records and why, I got chills. I thought this book was a great mix of historical fiction and horror.
    • 4/5
      A good little horror set. Someone with an afternoon to kill could easily read these two stories in one sitting. Well worth the time as well. The First Story "Smog" was quite horrific especially in the sens that this is something that could potentially happen in the real world. Quite a few moments were cringe worth.The Second story "Baggage of Eternal Night" was an opposite type of horror but well written none-the-less. It touched on a good historical character that really should get more horror devoted to but sadly not that I have seen. Both good stories and quite complementary. If you have a free afternoon give it a go.
    • 5/5
      This book is just like a larger trade paperback of the old ACE DOUBLEs from way-back-when...except this is horror. Good, well written horror. JournalStone calls this series of books "DoubleDown." 2 Novellas published back to back. Get done with one and flip the book over to start the next. Lisa Morton is a constant game-bringer when it comes to her original fiction. Guignard is a newbie to me. Lisa Morton's half of the book is SMOG.Eric J. Guignard's half is BAGGAGE OF ETERNAL NIGHT (which Guignard had originally titled "Last Case at a Baggage Auction" but it was changed before publication). I'm not going to go into their plots, but I will say this: Come for the Morton... and PLEASE stay for the Guignard. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll start searching for these names in the future.
    • 5/5
      Two excellent stories! Smog goes to the cold war era and gives a what if to a chemical accident in a small town. A rocket with a new fuel explodes and releases a smog that only effects teenagers. The teens slowly become so violent very few adults survive. A pre-teen is the main character who tries to save her mother from surviving only to cook for her brother and his friends. Their escape route will have to avoid the military blockade at the edge of town.Baggage is another story set in the past, a bit farther than Smog this time. An old Victrola and the records that come with it are the force changing characters in this story. A favorite historical character - Rasputin,(from beyond death) is the controlling force. Great characters and a vivid sense of scenery.

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    Smog - Baggage of Eternal Life - Lisa Morton

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