Doctor Who: Forever Autumn [Hardcover]

Mark Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 2007

It is almost Halloween in the sleepy New England town of Blackwood Falls. Autumn leaves litter lawns and sidewalks, paper skeletons hang in windows and carved pumpkins leer from stoops and front porches. The Doctor and Martha soon discover that something long-dormant has awoken in the town, and this will be no ordinary Halloween. What is the secret of the ancient chestnut tree and the mysterious books discovered tangled in its roots? What rises from the local churchyard in the dead of night, sealing up the lips of the only witness? And why are the harmless trappings of Halloween suddenly taking on a creepy new life of their own? As nightmarish creatures prowl the streets, the Doctor and Martha must battle to prevent both the townspeople and themselves from suffering a grisly fate...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Morris has written two previous Doctor Who novels The Bodysnatchers and Deep Blue

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: BBC Books (November 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846072700
• ISBN-13: 978-1846072703
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.8 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully Surprised, December 11, 2007

By 

Mari L. "Logos Geek" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: Forever Autumn (Hardcover)

Recently I bought the third season (or series if you're a Brit) of the New "Doctor Who" so I was ready to enjoy more adventures featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones.

However, I will admit that I was a bit leery since lately I've been disappointed by several Science Fiction/Fantasy books that I've bought and have failed to finished some of them due to boredom. I also was leery because the "Doctor Who" books are tie-in books assigned to various authors who could be viewed as "hired guns" simply brought on board to meet a certain quota of books to earn BBC Books a good profit. The danger with this is that "hired gun" authors can be rushed due to insanely short deadlines so their work can read like "hack jobs" at times.

Fortunately though "Forever Autumn" neither reads nor feels like a rushed "hack job." Now granted it's no Shakespeare or Charles Dickens but Mark Morris does a good job of writing an entertaining "Doctor Who" book.

"Forever Autumn" has a good balance of atmosphere, pacing, plot, and character perspective that makes the story both engaging and fun to read.

I really liked how he gave just enough description from different characters' points-of-view to establish a good sense of mystery and creepiness. The secondary characters, who many times can be dull in tie-in stories, were not dull in this novel. They were mostly interesting and seeing how the creepy Green Mist affected each one of them in the small town was very interesting too. I also must emphasize that I really like how he paced this book. Within certain chapters, Morris intercutted between different characters' perspectives as they encountered strange things caused by the Green Mist. This technique (which reminded more of television writing in a way) helped to keep the suspense going.

Morris also did a good job of capturing the voices of David Tennant's Doctor and Freema Agyeman's Martha. I felt like I could actually hear these actors performing while I was reading the story. They both said and did things that I expected the Doctor and Martha to say and do. It's too bad that this storyline wasn't used in the television series because it would have been a good creepy episode.

Also, I must add that I like the cover design of this book as I do for basically all of the New "Doctor Who" books. Turning photographs of the current actors into creative illustrations is a brillant idea and it especially looks good on hard back covers.

Having now read "Forever Autumn," I'm willing to read another "Doctor Who" book. I really like Mark Morris' style of writing but until I can find another book written by him, I'm willing to give some of the other authors a try.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick, creepy romp in the Whoniverse, April 17, 2008

By 

E. T. Dexter "Dex1138" (near Salem, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who: Forever Autumn (Hardcover)

This is the second Who book I've read and so far they're just right: Fairly quick reads paced much like an actual show, neat villians that fit right in and the main characters voices are captured terrifically, making it easy to hear their voices when they speak.
This was the first one that I felt I had to buy as it combines the Doctor and Halloween. This story would make a great creepy show.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something Wicked This Way Comes..., October 31, 2008

By 

Ruth R. King "Bookish Ruth" (Spring City, PA , USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who: Forever Autumn (Hardcover)

It's the day before Halloween in the small New England town of Blackwood Falls. Every home is decorated with jack-o-lanterns, ghosts and goblins; the children are choosing their costumes from Tozier's Costume Emporium, and the adults are making the final preparations for the town's annual Halloween Carnival. But Halloween in Blackwood Falls will be anything but ordinary this year...

Rick Pirelli and his best friends Thad and Scott love Halloween. Before they head off to pick up their costumes, they notice an eerie green glow coming from the base of a tree in Rick's backyard. The tree, with bark as black as pitch, gave the town of Blackwood Falls its name. The boys unearth an ancient book filled with strange symbols, and unwittingly set into motion a chain of events that will endanger the entire town.

The Doctor and Martha arrive just as an ominous green mist descends upon Blackwood Falls. The mist seems to be coming from the exact spot where the boys found the strange book. The unnatural fog soon has people in the town feeling uneasy, and the Doctor notes that it seems to be feeding off people's deepest fears. When monstrous creatures called Hervoken begin attacking residents of Blackwood Falls, the Doctor and Martha are the town's only hope. Can they stop the growing threat before it's too late?

This is one of my favorite Doctor Who novels. Mark Morris did an excellent job in capturing the spirit of the television show while still making the story his own. The Doctor and Martha are portrayed very well, and there are a lot of fun references to past adventures. Forever Autumn is a great Halloween read for any Doctor Who fan.