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 the 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.