This one slightly slips on the straight horror front, but is definitely themed on Halloween, and Mark Morris has been writing horror novels for over 20 years so he has a good pedigree and therefore fits regardless.
They're my rules and I make them up as I go along and don't care what anyone else thinks.
This is of course a Doctor Who novel, therefore aimed at younger readers - so we shouldn't expect Booker prize material here. this should be fast paced, entertaining, and easily readable.
It scores on all those points and adds in a fairly creepy vibe with some scenes that would be genuinely scary on tv.
I wish this had been made as a two part episode back when 10 was travelling with Martha. It would have been a high point of the entire series. But the book is all that exists for this story so it will have to suffice.
The Doctor and Martha land in modern day (2008 ish) America in a small town called Blackwood. Ostensibly this is because of a tree in the centre of the town which is made of a black wood, but I suspect was Mark Morris punning on the name of Algernon Blackwood to pretty good effect.
This tree is actually the home to an ancient alien race who, from their descriptions in the book, resemble terrifying versions of Jack Skellington. They've just awoken a few days before Halloween and have amoral plans afoot. These aliens aren't evil. They just don't even realise what they're doing to the townsfolk isn't nice. They don't care.
The scene is set for a confrontation with our favourite time travelling hero. But what can he do against these creatures with their ability to turn everyday objects against us and who are practically invulnerable to any normal weapons - including the sonic screwdriver? The final showdown would have been one of the greatest scenes in Doctor Who if it had been televised.
Reading this book it made me realise quite how far standards have dropped the last two years.
The prose is as you'd expect for a youth oriented book, with no particular flourishes. Having said that, Mark Morris keeps the story moving at a cracking pace and manages to generate some genuine tension - especially in the final scene at the Halloween fayre.
One of the big tests of this type of book is whether you can picture the familiar characters in the story. Not only could I see them in this book, I could read most of the Doctor's dialogue in David Tennant's voice (his Doctor voice rather than his natural scottish brogue). From a Doctor Who fan as obsessive as Mark Morris, this shouldn't be a surprise, but it's still impressive.
It was a genuinely enjoyable read, possibly one of the best Doctor Who novels I've read - although the last one I read was a couiple of decades ago, so my memory is a tad fuzzy.
If you're a fan of the tv show, you'll enjoy this. Go out and buy a copy. What more is there to say?
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