Film and Book Reviews
for 2002
Films released in 2002
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets directed by Chris Columbus

The boy wizard begins his second term at Hogwarts.
Star Trek: Nemesis directed by Stuart Baird

Jean-Luc Picard faces an ambitious captain with a troubled past. Can he overcome this to bring peace to the Romulan Empire, or will it all end in flames?
Reign of Fire directed by Rob Bowman

A 20th century dragon movie.
Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg

In this adaptation of a short story by Philip K. Dick, criminals are caught before they even have a chance to break the law.
Equilibrium directed by Kurt Wimmer

In the future human emotions are considered the root of all evil, so they have been banned.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones directed by George Lucas

Anakin and Amidala: the other use for lightsabers explained.
Impostor directed by Gary Fleder

A scientist builds a devastating weapon to use against aliens, but he is accused of being a replicant assassin in this adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story.
The Time Machine directed by Simon Wells

An adaptation of the novel by H.G. Wells.
Queen of the Damned directed by Michael Rymer

Other vampires turn in their graves as Lestat becomes a rock star.
Deadly Species directed by Daniel Springen

A team of academics find horrors waiting for them in the Florida Everglades when they search for a lost tribe.
Solaris directed by Steven Soderbergh

A psychiatrist is summoned to a space station whose occupants are losing their sanity.
Books published in 2002
Shadows and Light by Anne Bishop

In the second book in the Tir Alainn trilogy, who will save the witches?
Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Literary detective Thursday has to work out why the world is about to end in a blob of pink goo, and rescue her new husband, who has been eradicated from time.The second in the Thursday Next series.
Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Sookie is in the middle of investigating a murder when she is sent to Dallas to help a group of vampires find one of their own. The second novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb

FitzChivalry Farseer has a lot of secrets to keep in the second volume of The Tawny Man trilogy.
Evolution by Stephen Baxter

This is the epic story of the primates, as they evolve from tiny mammals into the humans who would shape and dominate the world, and beyond.
The Novice by Trudi Canavan

The second book in the Black Magician Trilogy.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline Jones is bored when she moves into a creepy old house full of odd old people, until she finds a hidden passage leading to a place where she can get all the attention she wants, if only she will pay the price.
The Longest Way Home by Robert Silverberg

A young aristocrat learns the truth about his society as he attempts to get home.
Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

In the near future, someone has invented a cure for autism. But is this really a good thing for the last autistics?
Across The Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

After the people of his village are slaughtered, a young man escapes with the help of a mysterious lord. He learns that he has strange gifts, but he will need lots of tricks to navigate his new world of assassins and revenge.
The Science of Harry Potter : How Magic Really Works by Roger Highfield

The facts behind the fantasy world of the boy wizard.
Kil'n People by David Brin

Disposable bodies: what every smart, fashionable professional should have.
A Sorcerers Treason (Isavalta Trilogy) by Sarah Zettel

An outcast lighthouse keeper takes on a new role in a different world in Sarah Zettel's first fantasy novel.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini

In the first episode of the Inheritance series a farm boy discovers an egg that will change his future.
The Usurper's Crown by Sarah Zettel

The second novel in the Isavalta series is a prequel which takes the daughter of a fishing family into a realm of magic, treachery and scheming royals.
Light by M. John Harrison

Taking place in the future and at the turn of the millennium, this novel features aliens, spacecraft and cats of many colours.
Vitals by Greg Bear

Who wouldn't want to live forever?
The Meq by Steve Cash

In this historical fantasy a boy tries to discover more about his mysterious race of childlike people, the Meq.
The Holy Blood by Charles Covington

What if you could clone the DNA of Jesus?
The Visitor by Sheri S. Tepper

Armageddon has come and gone, but has it left Earth with magic and demons?