- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Ace (TRD) (Aug 2 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0441011616
- ISBN-13: 978-0441011612
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 522 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #792,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Booklist
In 2019, a mysterious, egg-shaped artifact is discovered on the ocean floor off the coast of Samoa. Denser than any known material, the object defies all attempts to either break through or communicate with it. Marine biologist Russell Sutton, whose last major feat was raising the Titanic, takes charge of the excavation, hoping to make a fortune by capitalizing on the artifact's probable extraterrestrial origin. Sutton little suspects that his destiny will soon intertwine with a pair of shape-shifting--and apparently immortal--aliens. One, known as the changeling, has been on Earth millions of years, assuming every identity from shark to human being, and slowly learning to love. The other, called the chameleon, has excelled in warlike roles and delights in killing. Neither knows of the other's existence, but their slowly merging paths will meet in a stunning climax that determines their ultimate fates--and that of the artifact. Award-winning sf veteran Haldeman proves as engaging a storyteller as ever, especially given this book's irresistible premise and page-turning action. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Haldeman trips through history wearing alien goggles but his message is all about human nature." —Entertainment Weekly
"An extremely intelligent thriller." —Washington Post
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
"An extremely intelligent thriller." —Washington Post
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good, fast and enjoyable read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Camouflage (Mass Market Paperback)
An "aliens among us" story that's well written and holds together nicely. It's one that I think would get more enjoyable on the second and third readings as his writing style is smooth but also sparce. I've read so many books by lazy writers lately that compensate for it by just packing on an extra 100+ pages of unneeded detail that it was a refreshing change. I could have wished for slightly more development from the secondary antagonist, but as the character was a very 1-D character in their motivations and since one of the plot points was that he wouldn't/couldn't change his ways, I'll live with it.There's not a lot of development into the "science" part of the science fiction, as he uses the "any science so far ahead is indistinguishable from magic" argument to good effect. The main plot is a character development story told in flashbacks over most of a hundred years. The weakest part of the book was in the justification of two characters falling in love in the last section of the book. It's where Haldeman's sparce style worked against him as I'm left with the feeling that one of the characters fell hard just because, psycologically, it was time for them to do so. It's always nice when you like the book so much that you keep reading until 2am. A good read.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews) 45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Love Story,
By Conrad J. Obregon - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Camouflage (Mass Market Paperback)
There is a sub-genre of science fiction that I like to think of as the alien-encounter procedural. Among its most famous of members is Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama". Humans meet a new species of alien and must figure out what procedures to follow to make some kind of contact. Emphasis is on the technology of contact, with suspense created by the unknown nature of the aliens. Often there is no emphasis on character development or illuminating human society by the strange circumstances. To maintain my interest the twists of the encounter or the solutions required must really be clever.All this is by way of saying that when I encountered "Camouflage", I expected just such a story and had set my techno-bableometer to dampen. Boy, was I surprised! Instead the story is told from the point of view of the alien and explores one of the most basic of literary questions, "What does it mean to be human?" Joe Haldeman's writing is simple and direct and he does not search for colorful language. Instead, he weaves together three separate story lines, each with its own time scale, that come together in the finale. Occasionally you might think the author was moving into irrelevant areas but ultimately he brings the unities home. Moreover, at the same time as the main character is developing, Haldeman uses the device of the doppelganger, that is, a parallel personality, to contrast with the character of the hero. Moreover, he sets the story against an historical perspective of the last two thirds of the twentieth century, with a major portion of the story set against the fall of the Philippines and the horror of the Bataan death march at the beginning of World War II. The purpose of this lengthy excursion into history is to fine tune our sense of the development of the hero. There are a few things that stretched my belief, particularly the behavior of one of the main human characters when he learns a secret of the alien, but I allowed myself to step back from my incredulity and to see it as a further device to explore the main question. The story moves along quickly, or at least as quickly as I could turn the pages. This may not be amongst the greatest of science fiction novels, but it certainly illustrates how a good premise and construction of a novel can not only sweep us along, but even provide food for thought. 68 of 75 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad!,
By Brad Shorr "Brad Shorr" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Camouflage (Hardcover)
Joe Haldeman is one of the top sci-fi writers around. This novel contains three interwoven stories:1. A sympathetic shape-changer who has lived on earth for millions of years, but only as a human from the 1930's on. 2. An unrelated and malevolent shape-changer who's been around as long as man, whose favorite human is Josef Mengele. 3. A mysterious and impregnable metal artifact dredged up from the ocean floor by a science reasearch team in Samoa, drawing the attention of both aliens. Thematically, the book is fascinating. The decidedly non-human characters highlight oddities of our behavior we simply take for granted, like courting rituals and various aspects of sexual and romantic love. The plot, unfortunately, doesn't measure up. JH starts out strong, neatly interweaving the three stories, sweeping through time and setting up a profound mystery with the artifact. But eventually these stories bog down as JH concentrates on a love angle, pretty much dropping the more interesting (to me anyway) exploration of the artifact and the nature of the evil shape-changer. A rather contrived ending ties it all together, but I hope he does a sequel to further develop his intriguing ideas. 17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Enjoyable! Essential Reading For Haldeman Fans!!,
By A. Stagg - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Camouflage (Hardcover)
Joe Haldeman is a unique voice and innovator in Science Fiction. Each of his novels is a new experiment in the craft of writing. Similar to his changeling protagonist, "Camouflage" represents key elements of his writing style that have evolved over the past several novels and are now combined with his natural ability to weave a compelling tale. The result is an exceptionally well-crafted novel that tells a complex story in as parsimonious manner as possible. Writing in this manner is a tall-order for any author, and a departure from the increasingly long, convoluted science fiction novels that grace the shelves of our bookstores today. His pacing is on-the-money here and helps build a sense of excitement. The result is a wonderful page turner that will leave the Haldeman fan eagerly awaiting his next effort. Haldeman does an exceptional job with this novel.
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