Camouflage

Joe Haldeman first achieved fame with The Forever War, a story that won both the Hugo and Nebula awards as the best SiFi book of the year in 1975. This was not long after he returned from Viet Nam where as a draftee he won (as he puts it) "a Purple Heart and other standard medals." That book described a fuzzy kind of war where the fighters hardly knew what was going on (Viet Nam?). In this book, about his 28th if I've counted correctly, the story is one of two Aliens who have only dim memories of an ancient artifact that has just been brought up from the sea. The human characters are human and very well developed. The aliens are quite different from you've seen in other books. A delightful read by a master of his craft.

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.

This is page turner. Put an alien on Earth a million years ago, give it amnesia, make it immortal, but give it a touch of empathy, while you are at it, add an artifact discovered in the present time. Just as it's about to boil, add to this pot, a pinch of spice called love. No Carbs. What more can you ask for from Joe Haldeman novel. Enjoy.

Haldeman is on my short list of all time great authors, but his last few books haven't always met that standard. With Camouflage I feel Haldeman has found his old magic, but at the same time I can see him moving forward picking style elements used in books like The Coming and Forever Peace much more effectively here. Best of all the Haldeman we don't always see, the one who writes a damn good mystery is back in force. It makes want to go back and read All My Sins again.

In 2019 Baja, California, Russell Sutton owns Poseidon Projects, a relatively small marine biological research firm. Russell targets two to three projects a year, but none involving the American military having worked in the government back at the turn of the century. Thus, his highly regarded staff (six PhDs) is stunned when Russell accepts US Navy Admiral Jack Halliburton deep-water salvage proposal. Lying on the bottom of an oceanic trench, seven miles form the surface, sits a metallic object that Jack wants raised. Russell succeeds in lifting the small object out of the sea. In Samoa, they investigate the find, but the object is impregnable to their probes. While the scientific team continually fails in its query, two aliens roam the planet. The Changeling lived in the sea for millenniums before arriving on land nearly a century ago and dons any identity including an inanimate; the Chameleon has become the world's richest person. He also will kill without feeling any remorse. News surfaces about the object; along with the usual whackos in and out of the media and some intrigued scientists, the Changeling and the Chameleon have personal interests as both know that this is the key to their finally going home. This futuristic aliens among us tale is a terrific story line that hooks the audience from the moment the object is lifted from the sea as readers will want to know what this artifact is as well as who are the Changeling and the Chameleon. Russell is a fabulous lead human protagonist, but clearly, the mystery of the two ETs and their "key" is what grips the audience in a fabulous thriller that needs a chlorine-based sequel. Harriet Klausner