Sean Randall reviewed Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
Review of 'Camouflage' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was fun, did all the right things. Then it ended abruptly, ruining itself.
English language
Published Aug. 3, 2004
Camouflage
by Joe Haldeman
3 stars
(2 reviews)
Camouflage is a 2004 science fiction novel by American writer Joe Haldeman. It won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 2004 and the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2005.Parts of the novel were originally serialized in Analog Science Fiction and Fact (March, April and May, 2004).
Arbieroo reviewed Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
Review of 'Camouflage' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
What makes you human?
SF writers have been exploring this question for a long time. One approach has been to use an android - said machine goes on a lengthy quest to emulate its "superior" human creators. Two famous examples are [b:The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories|70787|The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories|Isaac Asimov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307490924s/70787.jpg|4186] and Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Generally, the android starts out more or less niave and incomprehending of human nature and gradually learns to emulate humans more accurately. Emotion and death seem to be characteristics singled out as definining humanity.
Well, that's been done before, so why not do it with aliens instead? In fact, let's have two aliens that try to hide amongst the Earthlings and contrast how that affects them. These aliens are not the same species as each other but they both turn out to be physically much more robust than life …
What makes you human?
SF writers have been exploring this question for a long time. One approach has been to use an android - said machine goes on a lengthy quest to emulate its "superior" human creators. Two famous examples are [b:The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories|70787|The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories|Isaac Asimov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307490924s/70787.jpg|4186] and Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Generally, the android starts out more or less niave and incomprehending of human nature and gradually learns to emulate humans more accurately. Emotion and death seem to be characteristics singled out as definining humanity.
Well, that's been done before, so why not do it with aliens instead? In fact, let's have two aliens that try to hide amongst the Earthlings and contrast how that affects them. These aliens are not the same species as each other but they both turn out to be physically much more robust than life from Earth in general, so they survive through a looooong time on our planet and see many changes. Both are looking for others who are also not local...
The story is diverting enough and easy to read. I feel that I should have guessed how the ending would play out but I didn't. A competent but not greatly remarkable book.