Camouflage

By: Joe Haldeman

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The artifact is found seven miles below the surface of the sea and beneath 40 more feet of sand. The Navy's efforts to raise a wrecked submarine uncover it - and set in motion a scientific race to retrieve it, to discover just what it is and where it came from.

Denser than any substance known to man, it has broken every drill bit they've tried on it and will not budge an inch. It resists every effort to breach it - or communicate with it. So the government turns to marine biologist Russell Sutton for help.

Meanwhile, unknown to any of them, two creatures have wandered the earth for generations. The aliens have no knowledge of each other, but possess a residual memory of the artifact - and an affinity for deep water. One, which calls itself the changeling, has survived by adaptation, by taking on many different forms: man, woman, snake, shark. The other, which calls itself the chameleon, has survived solely by destroying anything or anyone that threatens it.

Now, finally brought up from the bottom of the sea, the artifact calls to them both...to come home. For all these generations there have been two invincible creatures on Earth. But the chameleon has decided there's only room for one.

A novel of human and inhuman nature, Camouflage will take you to the depths of the sea, to the limit of man's imagination - and beyond.

©2005 Joe Haldeman (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Nebula Award, Best Novel, 2005

"Haldeman trips through history wearing alien goggles but his message is all about human nature." (Entertainment Weekly)
An extremely intelligent thriller." (Washington Post)

Totally ideal science fiction!

Excellent writing, very thought provoking. The best science fiction audiobook I've ever downloaded!

Good until the end

Would you consider the audio edition of Camouflage to be better than the print version?

Yes.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Changeling. Its ability to adapt was fascinating.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end where both characters went into the artifact and departed for Messier 22.

Aliens to Love and Fear

There is sexual violence that may be inappropriate for young readers, or those easily triggered.

This was not too deep, but had an unusual and interesting concept, with odd and dynamic characterizations, surprises, action, was mildly humorous, and made me think about the alien characters. That is a lot more then most SciFi can deliver.

This was not a good as Forever War, but was very solid SciFi, and very solid Haldeman. I found the ending a little weak (I wished it was longer), but the rest of the book was good enough.

The narration was very good without being outstanding.
Although not Great, this is a book I might listen to again in the not too distant future.

What a great book

If you could sum up Camouflage in three words, what would they be?

Worth the credit

What other book might you compare Camouflage to and why?

The twilight zone, star trek, the movie Splash (sci- fi version) all in one

Any additional comments?

One of the better books I have listened to

Interesting concept but lacking plot

I loved the concept presented of what the changeling is, what it can do, and hearing *some* of its journey to understand humanity. However, the details into its journey were very tedious at times, going into far too much detail without much actually happening in terms of the overall story. I felt that the author hooks the readers on the questions of "Where did the Changeling come from?" and "What is it?" and we keep listening for hours to find out the answers. Then, when they are finally all revealed, it is a mere five minutes at the very end. The listeners don't really find out much that we didn't already know (it's more the characters finding out) and other questions, such as where the Chameleon came from, how it got here and what it is were completely omitted. I wish he had spent several hours less narrating all the gory details of war and sex and another solid hour explaining in greater depth about the two aliens. I felt very short-changed with the ending -- too short and far to neat and tidy. Aren't there editors at work out there to tell the author to go back and fix such issues before sending a book onto publishing??
I thought the narrator did an excellent job in both his performance and creating different voices without resorting to the horridly annoying tactic of relying on gaudy exaggerated foreign accents to distinguish characters. Great job on the narration!

Builds up to Exciting Finish

This is a very well performed eBook. The story starts with interesting scenario and then gains speed and excitement as it progresses. I plan to buy others by this team.

Good Story, Excellent Performance!

This is a mystery, science fiction, action book all in one. It is a very entertaining story that has just the right mix of science fiction and mystery. I really enjoyed this one.
Has some great war history in it also. The action scenes are nail biters.
You will not be disappointed.

keeps me thinking

the past and developing history truly defines the final product and what it contributes

an unpredictable book

Where does Camouflage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed this book more than most

What did you like best about this story?

The story line is complicated and unpredictable.

What about Eric Michael Summerer’s performance did you like?

Spoke very clearly. I am hard of hearing so I really appreciate that.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end was a neat surprise

Any additional comments?

one of the most enjoyable in a long time. First class good old fashioned Science Fiction

Couldn't stop listening 'til the end!

Okay, the idea of finding something alien down deep in the ocean is an oft-repeated story line but having the alien(s) trying to find it too was great. Fabulous fun hearing about all the different lives that the alien lived. Loved it! Excellent performance by Eric Michael Summerer.