Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
01/08/2004 . Source: Paul Hanley 
pub: Ace. 296 page hardback. Price: $23.95 (US), $36.00 (CAN). ISBN: 0-441-01161-6. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check
out website: www.penguin.com
This is a great book. A creature arrives on Earth from
a distant swarm of stars where life could not normally flourish as the planets
are in unstable orbits that makes for ferocious geological and climatic change.
Where life can retain a toe hold in such circumstances it is exceedingly
tough and adaptable. This creature was capable of forcing its own evolution by
unnatural mutation and can thus change itself as conditions vary. 
The creature arrives in a spaceship that crashes into the Pacific Ocean.
After a time, it takes the form of a Great White shark. After more time as killer
whale, dolphin and other aquatic life it swims ashore as a human - naked and ignorant.
This is in the 1930s. Most of the story is set in the immediate future,
the first few decades of the twenty-first century. In the interim the creature,
virtually immortal, learns much about human behaviour. It also has learnt a great
deal about the sea as it is drawn to professions, such as oceanographer, which
are connected to it. It knows it is very different from those around it and comes
to suspect it has come from some other planet.
When an alien artefact
is located on the seabed during the search for a lost submarine the creature tries
to infiltrate those investigating the artefact to which it feels strangely drawn.
The book is the gradual unfolding of what the creature is and why it is here.
There is a twist as there is a similar creature on the planet also looking
to discover what it can from the alien object.
I do not want to say much more
about the plot because I do not want to unnecessarily give anything away as this
is a mystery story as well as a thriller. It is well written and the writer
is able to make his scenarios seem possible and believable as well as crafting
an exciting story. He succeeds in making the alien a sympathetic character as
well as exploring fresh ideas blending scientific fact with true Science Fiction.
An excellent book which is thoroughly recommended.
Paul Hanley 
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