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Title: Engrossing reading... until the very end
Review: I apparently must echo what other reviewers have said about Camouflage. Good, bordering on great if but for the end.The first few hundred pages of the novel focus mainly on the alien changeling's initially fumbling attempts to be human. It uses myriad identities over the span of a century to better understand humanity, but also to find out exactly what it truly is. To a lesser degree, Haldeman tackles the "chameleon" who is no less intelligent but is motivated by more primal, baser instincts.The final part of the novel focuses both on the key to unlocking the changeling's and chameleon's identities as well as on the changeling's final lesson in what makes human beings unique. The problem, as other reviewers have noted, is that the denouement seems more than a bit rushed... almost a stock HEA ending, in fact. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Haldeman's excellent writing: his attention to detail and well fleshed-out characters.
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