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Medicus: A Novel
Medicus: A Novel
Medicus: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

Medicus: A Novel

Written by Ruth Downie

Narrated by Simon Vance

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a straight thirty-six-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.

Now he has a new problem: a slave who won't talk, can't cook, and drags trouble in her wake. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar. A few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory; now he's living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next.

Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It's up to Ruso-certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire-to discover the truth. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 20, 2007
ISBN9781400173631
Medicus: A Novel
Author

Ruth Downie

Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestselling Medicus, Terra Incognita, Persona Non Grata, and Caveat Emptor. She is married with two sons and lives in Devon, England.

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Reviews for Medicus

Rating: 3.6142534420814476 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

442 ratings45 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Enjoyable reading. I appreciated the end notes about the reliability of historical fictions rather than facts. A good depictions of characters and human interactions when cultures meet and need to negotiate. I also liked the ending; given the premises it was not necessarily obvious.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Enjoyable, but I don’t feel any huge need to search out the rest of the books at the moment. [Oct. 2010]
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved the characters of Russo and Tilla. I also liked the setting of a military town in Roman Britain and felt very sorry for the women forced to work in the seedy bars/brothels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In classic mystery form, the novel opens with a dead body. But for the first third it reads more like a literary novel and even the rest of the book is driven, not so much by suspects, investigation, danger relating to the crime, but by the character of the characters. I couldn’t put it down. If Downie can sustain the quality of writing throughout the series, I will be seriously impressed.Medicus is about a doctor in ancient Britain under the occupation of the Romans. Gaius Petreius Ruso is an army doctor, recently divorced, broke and burdened by financial obligations to his extended family, a guy whose career is held back by his honesty and integrity. He is likable and believable because he is also a man of his times, with prejudices and blind spots. His exposure to a new country, its inhabitants, and the culture of occupation is a learning experience for him.So is Tilla, the young British slave whom he buys in order to nurse back to health, a feisty herbalist and midwife who would gladly bite the hand that feeds her if it gets her back to her people and the British rebellion. To her dismay, the hand belongs to a man who is much more sympathetic than she expects.The dead body is that of a young prostitute, which raises issues that are universal in time as well as place, about sex, slavery, armies, and freedom. Although the novel takes place in ancient Britain, it is typical of the latest wave of historical novels, which give a contemporary feel to language and setting and make free with some of the facts.It worked well for this book and I was completely engaged, even though normally I’m a stickler for historical accuracy, because I was rooting for Gaius and Tilla. Highly recommended. Page 17: "Ahead of him, a chorus of excited voices rose in the street. He recognized the fat man, still shouting orders in a thick Gallic accent. The female who had collapsed had now attracted a sizable crowd. They seemed to be carrying her to the fountain. Ruso tossed the last fragments of cake to a passing dog and strode on in the direction of the amphitheater. It was nothing to do with him. He was not, at this moment, a doctor. He was a private citizen in need of some bath oil… There was a sudden gasp from around the fountain. Someone cried. “Ugh! Look at that.” A child was pawing at her mother’s arm, demanding, “What is it? I can’t see! Tell me what it is!” Russo hesitated, came to a halt, and promised himself it would only be a quick look. "
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked this book even though the characters lacked depth. It was a light, fun read and the story was good enough that I kept reading to see what happened. It was also interesting that it took place in the Roman Empire. This is not my usual sort of book, but for some reason I just liked reading it.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Medicus; a novel of the Roman Empire. Ruth Downie. 2006. Well, Crimereads.com let me down on this one. I just couldn’t get into it. A Roman doctor is goes to Britannia to get away from an ex-wife and family financial problems. Several prostitutes are murdered and, against his will, he gets involved in trying to find the murderer. I didn’t finish it. Hospitals weren’t established until the middle ages and this novel is in a “hospital” that is set up like a hospital today in that he deals with charts, supply rooms, orderlies and such. I could not “willingly suspend my disbelief.”
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A.D. 117 Divorced army doctor Ruso, has decided that Britain is the place to be and so ends up in Deva (Chester). When not working, he rescues a slave, and sometimes investigates the disappearance of two female slaves who worked in the same bar. But will he find the guilty party, or even rescue his finances.
    An enjoyable historical mystery
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was looking for a new historical crime fiction series and was pleased to discover this one set in the Ancient Roman Empire. Roman Army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso has just been stationed in Deva in Britannia and immediately finds himself involved, albeit very reluctantly, with investigating the matter of some young girls who have been murdered. Deva historically was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. It was built as part of the Roman army’s advance north against the Brigantes, Celtic Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Ruso ends up taking on one of these Brigantes (or “natives” as the Romans call them) as a housemaid after he impulsively buys her. She was a slave who was injured, and it was clear her owner had no intent of getting her healed. As a doctor and a humanist he couldn't let that stand. The girl speaks only some Latin, and won’t give Ruso her name, so he ends up calling her Tilla. Far from being grateful, Tilla is way more assertive than a slave should be, and vexing to no end. But Ruso, who tries to civilize her in a “My Fair Lady” way, also grows accustomed to her face . . . . Meanwhile, Ruso manages to solve the murders, locate (sort of by accident) the culprit, and figure out what to do about Tilla.An Afterword by the author explains that she didn’t have much historical data to go on, but availed herself of what research she could, and applied her imagination for the rest of it. What she ascertained about ancient medical practices was especially illuminating and rewarding to learn.Evaluation: I didn’t like the curmudgeonly Ruso much at first, but found, like Tilla did, that he kind of grows on you after awhile. Altogether, I assessed the book as “delightful” and immediately checked out the next installment.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I had high hopes for this historical mystery, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It was very slow to start. I understand that this is the first in a series, so a great deal of world building needed to be done, but I never connected to any of the characters. Between that and the, no doubt historically accurate, casual misogyny, I found myself very irritated with the narrative and just wishing it was over. It's over now and I doubt that I will continue with the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gaius Petreius Ruso would rather just do his job as a medical doctor for a Roman legion in Britain, but when some locals bring in a dead body - unsure what else to do with it - he finds himself drawn in to find out who she was and what happened to her.This first in a series of historical mysteries featuring Medicus Ruso incorporates details of setting and medical procedures of the time that will satisfy historical fiction fans. Ruso is the kind of character who is rather reluctant to get involved, but does what he believes to be the right thing, whether that's buying a young, attractive slave girl with a broken arm, or continuing to look into the murder after those with real power have washed their hands of it. Secondary characters such as Ruso's scribe, Albanus, and his fellow doctor and erstwhile housemate, Valens, make for some fun moments as the story keeps up a compelling but not frenetic pace.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Sometimes the books assigned for reading in book clubs tend to dull the senses. Medicus by Ruth Downie set in early Rome displays interesting details of life during this time, but the writing style tended to make the story dull. Medicus is the term used for doctors, and the main character is a military doctor. The story explains the life of slaves and masters, and the terrible living conditions with mice and insects. This is the first of a series, but this reader will not continue reading this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really enjoyed this one - a satisfying mystery of ancient Britain (under Roman rule). I liked the details of medical science of the time, as well as the character development. Am looking forward to the next one in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gaius Petrius Ruso is doctor serving with a Roman legion in Britain. Not very long ago, he was married, a hero (he had saved the Emperor Trajan's life), and the elder son of a prosperous family in southern Gaul. Now he's divorced, his father has died leaving behind a mountain of debt, his brief notoriety is forgotten, and Trajan is dead. He's struggling to pay off his father's debts, with his brother at home in Gaul working to keep the real state of their finances quiet so that their efforts have time to work.

    In the meantime, he's sharing a mouse-infested with another army doctor and the previous owner's former dog, who has produced a litter of puppies. They have no servant to clean and cook for them, and their lodgings show it. Ruso has spent an unpleasant night examining the body of a dead woman fished out of the harbor, and then a long day on medical rounds. He doesn't need to buy an injured slave girl to rescue her from her sadistic owner, especially when she's too injured to work, won't talk, and will cost more to feed than she's worth.

    So of course he does.
    While he's treating the girl and coaxing her to talk, he becomes not so much interested in as worried about the deaths of two bar girls, and the lack of any investigation into their deaths. He keeps hearing more than he wants to because, to get her out of the military hospital, he rents a room for the slave girl, who finally speaks enough to decide to go by the name Tilla, upstairs in the bar. Ruso starts asking questions, and things start to happen--a burning brand through the window of his house, a trowel dropped from a rooftop and missing him only because Tilla saw it and pushed him out of the way--and his financial situation gets more and more complicated. His life is further enlivened when the hospital administrator, who has been away, returns, and demands that Tilla be pledged as collateral for the large loan he's taken out from the thanksgiving fund, to help stave of bankruptcy at home.

    Ruso is cranky, impatient, and kind and generous despite himself and despite his circumstances. He keeps asking questions even when it's hurting his chances for promotion and making his working life more difficult. Tilla is proud, independent, and has every intention of killing herself rather than working as a whore in a bar (her previous owner's plan for her). As they slowly learn to trust each other, Ruso learns more about the workings of this Roman British town than he wants to know, or is safe to know.

    This is a fascinating look at Roman Britain, with engaging characters and a good mystery at the core of it. The solution manages to be both fair and unexpected. This is the first of a series, and I'll be reading more of them.

    Recommended.

    I borrowed this book from a friend.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5


    Loved it....very entertaining. Loved Ruso and Tilla....funny and clever writing. On to the next one in the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Medicus
    3.5 Stars

    Gaius Petrius Ruso, a medicus (doctor) with the 20th Roman Legion stationed in Britannia, finds himself investigating the deaths of two prostitutes working out of a local bar. 

    While the book is heavy on establishing the setting and developing the characters, it is light on the plot and investigation of the crimes.

    Much of the story involves the day to day activities of the main character as he treats patients at the legion hospital, and becomes involved in the lives of the people of Deva (modern day Chester) due to his inadvertent rescue of a slave girl, Tilla.

    Although the information on the Roman occupation of Britain is well-researched and interesting, and the characters are fully fleshed out and appealing, it is exactly this development and attention to detail that slows the pacing of the mystery.

    Ruso's reluctant involvement in the murder is merely a secondary consequence of his relationship with Tilla, and he more or less stumbles across the culprit without any real investigation. Nevertheless, the resolution is satisfying as everyone gets their just desserts.

    All in all, a good premise, solid writing and a likable protagonist make this a decent read. I will probably continue with the series if and when I need a book set in the Roman Empire for a challenge.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Interesting characters, decently done local, this tale of a new off the boat medical officer with the Roman army in Britain who almost immediately gets tangled with young slave women living and dead and maintains his professional distance at least technically. Gaius Petreius Ruso has left behind a debt ridden family and is trying to send them enough to keep their deceased father's debts from being called due. The broken-armed slave girl he purchased could be sold for a large profit and the hard-assed administrator is into him for expenses inured for her care, no one seems interested in looking into the deaths of two slaves from the same whore-house bar where he has stashed Tilla while she heals. A pretty good read which could have used a good deal of tightening up as it was getting a bit same-old same-old 2/3 of the way through although the climax pulled together nicely.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This first mystery in a series has a unique premise: a Roman doctor on duty in Britannia, solving murders. I found it slow to start yet intriguing. The pace gradually accelerated, not so much because of drama about the murders, but because of the setting and interactions around Ruso. Ruso was an okay lead, though "the curmudgeonly divorced detective who becomes more pleasant because of a good woman" trope has been done to death. He didn't feel that unique to me. I did like how Downie handled the sensitive topic of slavery within the Roman Empire. She makes Ruso a man true to his time: he has owned slaves in the past and acquires a new one in the course of the book. It's disturbing, as well it should be, but is handled within proper context.I really enjoyed the historical setting more than the actual murder mystery plot. The villains of the story are too obvious, and the ending is rather heavy-handed with how they explain their motivations. It doesn't make me that keen on continuing the series, though the first book was a pleasant enough read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The mystery genre seems to have become overdone lately. There is a detective for every taste and from every era in history and every country on the map. There are animals solving crimes now too or acting as the more intelligent sidekicks to their human counterparts. What makes a mystery story superior for me is that it is: 1) completely light hearted and escapist or 2) it has a caustic black humor with a a dark edge or 3) it has an unusual setting and great characterizations that supercede the actual mystery or 4) it is a rollicking great adventure story that makes up for the usually weak mystery component or 5) it is a psychologically complex and taut thriller that cannot be deduced before the end of the book.

    All that being said, I actually give "Medicus" 3 and a half stars. It falls into category 3 of my above list. Although the author seems to be setting up a mystery/detective series here ( and I have already been given the second book in the series to read), the real story is the great characters, their relationships to each other and the setting.

    The story takes place during the rule of the Roman Empire and in particular the occupation of Brittania. I confess here that the Roman Empire has only occupied a passing interest for me through the years as it has related to other things I have read or influences on other interests. The last book I read regarding the Roman Empire specifically was either "I Claudius" or "Quo Vadis" in 1977. The "detective" in this story is a doctor in the service of the army named Gaius Petreius Ruso. He has been transferred to Britannia after having served in Africa and become divorced from his wife Claudia. The first thing this information inspired in me was an appreciation for how vast this empire was and a desire to know more about it.

    The author, Downie, uses the mysteryas a device to explore the characters which are interesting. The mystery also works to introduce the relationships and the complexity of those relationships - those within the hierarchy of the Roman Legion and army and between the Roman conquerors and occupiers and those people native to the lands they conquered and occupied. The exploration goes further as the story explores the cultural and social structures of that time and place.

    Some of the themes it touches on are slavery, religion, sexual mores, medicine, magic, economics and the military. In a shirt afterword, that like my previous review of "Dodger" should have probably been a forward, the author explains that despite the excellent record keeping of the Romans, there is little information beyond the archeological, of the Roman occupation of Brittania. Therefore, she used a little research and imagination to create suppositions about the relationships and interactions that might have occurred. This stimulated my own thinking about the American Empire in the world now and the relationships between the occupiers and the occupied. As for record keeping - I guess history will display keyboard cat playing people off on You Tube and a bunch of smart alecky memes from Facebook. But I digress.

    If you like the era of the Roman Empire, you will no doubt enjoy this book. The descriptions are excellent with respect to the physical culture - architecture, dress, food etc. If you are a fan of ancient Brittania, then this book will also satisfy you as it touches lightly on Druidism and ancient paganism. The characters have depth both in and of themselves and between one another and the keys to both identities never devolve into simplistically wound up story solutions. The mystery as such, is a useful device that doesn't detract from the more interesting aspects of the story being told.

    This is a pretty quick read at 384 pages. For fast readers, a two day book. The chapters are those short 2-3 pagers so you can move along at a good clip. This is an easy book to pick up and put down. As such, it won't keep you awake all night but it holds your interest. It will also stimulate your interest in the era and maybe provide you with some thought provoking questions.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoy the way Ruth writes. She writes short action filled chapters that are concise and humorous. She has a welcome appreciation of history, religion, healing, and mystery. I find her approach satisfying. He characters express diversity and life.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A good historical mystery. I loved learning about Britain and Rome as the main character is a Roman but the setting is Britain.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Approached with some suspicion that I woild find a cheap Falco clone, but pleased to find Ruso has his own personality and enjoyed the tale and context.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This glib tale starts by straddling between Ancient Egypt and more modern times, without introducing a basis for this odd pairing. One has found that straddling without a firm foundation can be painful; I abandoned the book before I could confirm that my experience would be repeated. Ah, well. It was free.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An interesting look at Britain when the Romans were already deeply invested in Britannia. Ruso is a medical doctor who arrives at Deva to serve with the XX Legion stationed there. He brings his problems with him, of course, and makes things worse when he intervenes in a local disturbance. He winds up treating a nearly dead slave, doing an autopsy on a dead one, and locking horns with his superiors.Quite a well drawn world, which certainly felt believable. I enjoyed the characters and hope to read more of the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Newly arrived in Britannia after a stint in Africa, medicus Ruso of the Roman army finds himself in increasingly difficult circumstances after he is asked to examine a woman's corpse found in the river. Ruso's questions about the woman's death lead him to a local bar/brothel, but the proprietor and the women who work there aren't forthcoming with answers. Ruso's new slave, Tilla, whom Ruso had rescued from a slave trader, proves herself useful as a source of information about the goings-on at the bar. Will Tilla's knowledge put her in danger, too? Meanwhile, Ruso has to adjust to the hospital bureaucracy in his new posting. His feckless fellow doctor, Valens, is often a hindrance rather than a help in this process.This novel didn't completely succeed as either historical fiction or a mystery. It has a Flintstones feel to it, as if a Roman dressing has been superimposed on contemporary situations and attitudes. Although Ruso asks a lot of questions, he doesn't deduce anything from them. Most of the answers to the puzzles are revealed through confession(s) by the culprit(s). I'm reading the series out of order, having started with the fourth book, so I know the series gets better. It's worth reading this one just to see Ruso try to keep a handle on Tilla and Valens.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gaius Peteius Ruso is a sad-sack doctor with a heart bigger than is convenient in this historical mystery that takes place in the Roman colony of Brittania. Burdened with family obligations he tries to make do with as little as possible to survive. He eats leftovers from his hospital, he shares a room in a building slated for demolition with another doctor, he has sold all of his good furniture, and has to forward advances on his salary back home to his brother to cover debts left by his deceased father in order to keep the farm in Gaul in his family's name. The last thing he needed was to buy a young slave with a broken arm and no housekeeping skills. Poking his nose into the death of a woman who was found in the river probably wasn't good for him either.There is a wry sense of humor in this book as we follow him through his days and learn about the life of a doctor in a Roman military outpost. The doorman was, as Priscus had claimed, quite dead. He lifted the man's shoulders, then lowered him onto the counter again and stepped away. There appeared to be more than one wound, and all were in the back. It did not look like self-defense.There were a few scenes that seemed to be anachronistic but then I realized that they just showed that some things never changed. One scene reminded me of when I was undergoing surgery with local anesthesia and a little annoyed that the staff was discussing their plans for Christmas parties while I was awake and listening. In this story, Ruso and his friend are discussing the new emperor while setting Tilla's broken arm.I liked this protagonist and will try to find more of this series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Entertaining look at a legionary medicus in a backwater of the Roman Empire. One of the best features of the book is its insight into master/slave relationships: what were the legal limits, the social limits, etc. The mystery itself was well done and the clues were fair to the reader. Good enough to merit reading the second book in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Curmudgeon & army doctor Gaius Ruso has just been stationed in Brittania, the back of beyond & far from civilization. His living quarters are filthy, his finances poor, the hospital administrator a petty tyrant, and his finances are stretched further when he rescues an injured young woman slave from an abusive owner. When young women from the local bar aka whorehouse start turning up murdered, he is reluctantly drawn by the locals into investigating it. In the meantime he grows attached to the intelligent & defiant slave woman, and she too becomes entangled in the mystery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Medicus was well written and enjoyable. I read a lot of historical fiction but i haven't read much if anything about this time period in Britain. It was interesting to get the little snippets about the politics and daily life during this time. I also liked the medical references which seemed very advanced considering overtime most of this medical knowledge was lost and not rediscovered for centuries. I found the characters enjoyable and look forward to seeing their development in the subsequent books in this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A decent story but a bit anachronistic.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Although little is known about the everyday lives of Romans a couple thousand years ago, I found the attempted reconstruction too anachronistic to not jump out at me on every page. The story was somewhat entertaining outside this, given a fairly well developed protagonist, Ruso, with wry humor. Ruso's slave rescue/love interest? was a pretty flat character however. I'm not sure if I'll read the next installment.