Medicus

A Novel of the Roman Empire

By: Ruth Downie

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

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 today as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a 36-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 and 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.

©2007 Ruth Downie (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Downie's auspicious debut sparkles with beguiling characters and a vividly imagined evocation of a hazy frontier." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fans of Alexander McCall Smith will delight in this series debut set in Roman-occupied Britain and featuring wry army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso." (Booklist)

Medicus- worth the read

Medicus, the tale of a Roman physician in Britain, is a different and entertaining mystery. Sometimes droll, chuckle out loud with nary a smoking gun in sight, because- hey, no guns back then, the story is well crafted and the narration is excellent. I highly recommend this audio book.

Ahhhh those Romans

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The daily challenges of life in Roman times was portrayed nicely. The story was interesting though the chastity our the doctor seemed more than believe able. For a good story I can suspend that to a degree. The characters were interesting and the plot moved along nicely. The reader stayed in the background. He allowed the story to tell itself. There were a few characters I was not able to distinguish but they were minor players. Good storytelling

Uneven start but engaging last quarter

Almost gave up on the first half but stuck with it for a tremendous last half. The "Romaness" of the story didn't grab me but the plot twist and development of the two main characters - Russo and Tila - came on strong. The affectation of the female voice is not always appealing otherwise a good narration.

Slavery and Roman times

This is a cleaned up story about a far out post of the Roman army in Britain. It is well done and fun to listen to. I have listened to it many times, and it always is fun. It is a fun mystery to send people to if they are tired of the same old story line, this is a new take on a serial killer.

Wonderful characters and simple mystery

This is the first book of Ruth Downie’s Medicus series, featuring Roman Army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso and his companion Tilla. The greatest strength in Medicus is the strong characters - most notably Ruso and Tilla. Ruso is recently divorced and seeking to escape from a troubling family financial situation by working for the Roman Army in Britain. There he meets native Briton Tilla who becomes his disobedient slave as he investigates a series of missing and murdered women, deals with his boss who is the ultimate bureaucrat, and relates to his glad-handing friend who got him his posting. The mystery itself is mediocre, and I often felt myself impatient with the slow pace of the mystery’s development. I loved the characters of both Ruso and Tilla. Ruso is gentle, kind, somewhat befuddled socially, but he tries to do the right thing. Tilla is a wonderfully unique character. All told a delight to read. Simon Vance was perfect as narrator.

Fantastic story, wonderful characters

As a history buff, this was a very enjoyable ride into the past of Brittania.

Highly Entertaining

The first installment of a highly entertaining mystery by British writer Ruth Downie. The Medicus, Ruso, an army doctor becomes a reluctant detective who tries to solve a murder mystery in the Britannia port of Deva. Along the way, he matches wits with Tilla, his slave girl, the hospital thug, and the women of the bordello, to hilarious results. Top it off with excellent narration by the great Simon Vance, and you've got a good read.

great book

The story is pleasing, the tone is enjoyable. The characters are fantastic. The narrator is good (not Scott Brick good, but only 3rd narrator I want to try books based on his voice).

I can think of nothing bad to say about this bood. I heartily recommend it

Entertaining

Entertaining--not historically accurate, but the main character is determinedly grumpy and yet a softie on the inside! I'd love to see a continuation of the series, it was worth listening to.

All hail the power of Rome

I thought this novel to be fantastic. The storyline along with the history was brillant!!And to top it off the talents of the narrator were exceptional!! If you like Roman history or anything to do with Rome then this book is for you