Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire
by Ruth Downie
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 145)
Read in June, 2008
recommended to Sue by:
Saw the sequel at library, decided to read in orderrecommends it for: Mystery buffs, historical mystery fans
I finished this late last week - it seemed slow to start, but it was a good read. I just had a hard time getting into it, as I'm currently reading a few books. I saw the sequel at the library, and the comments on the back about the first book made me want to give it a try - I'm glad I did. Interesting characters and great dialogue, LOL at times. I realize from the author's afterword that not much is known about Roman Britain, so I feel it's a bit unfair to criticize her historical accuracy as so...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Essfair by:
LJrecommends it for: readers who like Lindsey Davis
Ruso—our hero—arrives in the British town of Deva (aka Chester, England) and tries to settle in. He has a history—a divorced wife, a family with lots of money problems. He can’t seem to help getting involved in local problems beginning with his attempt to save a young girl with a broken arm from her bully of an owner. He is a doctor for the local Roman military post and keeps getting called out to deal with dead bodies of local prostitutes. Ruso’s curiosity about who killed the girls g...more
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Read in May, 2008
Awesome book! I've already ordered the second one (and in hardback too, so proof that I really liked this one). I read pretty much every Roman murder mystery series out there and this ranks at the top. Usually ones set in England aren't that good--mainly because of ahistorical lingo--drags me out of the story to have centurions say "bugger" or what I consider UK lingo.
The detective is Ruso, an overworked physician attatched to the army, desparately trying to keep his family afloat...more
The detective is Ruso, an overworked physician attatched to the army, desparately trying to keep his family afloat...more
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Read in March, 2008
Currently reading this and I find it rather exasperating. Her style is packed with dialogue but not very descriptive, and it's set in Roman Britain! (Point being, I'd like more visual descriptions of the characters and atmospherics of the place.) It's taking forever to get to the point where I care about the characters--I'm about halfway through. I just don't buy the dialogue either, having studied Latin in school. Wish I liked the main character more, wish I was rooting for him to get together ...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of ancient mysteries
Ruth Downie really makes Roman Britain come alive. Good writing. This story chronicles a month in the life of a Roman physician recently posted to Britain in the late first, early second century, AD. Britain was not the place to be at this time. Recently pacified and still resentful, the locals have no love for their conquerors. This theme is the undercurrent for two murders, the goings on in a local whore house, and the running of the local base hospital.
It doesn't sound like much, but Down...more
It doesn't sound like much, but Down...more
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Very enjoyable historical fiction, where the concerns of the characters remain true to the times rather than 21st-century psychology. If you've every toured Hadrian's Wall in February (which I have), you'll know why these warm-blooded Italians were so very cold and miserable in their posting. Although the author made up her hospital bureaucracy, according to her notes, there's solid evidence that the Romans occupying Britain loved to keep lists of everything, write home for warm socks,and thro...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
This is an amazingly hilarious, engaging read. I was surprised actually because I bought the book, not really expecting it to be worth anything (I'm notoriously picky about the authors I read and rarely pick up a new authors book unless it's been recommended to me). I was surprised at the comedy of errors for poor Ruso, the hero of the story and how he manages to solve the mystery of three murders, despite his adamant refusal that he's investigating them. Worth the read, to be sure.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone who likes historical fiction
This is a classic detective story told about an unusual place (the Roman province of Brittania around the 2nd century AD). The elements are all here: a down on his luck detective, a mysterious woman, a murder; and Downie keeps us interested. The ending, or at least the last chapter, was a disappointment to me; but maybe I'm a traditionalist in that I think the hardboiled detective should never really get the girl . . .
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Read in December, 2007
The merging of contemporary CSI/Law & Order style investigation with the trapping of ancient Britain made for a really fun read. Although slightly predictable in some areas, the some what anachronistic (for lack of a better word) way with which the characters and situations (i.e. Pricius as an controlling pain-in-ass manager) were presented made up for it.
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Read in June, 2007
This is one of the most enjoyable mysteries I've read. It's Downie's first book, and also the first of a series with the same characters. The protagonist is a down-on-his-luck doctor with the Roman army in Britain. The author has a great sense of humor that comes through in her writing, and the story is hard to put down.
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Very good Roman-era mystery by someone who hasn't, as far as I know, written anything like this before. The author is trying to write a good mystery rather than give you a history lesson, which is all to the good. At times it sort of seems like "St. Elsewhere" set in Roman Britain, but that's kind of entertaining.
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I listened to this and found it very enjoyable! Great narrator and the story kept moving along. On a personal note it resonated for its setting in Deva, Brittania (current day Chester, England.)If you're looking for a light, easy, entertaining historical mystery, this would be worth your time.
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This one is a fun read for the history buff. The protagonist, a doctor in the Roman Legion is one of the more memorable debut characters this year. Funny, interesting, and engaging. They mystery is a little weak in this character piece, but that does not really get in the way here.
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Read in May, 2008
A pretty good story. The two protagonists are engaging, a slave girl who heals, and a doctor in the Roman army stationed in Briton. Despite themselves they cannot help doing the right thing. A bit anchronistic, and not a great piece of literature by any means.
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Fun historical fiction. Set in Britain during the Roman empire (pre-Hadrian's wall), but it reads more like a modern snarky detective book. The main character is an army medic who becomes a reluctant forensic detective.
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Ruth Downie is a little darker than Lindsey Davis, and not as historical as Steven Saylor. Still, an enjoyable read, though, like her earlier book, I found there were a few too many characters for me to really follow.
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A great read. Poor, put-upon Ruso, the title character, is funny and aggravated as he gets dragged into a murder investigation that he wants nothing to do with. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.
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This book is interesting, but annoyingly mixes present-day American things with the Roman, like measuring things in inches. I'm going to finish it, but its not at the top of my list.
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Read in May, 2007
I'm not a big mystery reader, but I did like this. Mostly for the setting--Roman-occupied Britain--but I also liked the characters a lot too. This may be a series I follow.
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Read in June, 2008
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't as fast-paced as some current day detective stories, but I thought the perspective on the Roman empire in Brittania was fascinating.
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