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Medicus: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,465 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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.
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"I loved this book! Our hero, Medicus, a doctor in ancient Roman-occupied Britain, is a fascinating and totally lovable guy. The book jacket compares him to young Harrison Ford, and I think that's perfect--surly, oblivious to his own charm, professional, and totally adorable underneath a mildly prickly exterior. The writing somehow makes it easy to imagine living in Deva, Brittania (an area in a period I know nothing about) and all the characters are well-written and very engaging. I am really looking forward to the sequel, Terra Incognita, and any further adventures of Gaius Petreius Ruso."
— Laura (4 out of 5 stars)
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Wonderfully entertaining...I hope Downie is planning a series. Ruso is too good a character for just one book.
— Newsweek -
“Ruso will be a hit even if he wears socks with his sandals…The beginning of an addictively escapist series.”
— Times (London) -
“Ruso is a comic invention whose fumblings lead him to the truth in spite of himself, and a character you can warm to.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Enthralling.”
— Daily Express (London) -
“Fans of Alexander McCall Smith will delight in this series debut…A strong start for Downie, whose series joins those by Lindsay Davis and Stephen Saylor on the ancient Rome beat but adds a bit more humor to the mix of period detail and suspense.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Downie’s auspicious debut sparkles with beguiling characters and a vividly imagined evocation of a hazy frontier.”
— Publishers Weekly
Medicus Listener Reviews
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" i was not sure about this but...i was pleasantly surprised, very different type of subject, will read the series "
— Annie, 2/17/2014 -
" Ms. Downie has created an engaging character in her Roman doctor Ruso. I'll definitely read her second tale of Ruso in ancient Britannia. "
— Kirby, 2/6/2014 -
" slow pace... i was already in the middle of the book but i was still wondering, what's the story? but all in all, a good debut novel. "
— din, 2/3/2014 -
" Very different story line - House meets the Roman Legion! I read all of the books and loved them. "
— Karen, 2/2/2014 -
" My second reading and found it better than the first time. Book is in my permanent library. I had not been tracking Ms. Downie and find there are two more books in the series! "
— Delta, 1/26/2014 -
" Nice Mystery set in the time of the Roman invasions into Britian. "
— Zgardenldy, 1/19/2014 -
" I don't usually read historical fiction and I almost never read mystery novels. That being said, I genuinely liked this book. I am planning to read the next in the series. It made me want to read more non-fiction about this era. "
— Jody, 1/2/2014 -
" A good historical mystery. The main character is a buffon (in a good way), pretty funny, good characters. "
— Tanya, 12/11/2013 -
" A great historical mystery that really brings Roman age Britain to life. "
— Dharma, 12/5/2013 -
" More serious than Falco, but still humourous in parts. My kind of Roman era historical fiction, and this one is a mystery too! "
— Cleoqc, 10/29/2013 -
" Delightful discovery, nicely read. Good world building. Made my trip to Seattle and back bearable. "
— Alisa, 8/29/2013 -
" Funny and charming. "
— Nora, 7/11/2013 -
" The reading by Simon Vance is wonderful and the author, Ruth Downie, does a marvelous job weaving her fictional accounts of Britannia under Roman rule with the sparce facts available. The characters are interesting and the story satisfying. I look forward to the next installment. "
— Sue, 12/5/2012 -
" Avery good story; a very good character; very well written. I started reading and stayed with it until I finished. "
— Gabriella, 10/7/2012 -
" It was ok. I got it for free on Kindle or I wouldn't have read it, but I was intrigued by it being set in the Roman Empire. Not the best, but I guess I enjoyed it well enough. "
— Patty, 3/3/2012 -
" Ancient Rome, under-appreciated physician protagonist--what's not to love? Just my type! "
— Khuck, 8/31/2011 -
" I listened to this book as an audiobook and while it wasn't as good as Lindsay Davis' work, it wasn't terrible either. For those that like Roman historical fiction and have an interest in Roman Britain, this is a must read. "
— Dave, 5/5/2011 -
" I like it. Set in the days of the Roman Empire in the outpost that is now Great Britain, a medic/doctor for the Roman army finds himself involved in a murder mystery. "
— Mimi, 5/1/2011 -
" I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! The plots intertwined & somehow Downie wrote in such a way that I forgot that it was historical fiction. I was glad that I had a 2nd book to continue enjoying the characters that I was routing for! "
— Tclearyn3, 4/13/2011 -
" Pretty cool whodunit but set in roman occupied Britain. Gives a different scenario from the typical detective novels. "
— Michael, 4/11/2011 -
" Ways to improve this series 1) more Tilla 2) fewer back-pattingly clever tangents on Roman hospital administration. <br/><br/> "
— Anu, 4/9/2011 -
" Meh. Wouldn't bother. Ostensibly set in Roman occupied England, but you'd never really know it apart from the occasional mention of legionnaires. Could have been anywhere and almost any when really. Characters were as deadly dull as the plot. "
— Jon, 3/28/2011 -
" I liked the storyteller's humor more than the story itself, but overall it's a quick enjoyable read about a doctor in the Roman legion when they occupied Britain. "
— Michele, 3/17/2011
About Ruth Downie
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestseller Medicus, as well as Terra Incognita, Persona Non Grata, Caveat Emptor, Semper Fidelis, and Tabula Rasa. She is married with two sons and lives in Devon, England.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.