Ruth DownieRezensionen

I love historical mysteries/adventures. Downie stays true to the time period in this simply sweet series. Her characters and places are remarkably believable as are all the small details of life in AD 123.

Funny, I wonder if there is a bit of truth in the way the "barbarians" underestimated the Romans by their effete appearance. Sadly, the tribe leaders met with maybe the least impressive, Claudius. Tragically so.

I've always found it odd that the Romans wiped out the Druid practice/religion when they pretty much left all others alone, even encouraging people to build temples in Rome to foreign gods.

Interesting the self-interest on display when the outraged Britons quake under the prospect of becoming Roman slaves when they enslave each other with abandon.

Not sure I'll finish this. It's a foregone conclusion and there is a ton of grisly action and cruelty, to be expected with war, but I'll never listen to it again even if I do get through it. Back to Audible it will go.

Ok, I made it through, but skipped over some more gratuitous passages - droning on about curses and battle blows. It strikes me, in the fierce pride of the women in the book, that the only way they can have any agency is to adopt the bloodthirsty violence made the cultural norm by men. Behaving with gentleness, kindness, compassion and compromise are all weak and despised. Why? Because they are the default position of many women? Because they don't result in absolute domination and oppression? Why do we value those qualities in humans over the others? Why are we, and by we I mean the culture as a whole and men in particular, so afraid of that other side to us? Sometimes called the feminine side, but I don't think it's that specific. It's just been nearly completely wiped out of so much of how we think of ourselves and what we consider normal and natural. Sad really. We never learn and it will be the end of us one day. And, sadly, probably all life on earth as we know it.

It's MASH meets Ancient Rome! Ruso is the Hawkeye Pierce of Britannia.

Thoroughly fun mind-candy. I listened to it on audiobook and probably enjoyed it even more in that form.

This. Was. So. Good! Reading about tragic historical events is so bittersweet. On the one hand, I'm learning about a new era and meeting engaging characters. On the other, I know they're basically all going to die. It's like meeting a new friend only for them to suddenly move away, but the time I spent with this book was still so rewarding, that I recommend you read this book anyway.

My favorite stories were Dray's The Queen, Quinn's The Warrior, and Knight's The Daughters. These stories were poignant and full of soul. Dray's Cartimandua was a perfect foil to Boudica while Knight's Sorcha and Keena were the perfect vehicle to show us the infamous warrior queen. They sacrifices really sung from the page. As for Quinn, she wrote about the epic battle, which was heart-wrenching, even though I knew what was going to happen. What made it so sad was Duro and Valeria. Quinn really brought them to life. I understood and sympathized with both of them, which is no easy feat when the characters are sworn enemies. Quinn is truly masterful.

Middle of the road for me was Downie's The Slave, Shecter's The Druid, and Turney's The Son. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about them. I guess their stories felt kind of small to me compared to the ones I liked.

My least favorite story was Whitfield's The Tribune about Agricola. I found this story dragged, and I had a hard time understanding how it related to the rest of the narrative. Eventually, it made sense, but it felt very detached and slow. I think this was partially because this is one of the few stories that doesn't get split up between two perspectives, so it was a bit of a slog to get through.

If you like doomed histories, you'll love this!

Gaius Russo move to new post to find that there have been mysterious deaths and injuries among British recruits but the more questions he answers the more he is obstructed and threatened. Imminent arrival of Emperor Hadrian brings matters to a crux as Russo and his wife are in conflict over actions.

3.5 stars , With Simon Vance narration, good story.

Having finished reading the series, I'm reviewing the series as a whole (apart from Book 1).

The series is set in and around the Northwestern Roman Empire, starting in Deva (Chester) in Book 1), travelling around Britain, Gaul and Rome before finishing in Aquae Sulis (Bath). I found most of the books fairly slow going and hard to get into; the plotting seemed somewhat diffuse and to my mind the storylines needed pruning a bit. They appear to be fairly well researched with a list of (semi-)generalist sources in each one. How accurate the depiction of legionary medicine is I don't know; however, given Roman bureaucracy, I see no reason not to believe there was a formal medical corps attached to each legion if only to keep the legionaries fit and able to fight.

I did find the characters not particularly sympathetic, especially the minor female characters. Are all teen-aged girls really that silly in an occupied country when living round an army base? I found that somewhat hard to believe. Even in my youth (living near a Marine base), there was not that much silliness going on. I did find Ruso a bit un-superstitious for a believable Roman, although being a doctor he would have more contact with Greek thought than usual via his medical training. I suspect this was to provide a greater contrast with Tillia, his Brigantan wife who was noticeably more spiritually inclined than her husband, to the point of being a Christian sympathiser.

I would have preferred the writing to be denser; the chapters were fairly short and generally seemed to be a single scene or conversation only. This made for a bit of a choppy read; I would have preferred longer chapters with a bit more description of what was going on.

Overall, I would class the series as a holiday read; especially if you are visiting the various places of the book settings. The two non-British books did seem like they were written in response to a family holiday in the area, especially the one set in Roman Gaul.

See review for book 8.

See review for book 8.

See review for book 8.

See review for book 8.

See review for book 8.

Got this in a Kindle Daily deal some time ago and got the rest of the series in a Big Deal a few months later. I had owned 2 & 3 in hard copy some years ago but they were disposed of when I moved house. I've finally got around to reading the full series.

I found this a slow book. Whereas I liked the Romano-British setting, I found the slow pacing hard to get into and it made me not really care about the characters. I also found the plot somewhat confused and the title character not very sympathetic.

An OK read.

This story was made more interesting, despite its length, by the fact that I have been in the area in which it is set, just south of Hadrian's Wall, at least a couple of times.

I am always surprised too at how Ruth Downie makes the characters and situations feel so modern, despite the fact that historically it is set in Roman Britain, and life would have been horrendously primitive by our standards.

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

Gaius Petreius Ruso is a career soldier in the Roman army and has recently transferred to the 20th Legion in Deva (modern day Chester) from Africa. Things are very different in Britannia. Not only is the weather dismal but the locals are rebellious and they speak British. Ruso is recovering from a divorce and the death of his father in Gaul. His father has left ruinous debts and so Ruso is constantly trying to send money to his brother who is looking after the family farm in Gaul.

His money seems to be going the wrong way. His lodgings are near the hospital but are filthy, and due to be demolished. He desperately needs someone to cook and clean, but instead ends up rescuing a British slave at a price he can ill afford, and she has a broken arm.

Girls from a local cafe/bordello keep turning up dead, and Ruso becomes a reluctant detective as he tries to work out what is happening. And then his new slave Tilla runs away and Ruso finds he has got used to having her around.

Much of this introduction to life on the frontier of the Roman Empire is seen from the point of view of the conquered rather than the conquerors. We see at first hand the impact of slave trafficking as well as the way in which the conquerors try to impose the "Roman way" onto the locals. The author has created sufficiently likeable central characters in Ruso and Tilla for me to investigate where things go in the second book in the series.

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.”

When an army friend is accused of murdering his wife in Augua Sulla Ruso leaves his farm in N. Britain and goes to investigate.

Roman doctor in Britain rescues beaten slave and becomes involved in mystery of murder of local prostitutes

Satisfying. Pertinax makes a good terrible patient. Tilla continues to find that her identity is located neither in the community she came from nor with the Romans but in both. Loved all the family developments in every direction. I was wondering what would happen once Virana had her baby...

Just the right balance of explanations and not in this book for me. Some of the earlier ones have left me a little baffled. Satisfying end too!
I recommend this series as well as Lindsey Davis's Falco series as clever well written mysteries set in ancient Rome. Not sure if it's an actual career track for historian/writers but these two are the stars.

Am happily suspending my disbelief for this series. Lots of characters to root for (Albanus, Ruso, Tilla, Firmus, Camma's baby).

She does well at the separate voices of her characters. There is a very military feel to the stories' setting. I'm hooked.