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    Terra Incognita: A Novel of the Roman Empire
    Terra Incognita: A Novel of the Roman Empire
    Terra Incognita: A Novel of the Roman Empire
    Audiobook11 hours

    Terra Incognita: A Novel of the Roman Empire

    Written by Ruth Downie

    Narrated by Simon Vance

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    About this audiobook

    It is spring in the year 118, and Hadrian has been emperor of Rome for less than a year. After his long and reluctant investigation of the murders of a handful of local prostitutes, Gaius Petreius Ruso needs to get out of town. With that in mind, he has volunteered for a posting with the army in the far reaches of Britannia-a calmer place for a tired man.

    But the edge of the Roman Empire is a volatile place; the independent tribes of the North dwell near its borders. These hinterlands are the homeland of Ruso's slave, Tilla, who has scores of her own to settle there: Her tribespeople, under the leadership of the mysterious Stag Man, are fomenting a rebellion against Roman control; and her former lover is implicated in the grisly murder of a soldier. Ruso, once again unwillingly pulled into the murder investigation, is appalled to find that Tilla is still spending time with the prime suspect. Worse, he is honor-bound to try to prove the man innocent--and the army wrong-by finding another culprit. Soon both Ruso's and Tilla's lives are in jeopardy, as is the future of their burgeoning romance.

    Terra Incognita shines light on a remote corner of the ancient world, where Ruso's luck is running short-again.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 14, 2008
    ISBN9781400176670
    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 Terra Incognita

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    • 3/5
      I do not know what it is about this series of books. I like them very much, in fact this is the second one I have read, but I have the same problem with each one. It takes me a very long time to get into the book. This one languished on my to-read pile for months. I picked it up, read a few pages, moved on to another book. I re-started it at least eight times. But once I started it in earnest, it only took me a few days to read it. It marks the return of Dr. Gaius Petreus Ruso, a member of the Roman legions stationed in Britannia. He is marching with the legions to a northern outpost with his trusty slave/housekeeper/lover Tilla at his side. He had been a bit bored in Deva and wanted to see some action.The region they are headed is also Tilla's original home. She is, as always, difficult to handle for Ruso – even more so now that she is on home turf. They wander into a new mystery when a soldier is killed and beheaded in an alley. The head is missing, the doctor who runs the outpost has lost his mind, the hospital is in disarray and someone called “The Stag Man” by the locals is sabotaging the legion.Ruso as usual bumbles into the middle of things and figures out what is happening. Tilla and he reach a new level in their relationship and readers will learn a little more about Tilla which helps round out her character a bit more. The chapters aren't long – three or four pages so its not chapter length that holds me back. It is however historical fiction and you have to be in the mood to read that kind of book. Not on the same level in any way but “The Name of the Rose” gave me the same challenge. Getting into the language and historical period just took me a long time.This book offers a lot to readers – mystery, historical fiction of an era not often represented and great characters. It is also a series (!) with at least one more book that I know of available so those that fall in love can be assured of at least three books before suffering withdrawal.
    • 3/5
      The end of almost every chapter was cut off mid sentence.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant , i loved it ! Well read and fantastic
    • 3/5
      The reader does a wonderful job, and I love the setting, but this particular upload is damaged. Many of the chapters cut off a few moments or even minutes before the end.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      This is the second installment of a historical crime fiction series set in the Ancient Roman Empire. Hapless Roman Army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso has volunteered to leave his post in Deva, where he has served the past eight months, and travel with a contingent of the army to the northern borders of Roman Britannia to a fort at Ulucium. Ruso explained to his best friend and colleague Valens:“There’s a couple of centuries [military units consisting of (originally) 100 men] going up to help revamp the fort, fix their plumbing, and encourage the taxpayers.”Ruso was persuaded to go in part because he was frustrated with his assignments in Deva, and in part because of his girlfriend, the former slave Tilla. Tilla came from the region around Ulucium and she wanted to visit her home. She also claimed it was a beautiful area.When they arrived, Ruso found out that the regular medic was ill, so the fort Prefect [administrative official] assigned Ruso to fill in, and while he was at it, to get the infirmary in shape. Ruso quickly discovered that “a country outpost serving six hundred men [was not] run in the same way as a legionary hospital serving five thousand.” And this was not a positive difference.Ruso had one more complicated job as well, regarding the recent murder of Felix, a soldier at the post. Ruso was to examine the body of Felix and write up his findings in a “politically correct” way. The problem was that the regular medic, Thessalus, confessed to the murder. The Prefect believed Thessalus was innocent but had gone insane, telling Ruso “we need to get him to withdraw his confession before anyone hears about it, and find out who told him how the victim was killed.” The Prefect intended to arrest a native believed actually to have committed the crime. But the Prefect didn't want the natives to think the man arrested was just a scapegoat, which would arouse their ire. So in essence, Ruso needed to solve the crime. Ruso said he would do his best, musing “he had a sloppy health service to shape up, a politically sensitive postmortem to carry out, and a deranged colleague. The holiday was definitely over.”While Ruso was occupied with all of that, Tilla went to her former home, which was nearby, and met up again with her former boyfriend. Altogether, Ruso was very unhappy, and stuck in a politically sensitive quagmire.Evaluation: I am thoroughly enjoying the “adventures” of Ruso and Tilla, even though both of them are frustrating and prone to miscommunicating with one another. Moreover, the Ancient Roman Empire is a cruel and violent place, and Ruso is so often clueless he usually ends up on the wrong end of the stick. But the books are informative, funny, and entertaining, and I fully intend to keep reading the series.
    • 4/5
      I am a sucker for historical mysteries especially when the historical period is prior to the 15th century. Think the Cadfael books by Ellis Peters and Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death. (Although the Shardlake series set in the 16th century are pretty fine as well.) This book is set well before those ones in the first century AD when Emperor Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire. It is perhaps not as good as the ones I have mentioned but still quite interesting for shedding light on the Roman occupation of Britain.Doctor Gaius Petrius Ruso is attached to the Twentieth Legion which is heading north. Ruso has a slave housekeeper accompanying him. Tilla is from the area near where Ruso will be stationed. She was kidnapped by some northern brigands and the rest of her family was killed. Some three years later she came into Ruso's keeping. Tilla warms Ruso's bed as well as cooking and looking after him. He treats her fairly well but she is still a slave. When the army reaches Coria they find that a trumpeter stationed there has been killed and beheaded. It looks like the work of a native rebel but the doctor working in the fort of Coria has gone to the commander and confessed he is the perpetrator. Ruso is asked to temporarily fill in as the fort's doctor and also to examine the body. Ruso takes his mandate as rather more encompassing than that and he starts to investigate the trumpeter's movements prior to his death. It seems that there might be motives other than stirring up a rebellion for killing this particular man. The fort commander wants the case dealt with before the governor arrives in a few days. While Ruso is looking into the murder Tilla goes to check out her family's farm and finds that an old lover, Rianorix, is living there. As it is late Tilla stays with him overnight and so, when the Roman soldiers come to arrest him for the trumpeter's murder, they bring Tilla in as well. Ruso is quite jealous and the reader begins to suspect that he feels more for Tilla than the usual slaveowner would. Tilla swears that Rianorix did not kill the trumpeter. Will Ruso let his jealousy sway his investigation or will he look into all the possible motives?I really liked Tilla who is feisty and smart. She seems likely to succeed at whatever she wants to do. Ruso seems more bumbling than the usual sleuth but that is part of his charm. I learned a little about the Roman Empire in Britain. I'm pretty sure that I visited this area on my first trip to Britain in 1968 which makes the book a little more special.
    • 3/5
      Gaius Petreius Ruso, a medicus with the Twentieth Legion in Rome's Britain, travels to a small outpost near where his slave girl, Tilla, lived before her abduction by a rival tribe. When he arrives, he finds that a "stag man" has been hounding the Roman troops there, and a man has been killed in the traditional way of the tribes. There are several possible suspects, including the doctor of the clinic, so Ruso is asked to put the clinic in order as well as help solve the mystery.I enjoy the setting the most in these books, as Downie has clearly done her research but inserts it so cleanly into the story that you almost don't notice. Ruso and Tilla are starting to get on my nerves; he's a bit of a bumbling buffoon who won't really listen to her, and she chooses not to tell him things and will answer his questions exactly rather than addressing what he actually means. The close third-person narration mostly follows Ruso, but also Tilla at times, making the reader more aware of what's going on than the investigator. I didn't find the ending very satisfying - and admittedly, I'm very much not a fan of the "issues we could've figured out if we had a five-minute conversation" plot device and since I was listening to it, I do tend to miss details and may not have picked up on things that were more subtle - and I probably will stick to histories of Britain at this point. But the dialogue is sometimes quite humorous and Simon Vance does an excellent job narrating, as always.
    • 4/5
      This second entry in Downie's Roman mystery series brings a change of scene. Worn out and mentally exhausted from his unwilling investigation of the deaths of several local prostitutes, Gaius Petreius Ruso fondly imagines that accepting a short mission to the north of Britain with the 20th Legion will be a nice rest for him and an opportunity for Tilla to visit what remains of her family. They'll be just south of what will soon be Hadrian's Wall, with tribes not yet fully reconciled to Roman rule on both sides of the border. What could possibly go wrong?

      The accident on the road, when they are nearly there, the oxen pulling a wagon bolting and the brakes failing, resulting in deaths and major injuries, is just the beginning. And it is not, of course, an accident. The brakes were cut.

      They arrive at the fort that's their destination to discover that a soldier has been gruesomely murdered. Even worse, Tilla's old lover is the prime suspect--and much to Ruso's dismay, it appears that Tilla's relationship with the man is maybe not entirely over. Meanwhile, the local regiment's medic, Thessalus (Note: I listened to the audiobook and am guessing on some of the spelling), has confessed to the murder and is apparently quite mad. And the assistant medic, Gambax, is perfectly competent, but both lazy and corrupt. Ruso is asked to take charge of the infirmary and try to set things straight there in time for the arrival of the governor, and the new medic, in a few days' time.

      He also, of course, has soon promised both Tilla and the mad medic that he'll try to prove the innocence of Tilla's old, and maybe current, lover.

      This is, once again, a very engaging visit to Roman Britain, filled with interesting and compelling characters, as well as a clever mystery with a nice set of red herrings and false leads. We meet the one Jew in the province, Susannah, running a very good snack bar, Tilla's uncle Cadavincus the brewer, who, unlike Tilla, her late father, and her ex-lover, is a big booster of the Roman presence in Britain, and her cousin Amelia, who was in love with the murdered soldier.

      A solid, entertaining addition to the series. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Loved it...two great characters, Ruso and Tilla, so engaging and funny and perfect for each other.
    • 4/5
      Ruso goes north so Tilla can visit her home area, with nearly fatal results. There are some similarities to novels where an innocent gets entangled in a local political nightmare, but not quite the grimness. The story flowed smoothly and at developments were pretty natural. I am still enjoying the characters.
    • 4/5
      The first impressions of this book, normal length, short chapters. There is a list of important characters, its organization is interesting, with headings such as 'hindered by', 'assisted by', 'endangered by', 'not missed by', and such. Some of the characters have odd names such as Ingenuus, Postumus and Innocens, although if there was some hidden meaning there, I missed it. Terra Incognita is the second book in the Medicus Ruso series. Gaius Petreius Ruso is a doctor in the Roman military service. The book is set in 118 C.E. Britannia. Ruso has an inquisitive personality and is observant of details. Although not involved in a murder investigation, even asked to keep his distance, he is compelled to study the matter and to seek answers to his questions, especially when they lead where others choose not to look. The victim, a Roman Centurion, was beheaded, and his head is missing. An antlered man is seen about and hints that the gods are involved abound. The Roman unit's doctor has claimed to have done it, but it doesn't fit Ruso's understanding of events, the military wants to punish one of the locals. Plenty is at stake.The book is enjoyable and seems well-researched. Bits of culture and history abound through the story making it easy to become immersed. The mystery is good and well as the solution. This is a fun read.
    • 3/5
      published-2008, ancient-history, roman-civilisation, britain-england, period-piece, one-penny-wonder, tbr-busting-2013, summer-2013, seriesRecommended to Bettie by: MimalRead from August 18 to 24, 2013MANY MILES SOUTH of Coria, Ruso gathered both reins in his left hand, reached down into the saddlebag, and took out the pie he had saved from last night.fraudio> rosado mp3>serieshist fic> ancient hist> roman> britainmedicalNarrated by Simon VanceFrom wiki: Coria was a fort and town, located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its full Latin name is uncertain. Today it is known as Corchester or Corbridge Roman Site, adjoining Corbridge in the English county of Northumberland. It is currently in the guardianship of English Heritage and is partially exposed as a visitor attraction, including a site museum.3*¨Medicus3* Terra Incognita4 likes
    • 3/5
      Just a fun read watching Ruso and Tilla's love story eveolve against a typical crime plot.
    • 3/5
      A worthy follow-up to Downie's Medicus, which is also set in Roman Britain at the height of the Roman Empire. This time the mystery revolves the murder of an enterprising Roman trumpeter, who ends up dead in an alley. The murder may presage a general revolt by the Britons, so Ruso's investigation is not welcomed by Metellus, the political officer charged with keeping the lid on unrest. Tilla is her usual, sometimes annoying self, although much of the annoyance she causes Ruso comes from cultural and language barriers.Worth reading, but probably not worth re-reading.
    • 3/5
      Perfectly fun summer reading.
    • 4/5
      Another good book about Ruso. I like historical novels and the mystery thrown in this time has Ruso running into more wild characters.
    • 3/5
      The second installment in the adventures of Roman army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso is an improvement in some ways on the first (see my review of “Medicus” for details of the prequel). Ms. Downie’s prose style is more fluid and descriptive passages improved. I still find myself lost in space if not in time, as she fails to provide adequate depictions of the landscape or Coria, the town that serves as this novel’s setting. The plotting is rather thin, the straight-forward investigation of a crime by a rather bumbling amateur. No great feats of deduction here, just questioning people (and occasionally getting knocked about) until the truth emerges. But I think my biggest complaint about both books is the protagonist, and I readily admit that it’s a matter of personal taste. Ruso is a blockhead. Other than an admirable sense of honor, he shows no particular aptitude for detective work or for keeping his personal life on an even keel. He’s a weak lead character, in my view, because he fails to have any strong motivation. His attachment to his slave/lover Tilla is growing and provides most of his impetus in this book, but even here he is prepared to leave her. I can only give this volume a middling recommendation.
    • 3/5
      I sort of found this book to drag through the beginning and middle. Everything seemed to be going slowly and the plot wasn't really grabbing my attention like the previous book did. I didn't find it as witty or comical as the last one, although once Ruso's friend Valens came into the picture, then everything started to lighten up (perhaps Valens is now going to be the official comic relief in this series). It did have some intriguing exciting bits in the beginning, because I was wondering who the Stag Man was and the chaos he was creating throughout the novel. Yet I just felt the plot not moving fast enough and my interest in it was starting to falter a bit. I found myself putting the book down and then coming back to it every so often. Finally I made myself finish it.I have to say though, the ending sort of made up for the lackluster plot. It seemed all the action was built up towards the end and the intrigue was more obvious too. I have no regrets reading it. I noticed the moment Valens came into the picture, the book started to pick up a little. (Maybe it's Valen's job to save the plot). However, character wise, it was nice to see more of Tilla and I love her strength and stubborness. Of all the characters I like her and Valens the most. I think there's still some work to be done with Ruso. To me he's a flat character and needs more development. He's just too two dimensional at the moment for me to really like him yet - at least his sarcasm and wit was still there which provided a bit of "flesh" for this character. There were some funny parts but not as many as the first, it was a little more serious and darker this time around. It's a different change as I was expecting another witty mystery. The story certainly could have been shorter.Overall, it's not going to stop me from reading the third one. I'll keep going. The ending has me intrigued again as to what's going to happen to both Tilla and Ruso. I'm hoping it's better than this one, as it wasn't that intriguing or falls short of being a great sequel. Nevertheless it had a good ending that was interesting enough to hopefully get fans to keep reading.
    • 4/5
      Although I did not enjoy this as much as the first, most of the elements that made the Disappearing Dancing Girls such a good read are still in place and Ruso, the intrepid doctor, remains his inquisitive self, a decent man with a lively curiosity and healthy scepticism for anything that hints at superstition. In this adventure Ruso has headed to the northern frontier with Tilla, his very irritating 'housekeeper', and takes over the running of the army infirmary in her home town, when the incumbent doctor goes mad and insists on confessing to a murder the authorities want to ascribe to a 'local'. The local is innocent and Ruso is determined to prove it - despite the fact that he is wildly jealous of the man who was Tilla's childhood friend and lover. Native uprisings, druidish mysticism, army corruption and unsympathetic superiors do not make his job any easier but with the help of Valens [who, on the run from an aggrieved father in Deva, has joined them in Coria] and Tilla [more infuriating, obstinate and feisty than ever now she is back in the land of 'her people'] Ruso wins through.A highly enjoyable read, not bogged down in too much historical detail, and with reallyfascinating insights into the state and practice of medicine back in the the days before the Dark Ages.
    • 5/5
      In Terra Incognita, Medicus Ruso and his housekeeper Tilla travel from Deva with the Twentieth Legion to join the Tenth Batavians in Coria, which is located just at the British boardlands and has little else for Ruso but good wine and trouble. Once there, Ruso finds himself involved in another murder investigation. This one involves a dead trumpeter by the name of Felix who met his end in an ally, and who is also missing his decapitated head. The old army doctor Thessalus has confessed to the murder, but the army is blaming a native basket maker named Rianorix for the murder. Relations between the Romans and the Briton natives are tense, and there have been sightings of a native God named Cernunnos, the The Stag Man, who the army fears will incite violence in the native population. Ruso is convinced that neither Thessalus nor Rianorix are guilty of the murder. Unfortunately for his conviction, Thessalus is quite adamant about his guilt-- he’s also a very passionate consumer of poppy tears and quite possibly insane. Ruso would be a bit more sympathetic towards Rianorix if not for the fact that he was found in bed with Tilla. The army wants to blame Rianorix no matter what Russo can prove or what Thessalus proclaims. Not only did Rianorix have an argument with Felix the night of his death, but a drawn stag man was found at the scene of the crime. No matter what, the Batavians want Coria to look good for the visit of the Governor of Britannia.The story becomes more complicated when certain facts start to come to light. First, Felix was ‘engaged’ to a native girl by the name of Aemilia who was also courted by Rianorix. Second, Felix had his hands in some unscrupulous but fruitless business ventures complete with his own book of debtors. If only the head of Felix could be found, the investigation may come closer to the truth. Naturally, nothing can ever come easy for Ruso who is at the same time plagued by relationship woes. Tilla is finally home with her family and friends. The fact that she is taking the side of Rianorix while declaring her distaste for Romans is cause for alarm for the enamored Ruso. I love this book and it’s a great follow up to Downie’s first book Medicus. Ruso, for all his naivety and insecurity, is a great character. He contrasts perfectly with the stubborn and strong-willed Tilla. The story is full of plot twists and new revelations that keep the story constantly moving and always surprising. Ruso is so unfortunate that he provides a great deal of comic relief; a reader can’t help but feel bad for him as bad luck strikes again and again. Terra Incognita has a lot of cultural conflict. The relationship between Ruso and Tilla is often times conflicted by cultural differences. Ruso cannot understand Tilla any more than she can accept the Romans in general. Though the two of them feel obvious affection for each other, they are often left vexed or upset by cultural misunderstandings. We also see the cultural differences of the Romans and Britons-- Romans are confident conquerors who see their way as the only natural way, and the Britons regard the Romans with suspicion and dislike. The Romans want to stamp out old customs while the Britons resent the Romans for imposing their culture on them. The Roman army trusts the Britons about as much as the Britons trust the Romans, though, so the feelings are mutual.As I have said before about Downie and her style of historical fiction, I love that she doesn’t write for the purpose of showing off her vast knowledge of history. So many writers of historical fiction add in superfluous paragraphs that serve only to let the reader know just how ‘expert’ the author is. While I love getting as much historical information as possible, I likewise love it when an author makes a matter-of-fact type story that is smooth and believable simply because the storytelling is humble. Downie fits her characters into Rome seamlessly, without grand pronouncement or showing off. They just belong there.
    • 4/5
      The second installment in the Ruso series has Ruso, a Roman medic, escorting his housekeeper/friend/lover/freed slave close to the border (where Hadrian's wall will soon be erected) between Roman Britain and the unconquered northern tribes.Other reviewers have mentioned this book being disjointed. In one respect, I agree, but when I read it, some how I got the impression that Downie might be doing this intentionally, in order to convey the "disjointedness" Ruso is feeling in his own life.Downie does mention in her author's note that her treatment of the northern tribes is very speculative, but Terra Incognita does not purport to be a truly historical account..I personally liked Medicus more, but there is no concrete evidence to base this decision on. I like that Downie is dealing with a different place in the Roman Empire than most of the other Roman historical mystery writers employ.
    • 3/5
      The hero is a doctor, following a Roman legion up to Hadrian's Wall, where the natives are restless. It's OK, just not very absorbing.
    • 4/5
      Gaius Petreius Ruso, doctor of the Roman 20th Legion, reprises his role as a part-time decidedly amateur criminal investigator (after the surprise hit Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire). Set in 2nd century Britain, Ruso has moved farther north with Tilla, who is either his slave (legally), his housekeeper (not too often), or his lover depending on the situation and their respective moods. Ruso has volunteered to go north so that Tilla can visit the area where she grew up on the very edge of the Roman Empire (Hadrian's Wall would later be built in this area). Some Britons are straining under Roman rule, a mysterious Stag Man is trying to lead a rebellion of sorts. A worker had been injured in what appears at least to have been an accident. A Roman soldier has died in a clearly non-accidental murder - and his head is literally lost in the taking. A Roman doctor has gone off his head. Ruso tries to get to the bottom of it all. The story is an enjoyable, mostly light tale, but Downie puts too many moving parts in play that merely serve to confuse the reader rather than entice them into solving the mystery. The developing relationship between Ruso and Tilla is central to the enjoyment of the story. Terra Incognita has less detail about the Roman army and almost anything written about the native tribes is pure speculation. Recommended.