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Title details for Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie - Available

Terra Incognita

#2.0 in series

by Ruth Downie
Simon Vance
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Roman Empire

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 14, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400126675
      • File size: 332886 KB
      • Duration: 11:33:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Ruso, a medic with ancient Rome's army, reluctantly gets involved in the investigation when the headless body of a centurion is found near his outpost in Brittania. The case could prove deadly for Ruso when his slave, Tilla, turns out to be an old flame of the prime suspect. Simon Vance gives Ruso a voice that combines conceit, genuine concern, and growing frustration, while making a large cast of characters instantly recognizable. Vance balances Downie's modern wit and her meticulously reconstructed Roman setting. As Ruso juggles murder, political considerations, and a shifting relationship with Tilla, strong characters and Vance's lively reading make this a delight. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 7, 2008
      A judicious use of humor and a memorable protagonist lift Downie’s sequel to her bestselling debut, Medicus
      (2007). Toward the beginning of Hadrian’s reign in A.D. 118, Gaius Petreius Ruso, a doctor originally from Gaul, has attached himself to a contingent of the Roman army, the 10th Batavians, en route to the northern edge of the Roman Empire in Britannia. When Felix, a soldier, is found beheaded, the prefect of the 10th Batavians, Decianus, assigns Ruso to investigate, despite a confession to the murder by Thessalus, “retiring medic to the Tenth Batavians Bedbugs.” Decianus is concerned that the attack presages further unrest from the locals, who ascribe the killing to their antlered god, Cernunnos. Reluctantly, Ruso probes Thessalus’s motives for admitting the crime and finds that many others also had an interest in seeing Felix dead. This well-researched novel places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 26, 2008
      Downie's thrilling murder mystery set against the vivid backdrop of the Roman Empire in the year A.D. 118 is well realized by the classical voice of Simon Vance. The reading is perfectly delivered, with Vance's traditional English dialect a perfect fit for this period piece. Vance captures the volatility and rawness of the era, offering rich characters and a compelling saga that never ceases to excite the imagination. Simultaneous release with the Bloomsbury hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 7).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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