Ruth Downie

What an unusual twist on co-authoring! The story of Boudica's rebellion is told in (mostly) linear time, but from the points of view of several different characters with each installment carrying on the story from a different p.o.v. as told by a different author. Surprisingly, there's not a blatantly lesser section in the lot.

Given how little we know about Boudica, the culture of Celtic Britain, and Druidism, the authors had very little to work with, yet they've created a very plausible show more sociopolitical setting for their novel. The characters are round and believable and often sympathetic. There's not a single uninflected "good guy," which seems appropriate, given the historical roots of the tale and the fact that this is primarily a story of war.

As expected, the subject means that the book gets pretty much all the content warnings. Violence, SA, child abuse, gore, cruelty to humans and animals, homophobia, racism, etc. There are many disturbing scenes and elements, but none are exploitative or unnecessarily detailed or prolonged. If you've somehow gotten this far in life without realizing that humans, even those who are generally decent in other contexts, often do abjectly horrific things to each other in war, this novel will thoroughly correct that oversight. Also, if you don't know the source story, be aware that Boudica revolted against the Roman occupation of Britain after the Roman provincial procurator had her publicly stripped and flogged and allowed Roman soldiers to rape her daughters, so things get ugly pretty quickly in this book and then just stay ugly.

Human nature is actually the most disturbing thing about the book. As in life, there are a few characters who are so thoroughly degenerate and brutal that we feel pretty comfortable hating them and it's a relief when they're taken out of circulation, but the vast majority of the characters are not so easily managed. Nearly every main character, whether Roman or Britton, does things that, to a comfortable 21st-century eye, are terrible. Sometimes they have no choice, but often they make what seems like the best decision in the moment, even if it leads them into committing injustices. And yet every single one has moments in which the reader sees their humanity and feels for them. For a book with seven authors, that's pretty impressive. show less

Beyond all the stand out things about this first novel in the Medicus series (the engaging history, characters and plot) the thing that most impressed me was that this was a first novel, that grew out of a very short story submitted in a competition. Downie has a gift for story telling that comes across effortlessly (although she describes the process very much otherwise). Kudos also to her for not glossing over the things that we'd rightly find abhorrent in Roman Britain. Medicus isn't a show more man out of his time, but Downie makes his character sympathetic enough not to repel the modern reader. There's also hints of his potential for enlightenment over time through self reflection, under the constant bombardment of the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune; and through the agency of Downie's other great creation, Tilla the British women. To say too much about her character - which is slowly revealed throughout this story would give too much away, but I can't think of a stronger more interesting female lead since Elisabeth Salander in Stieg Larsson's novels. show less

Gaius Petreius Ruso serves as a military doctor during the Roman occupation of Britannia, dealing with his over-meticulous hospital administrator, his wounded and mangled patients, and an unclaimed dead body washed to shore. And not just a dead body but a murdered body. During a moment of sleep-deprived vulnerability, he manages to pick up a half-dead slave girl who won't talk and can't cook, and winds up investigating the mysterious deaths of several prostitutes.

Ruso is a grumpy, tactless show more and utterly likeable sleuth. The banter between he and his roommate/rival/fellow doctor is funny, as are his encounters with the hospital administrator, who believes that protocol must be followed even when it makes no sense whatsoever. (Anyone who has dealt with these types of officials will understand Ruso's desire to throttle the man.) I often found myself laughing aloud. Not the usual sort of murder mystery fare. Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this. show less

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 show more 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. show less