Gaius Petreius Ruso is medicus to the Twentieth Legion in the north of Britannia. Having been involved in solving a murder or two in the Legion’s base at Deva, he heads further north to Coria, a small fort near the still-disputed border. The locals – for the moment – live peaceably alongside the incoming Romans. But further away, the tribes are biding their time, and a mysterious rider has been seen, taunting the Romans and stirring up the native population.
As soon as Ruso arrives, he finds that the resident doctor has confessed to a recent murder. The Prefect expects him to take over the infirmary, and also convince the medic – Thessalus – to retract his confession. The authorities are convinced they know who committed the crime, and it wasn’t the doctor.
Life in Coria is a little different to Deva. There are few home comforts, and security is tighter, as the Romans suspect every native they see. Ruso’s slave, Tilla, isn’t initially allowed into the fort, so has to find lodgings in the town . More importantly, she has come home; this is her territory. Whilst Ruso tries to work out what’s going on in Thessalus’s mind, Tilla is free to visit relatives and old acquaintances.
As the story develops we understand more of Tilla’s past, and how it fits in with the current nervous situation in the area. There are local people who see the Romans as an opportunity to build for the future. But, as always, there are also many who would push the Romans out completely.
As Ruso investigates the murder, he encounters Metellus, the Prefect’s aide, who has been here for years. He is the ultimate Roman pragmatist; keen to keep the peace, even if that means that the wrong people get punished, and the real culprits escape, if that is politically expedient.
The story is well told, and follows an interesting path. The secondary characters are generally well drawn and believable, and the conflict between those locals who are prepared to Romanise, and those who aren’t, is well told. Ruso himself is growing, although he is perhaps a bit naïve for an experienced legionary doctor.
I do, however, have one or two issues; hence the lowish score. Firstly a minor point; Valens, Ruso’s friend. He’s a tactless idiot. Every time he appears, he gets either himself or Ruso into trouble. To me he has no redeeming features, and seems to be a plot device simply to add drama to the story.
More importantly, I don’t understand the motivations of some of the characters. In this volume, I didn’t fully accept why the resident doctor, Thessalus, acts in the way he did. But more importantly, I didn’t understand some of Tilla’s actions. She has the potential to be a fascinating character. A slave captured from the local people, mistreated, acquired accidentally by a man who wishes to look after her. Perhaps even let her go, if that’s what she wants. She is conflicted about her past, present and future; ideal material for writing a complex character. And she is; but we’re not shown why she makes the decisions she does. Several times in this book she says or does things that made me think: ‘why did she do that?’ But there are no answers.
Even with those reservations, it is still a good story. There are a few surprises along the way that keep you guessing, and the setting is well drawn. I am hoping that both Ruso and Tilla develop more in future books, and that we get a little more of what is going on in their heads.
This is a review of the Bloomsbury 2008 Kindle edition.
Click here to view this book on Amazon.
