Terra Incognita

Name: Terra Incognita
Rating: 4.02 (5737 reviews)

by Ruth Downie Book 2 in the The Medicus series.

First published 2008

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4.0(5,737)

Ruso travels north with the Twentieth Legion to Coria, where the local doctor has confessed to murder but appears incapable of explaining what happened. Tilla’s connections to the region draw the couple into hostility between soldiers, civilians and British communities living beyond the more settled parts of the province.

The investigation unfolds before the construction of Hadrian’s Wall, when Rome’s northern frontier remained unstable and personal loyalties could be interpreted as rebellion. The novel was originally published in the United Kingdom as Ruso and the Demented Doctor.

The northern posting exposes the limits of Roman authority beyond the most settled parts of Britannia. Local identity, military occupation and personal relationships overlap, especially for Tilla, whose knowledge of native communities gives her access that Ruso lacks. The mystery becomes a test of whether Roman officials can investigate fairly when many Britons assume the army itself is the source of danger.