The Medicus Codex

by Cy Stein

Aaron, a young medic, takes ship for Rome from impoverished Palestine. His goal; to study with Galen, the greatest physician of his time. Right off the boat, he’s robbed of everything. Falling on the semiconscious Ezana the Ethiop, also assaulted, the two stumble out of town, Famished, they are aided by Marco, a math prodigy. They find a cart, but Aaron and friends are jailed after they are accused of paying with forged coins. Aaron talks his way out of punishment by the magistrate, while Ezana confides a wonderful He knows how to manufacture a substance, called Kelchara, from the berries of the juniper plant that can treat and even cure inflammato. Aaron, Latinizing his name to Gaius Romulus, begins practicing medicine among the poor of the slums and gains a reputation for dignity and quality. Kechara’s a clinical success, and catches the eye of Galen. However, due to a love triangle, one of Galen’s students bitterly despises Gaius Romulus. Galen passes; Gaius Romulus is framed for desecrating his corpse, a heinous crime. He’s sentenced to slavery in Gallia. After a journey of misery and death, he arrives at a plantation and meets Belisama, an enchanting mistress of plant lore. Belisama must escape soon, but how? The Medicus Codex is historical fiction taking the reader from the sustenance food of the proletariat to the delicacies of the imperial kitchens, and from the poor’s fight for survival to elite power struggles, including those of that misguided imperial peculiarity, Elagabalus.

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2021

About the author

Dr. Cy Stein is a retired oncologist, research scientist, and professor, and currently, an author,
In addition to writing novels of historical fiction and a work of alternative fiction,, Dr. Stein has authored over 230 original scientific papers, letters, chapters, reviews and editorials.

Stein hails from a notable literary family that includes cousin Harry Stein, author and journalist, and Joseph Stein, playwright of Fiddler On The Roof. Cy is a native New Yorker who now resides there with his wife. He has two children and four grandchildren, He is a graduate of Brown University, and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University.