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Think of Buda’s novel as a present-day thriller steeped in both the ancient past and the cosmic future. It feels a bit like The Da Vinci Code meets Brave New World with a touch of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy sprinkled in for good measure. Religion, both ancient and modern, is involved, Philosophy, both traditional and experimental, is explored. Plus, there’s a lot of psychic energy communication going on in the afterlife while romance, sex, murder, and mayhem play out right here on earth.
The majority of the action in this book takes place in and around Bratislava, Slovakia. A clandestine organization known as the Black Star Pact is using its captains of commerce, corrupt government officials, and high-ranking aristocrats to gain more and more control of wealth and power throughout the world. They are being opposed by individuals who believe social change is not only possible but also mandatory if any sense of love, compassion, and forgiveness is to survive. In bombed-out monasteries and destroyed corporate headquarters, the tug of war between good and evil intricately intertwines.
Buda is deft at examining the moral conflicts of his characters, the societal woes hindering more enlightened interaction between the haves and have-nots, and the potential interplay of this world and the next—where death may only be a passage to a more enduring form of existence. By wrapping his big-picture thinking into an action-adventure rather than a coma-inducing polemic, he pulls readers in compellingly and satisfies the appetite for both intellectual and visceral entertainment. His novel is a wild ride for both the adrenal gland and the brain.