http://www.leftfield.org/~rawdon/books/sf/cutter_leah_r/#the.caves.of.buda ( )

There are lots of authors who write in the same universe all the time. It is refreshing to see Leah Cutter is following up her success with Paper Mage by move to a totally different place and time. Set in the present day, The Caves of Buda takes us from the mundane to the magical, all driven by a demon in the depths of Hungary.
Zita Gárdos is facing that sad truth that her Grandfather Laci is slowing sinking to senility. His house is a wreak, he calls for his long dead wife and he has inflicted a nasty wound on his forehead. To top this off, Laci says he must go to caves outside Budapest to kill a demon. This is a lot for Zita to cope with, especially as she knows she will receive no help from her self-absorbed boyfriend. Matters worsen when Laci leaves this hospital and flys to Hungary. Now Lai must make a solo journey after her wayward Grandfather, living in terror that he is lost, hurt, or worse. But she is not alone for long, as help arrives in the form of Ephraim, a who is shaken out of his very proscribed life by losing his job. To broaden his horizons, he decides to explore the caves of Buda outside Budapest, but neither he nor Zita are prepared when they find that the demon is not part of Laci’s dementia.
Cutter has tapped into the rich history and heritage of Hungary to bring us a story of magic will be new to many fantasy readers. The grandson of a gypsy, Laci brings us those traditions, where the strength of the spirit is the key to being a magician. He is also takes us back to the Budapest of World War II, when the caves held Jewish refugees from the Nazi. Having survived the Hungary revolution of 1956, Laci may have fled to the United States, but he never lost is ties to his homeland. In returning, Laci must face down his former friend János –now a willing pawn of the demon– who hates all magicians as he has not such power himself.
As with Paper Mage, Cutter has done extensive research, all of which adds to the atmosphere of this book. In the back of the text is a bibliography with list of print and web resources on Hungary, caves, and magic. This study has given us a magic that is not your standard fantasy fare, with wand waving and caped wizards. Drawing on innate ability, this is a magic of the soul, relying on that strength to power the incantations. While Laci represents the gypsy ways, Ephraim is from a Jewish background, Cutter does not stop here, showing ties back to the Roman days. All these are melded at the climax of the story in a demonstration of magic and human love.
Originally published in The Alexiad: contact jtmajor[at]iglou.com for more information. ( )