A blizzard savaged the mountain peaks, but at an inn called the Hunters' Haunt, travelers found safe refuge, a cozy room, and a roaring fire. All but Omar, the Trader of Tales—against whom the innkeeper had been nursing a grudge. But before he could pitch Omar out into the storm, his other guests proposed a contest: if Omar could top a roomful of their tallest tales, the storyteller could win his room and board.

For Omar the stakes were life and death. That gave the contest some spice.

So as winter winds whipped about the little inn, lies and truths and fabulous fabrications swirled before the blazing hearth. The innkeeper and his pretty sister; the merchant and his blushing bride; the dowager and the crusty captain of her guard; the scribe, the maid, the minstrel: they all poured out their tales, and Omar wove them together. Before they knew it, their very lives were intertwined, and their separate stories were spinning relentlessly to a single conclusion no human could have foretold!

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan has lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds are more satisfying than the real one, he has published more than forty-five novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical. He has at times been Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for “D’ye Ken Whodunit?”)
His most successful works have been fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and six books about The King’s Blades.
He and Janet were married in 1959. They have one son and two daughters, who in

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