The Hunters' Haunt

Omar #2

by Dave Duncan

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!

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

295 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan 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 were more satisfying than the real one, he published more than 60 novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical.

He wrote at times under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?")

His most successful works were fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and seven books about The King’s Blades. His books have been translated into 15 languages, and of late have been appearing in audiobook format as well.

He and Janet were married in 1959. He is survived by her, one son and two daughters, as well as four grandchildren.

He was both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SFCanada, and a member of the CSFFA Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to The Reaver Road, but in a completely different setting - a snowbound inn in what seems to be the medieval Alps. Omar is in a storytelling contest with his life as the main stake. Other motives emerge as the stories are told. Great stories, great read.

[Pip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional example of Duncan's fluidity and skill in meshing multiple characters, archetypes, and narrative styles into the one book. Our favourite professional storyteller is back, trapped in a hostile environment by the twists of weather and fate.

To survive, he establishes a challenge - each of the antagonists must compete with him in a tale of storytelling. As the collective narrative unfolds, it quickly becomes apparent that everyone has their own motives. The plot thickens rapidly, and Duncan shows his usual deft hand in dealing with unreliable narrators.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncertainty abounds in this cacophony of untruths, half-truths, and outright deceptions, but what a yarn! Unusual and starts slow, but amazing twists and skillful storytelling.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Omar, the storyteller, finds himself back at an inn where he had previously had a disagreement with the innkeeper and has to save himself by beating the other lodgers in a series of tales. A bit like Discworld in terms of its humour and setting.
Found a lot of the names of the characters in the story confusing to follow e.g. Sea-Breaker of Kraw and Sweet-Rose of Verl and Pure-Valor of Farm etc., especially as these were meant to be fables from hundreds of years ago to now. But I liked how all the stories interwove a bit - one character at the Hunters Haunt told a story about Sweet-Rose then Omar added to it and added an extra character then another character told the next bit of the story from a different perspective...
The overall plot was that this royal family of the god Verl had died out, but that one of the people in the room turned out to be the long lost child of this ancient line.

[Mimi Ettrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a number of years ago, it stuck with me, and have been looking for it ever since. Omar is a rougish storyteller in trouble with a tavern owner. He comes up with a plan to pit himself against the occupants of the inn. If he wins a storytelling competition, he gets to keep his life. If he loses, he is thrown out into the snow to his death.
It's structure is incredibly original - a single plot told through multiple separate stories, which come together as one. The mystery keeps you reading and engaged. Omar is a fascinating character, unreliable and a scoundrel, but still someone to root for. And the ending wraps up everything in a satisfying manner, as the stories come together and tie the characters in the room.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. At first I thought it was going to be similar to The Canterbury Tales where each person tells a story. But then after the first story, the second continues it and we get a tale within a tale situation. All the time Omar's life is at stake because that one guy wants to kill him because last spring he tried to steal a horse and did something else too. By the time I was halfway through I couldn't put it down! ANd the ending is something you'll never guess. Wow, what a whirlwind. Too bad there are no more Omar stories as he is an interesting character.

[Bix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read some years ago.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Entertaining.

[BobA707 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A really excellent second Omar book, I wish there were more. Wwell written, good plot interesting world, great story telling. This book is a little bit different to the normal faire, and I really enjoyed it. It's quite different to the first Omar book as well, building on the foundations of Omars personality

Plotline: Well thought out plot, although actually quite simple, the devil is in the detail and how the fundamental plot components are achieved. God like.

Premise: It worked well. Normally in fantasy books there are varying degrees of magic, in this only Gods or ....

Writing: Well written, great style weaving multiple 'tales' together into a great reality, simple, descriptive

Ending: Great stuff.

[Zoë · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich sehe erst jetzt, dass das ja ein 2. Teil von irgendetwas war... Keine Ahnung, ob das im Nachhinein meine Meinung darüber ändert, aber eigentlich bin ich mir sehr sicher, dass es das nicht tut. Ich fand's schrecklich, vor allem die Charaktere waren mir so unglaublich unsympathisch und unglaubhaft, ich wollte es irgendwann einfach nur noch gegen die nächste Wand werfen. Und das ist echt das einzige, woran ich mich nach den 2 Jahren, seit ich es gelesen habe, noch erinnern kann, was kein gutes Zeichen ist - normalerweise habe ich ein ausgezeichnetes Lesegedächtnis. Urgh. Ein Buch, dass ich nicht noch einmal anfassen will.

[Bob Folker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omar the tale-teller #2 stands on its own, which is just as well, since I haven't read the first one. The tales are skillfuly and twistfully told, and weave together into a larger story, which has a satisfying ending, as long as you don't mind being left wondering - how much of Omar's tales were "true"?
Three and a half-stars. Would be four, but I didn't really like Omar very much. People that glib remind me of used car salesmen, and I don't mean that in a good way. Still, a fun read over-all.

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lightweight fantasy that doesn't pretend to try to be anything but that.

A slightly Arabian Nights-esque format - with one man telling stories in order to gain time before his execution.

It's a fun book, and nearly exactly what I was in the mood for after reading a succession of more serious works.

[Aditya / · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as good as the first book , quite different really, and unfortunately one of the stories was just ridiculous in terms of being relevant. gassing so much from somebody's reactions is just too unrealistic. lowered my opinion of the book. the concept was great, but the amount of information gained by that needed to be decreased

[Macha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 & 1/2 stars. ha! Canterbury Tales done up as a competently-written throwaway fantasy book. and that's how come Dave Duncan is always worth reading, even though his books never go for anything ambitious, or stick in the memory after. perfect summer reading.

[Sean Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omar isn't my favourite Duncan character, but I must say he's certainly a showman. This also marks the last of Duncan's works I own that I haven't read, which makes me proud and sad in equal measure.

[Tore Foyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book as much as the first book in the series, It's several stories woven around the main plot line, with creative narratives and interesting and colorful characters, can't wait for the next book.

[Dee W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the style of The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron, Omar the Trader of Tales finds himself in a story telling competition for life and limb.

[Steve]

The Omar Books

[Steve Markham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is is a story of several stories told over one night to make a rather bigger story. confused? Not a bad read at all really. Funny in parts but we as usual are left a step behind by Omar.

[Vader · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

[Ron Judenberg]

to-read