尼尔·盖曼（Neil Gaiman）是当今最重要的畅销漫画作者：是最著名的幻想小说作家和无数奖项获得者，被《文学传记辞典》誉为十大后现代作家之一。

他是记者、诗人、词作者、影视编剧、制片人和导演；二十七岁着手创作《睡魔》系列漫画，并一炮打响，其中第十九期《仲夏夜之梦》——更赢得世界奇幻奖的殊荣，成为第一部获取文学奖项的漫画作品。

盖曼也创作了许多其他漫画和小说。他和幽默奇幻大师特里·普拉切特合作撰写的《好兆头》获得了世界奇幻奖等多项提名；他出版了美轮美奂的绘图小说《星尘》，后又在1999年以纯小说形式再版，获得了当年的创神奖；他精心撰写的长篇小说《美国众神》被读者戏称为“神话黑暗都奇幻哥特恐怖浪漫幽黙公路小说”的跨类型之作，一举囊括当年所有幻想类小说大奖；他创作的童书《卡萝琳》再次获得幻想文坛最高荣誉雨果、星云两项大奖，以及恐怖小说大奖布拉姆·斯托克奖。

盖曼是好莱坞的宠儿，《镜面具》、《贝奥武甫》、《星尘》皆反响不俗，而动画片《卡萝琳》也将在2009年公映。

Stardust is an utterly charming fairy tale in the tradition of The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. Neil Gaiman, creator of the darkly elegant Sandman comics and author of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love. His adventures in the magical land will keep you turning pages as fast as you can--he and the star escape evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, goblin press-gangs, and the scheming sons of the dead Lord of Stormhold. The story is by turns thrillingly scary and very funny. You'll love goofy, earnest Tristran and the talking animals, gnomes, magic trees, and other irresistible denizens of Faerie that he encounters in his travels. Stardust is a perfect read-aloud book, a brand-new fairy tale you'll want to share with a kid, or maybe hoard for yourself. (If you read it to kids, watch out for a couple of spicy sex bits and one epithet.)