尼爾·蓋曼（Neil Gaiman）是當今最重要的暢銷漫畫作者：是最著名的幻想小說作傢和無數奬項獲得者，被《文學傳記辭典》譽為十大後現代作傢之一。

他是記者、詩人、詞作者、影視編劇、製片人和導演；二十七歲著手創作《睡魔》係列漫畫，並一炮打響，其中第十九期《仲夏夜之夢》——更贏得世界奇幻奬的殊榮，成為第一部獲取文學奬項的漫畫作品。

蓋曼也創作瞭許多其他漫畫和小說。他和幽默奇幻大師特裏·普拉切特閤作撰寫的《好兆頭》獲得瞭世界奇幻奬等多項提名；他齣版瞭美輪美奐的繪圖小說《星塵》，後又在1999年以純小說形式再版，獲得瞭當年的創神奬；他精心撰寫的長篇小說《美國眾神》被讀者戲稱為“神話黑暗都奇幻哥特恐怖浪漫幽黙公路小說”的跨類型之作，一舉囊括當年所有幻想類小說大奬；他創作的童書《卡蘿琳》再次獲得幻想文壇最高榮譽雨果、星雲兩項大奬，以及恐怖小說大奬布拉姆·斯托剋奬。

蓋曼是好萊塢的寵兒，《鏡麵具》、《貝奧武甫》、《星塵》皆反響不俗，而動畫片《卡蘿琳》也將在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.)