A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . . </p>

In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . . </p>

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . . </p>

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams-;and nightmares . . . </p>

In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . . </p>

Such marvelous creations and more-;including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction-;can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time. </p>

尼尔•盖曼（Neil Gaiman），欧美文坛新一代幻想文学大师，文学魔术界的精灵王子，畅销小说作家，无数奖项的获得者。他集记者、诗人、词作者、编剧和导演于一身，将想象、趣味与智慧完美结合，被《文学传记辞典》誉为十大后现代作家之一。

他二十七岁开始文学创作，卓越的才华很快为其赢得了许多殊荣。《睡神》系列的《仲夏夜之梦》一举赢得了世界奇幻奖。之后的《美国众神》可谓幻想类文学的奇葩，先后获得雨果奖、星云奖及布拉姆•斯托克奖，成为了盖曼的代表作。源源不断的灵感赋予了他更大的创作热情，此后，《卡罗琳》和《绿字的研究》两获雨果奖，前者也再度问鼎布拉姆•斯托克奖。

如今，尼尔•盖曼更是好莱坞的宠儿和许多制片人眼中的金童。其作品很多都被搬上了银幕，《蜘蛛男孩》、《镜面具》、《乌有乡》、《星尘》等皆有不俗反响。正是像尼尔•盖曼这样的说故事大师，让原本昙花一现的故事元素有了不断的轮回，有了绵亘的新生。