What mysterious power emanated from the bejeweled crown of stars that rulers of three planets frantically sought its possession?

The portals of the unknown had opened wide, then had closed, leaving a horror of monstrous proportions. The figure's eyes seemed lidless and sheathed with a thin film like a snake. Buth they were so penetratingly malignant that they pierced deep into the man's brain, mercilessly exploring all that was there—laying his thoughts bare like a visual scalpel that made him scream every time it was moved. It was not human. . . (from the back of the book)