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)