Ray Cummings' Monster of the Asteroid launches a tense pulp science-fiction nightmare in which human love, invention, and freedom are dragged into the grip of an alien empire. On a summer night in 1965, inventor Thomas Ralston and his fiancée Dora are approached by the sinister Bragg and soon swept from a romantic concert into terror, after a failed experiment, a raid by headless invaders, and a blinding force carry them off Earth. Awakening aboard a disc-shaped spacecraft, Tom learns he has been taken to a metallic planetoid between Earth and Mars, a harsh colony of captives, criminals, and stolen settlers. There he discovers the rule of the Supreme One, a colossal alien intelligence served by eerie box-like Physicals—tiny beings that act as one mind and enforce obedience with chilling efficiency. The planetoid is divided among humans from Earth, Mars, and Venus, all trapped in a brutal experiment of forced unity, fear, and domination. As Tom struggles to protect Dora from the dangerous convict Torkine and the Supreme One's cold judgment, he realizes that escape may cost him everything. The result is a claustrophobic tale of alien control, desperate survival, and a monstrous power that treats marriage, punishment, and death as simple instruments of rule. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.