Jesse F. Bone 
On the Fourth Planet [PDF ebook] 

In the course of his incessant hunt for nourishment, Ul Kworn’s progress is hindered by a vast, mysterious metal object he finds in his path. Its shape and size kindle a distant outline of a faded memory, but he’s not sure what it is — only that leaving his assigned territory in order to get around the puzzling artifact could get him punished, possibly by death.