Spatial anomalies are places in the galaxy where space travel is dangerous for one or more reasons, often containing wild radiation, gravitational distortions, black holes, or even disruptions in the fabric of space-time itself.  Ships (and their contents, including crew and passengers) can be damaged, simply wink out of existence, be distorted beyond recognition (particularly gruesome for crew or passengers who somehow survive), or be thrown off-course in unpredictable directions and over unimaginable distances.  Examples include large regions such as The Web (Book 6, Lallia), The Hichen Cloud (Book 14, Jack of Swords), The Chandorah (Book 27, Earth is Heaven), The Lonagar Drift (Book 32, The Return), and The Rift (the setting of Books 16 - Haven of Darkness,  17 - Prison of Night, 18 - Incident on Ath, 19 - The Quillian Sector, 20 - Web of Sand, and perhaps the first few chapters of Book 21 - Iduna’s Universe) plus freak phenomena in open but seldom-traveled space such as the warp in Book 12, Eloise, Morgan’s Sink and the Hygenium Vortex mentioned in Book 23, World of Promise, and the Blakstaad vortex in Book 32, The Return.