This is a breezier read than the previous "Cassiopeia" books, more full of humor than its companion tomes in the series. It follows the Kleinkinders as they assimilate to living on Earth after being rooted in the Centauri system for a millennium, and Chloe Wymark as she lords it over a prospering Western Provisional government. Two new characters are introduced in Pilar Dospilar and Dant Dosjin, two visitors from the microverse within Avedon 717, the anomaly that gives the book its title. Being observers and students of the Universe, they take it upon themselves to enlighten the denizens of the Terran system as to the true nature of the ionized macrocosm. This is a "funnier" book than the previous "Cassiopeia" novels, a series already rife with humor, and that makes it an enjoyable read.