A generous 3 stars as I'm still optimistic enough to read ths next in the series in the hope that the story will pull together. Based on the first book alone I enjoyed the premise and the possibilities it presents but the logic is inconsistent and the narrative confusing. I found myself having to reread passages because I just couldn't make sense of them. At one point I double checked that I hadn't inadvertently picked up a book from the middle of the series to see if that explained my confusion (it didn't)