More like 3.5 stars.

So many questions: who are Ishmael's parents? Why was he raised by robots? Who are the owners of the house? Where did they get the robots and the Goedhart device and the camera obscura? And how does Muybridge fit in? And Rousell? Are Josephine and Este the same person? What was the goal of Williams' journey and why did the British colonials want to stop him? What is Sidrus and what's so strange about his face? I'm ok with ambiguity in a story, but leaving this many loose ends is ridiculous.

I'm glad this is the start of a trilogy, because otherwise I would be irrationally angry.

Despite these questions, I found the writing to be artful without heavy handedness, and the overall structure to be unexpected and engaging. I look forward to the next part of the trilogy.