A lot of the key events are the same, although the timeline is moved around to introduce some characters sooner. The books go into far more detail about the cultures and their values, and backstory to the characters.
I personally recommend it. I'm typically quite busy so I don't really make my way through more than 1-2 books a month but I think I read all the books that are currently out in about 6 weeks.
not seen all of the series but it seems to be mashing together the first few books.
IMHO they are probably better than the series but they start getting not so good at some point - I cannot remember if i have read them all but i do remember it getting a bit boring / dragged out towards the end.
it is ultimately in that class of media where the goal is not so much about saying something to telling a story as it is about making an ongoing revenue stream.
I generally stick away from this stuff but sci-fi books seem to all be going this way these days :(
