Absolutely. You're forced through a slower burn in the books that is hard to appreciate until you're many more books down.

The show packed in the political intrigue and other elements earlier because it better fit the format, whereas on the books you first go through Holden and Miller's PoV and throughout their different perceptions get introduced to the setting.

Then the 2nd and 3rd books bring in a deeper view of those other political points of view. It then pats you for now having all of the info you need.

Then it straps you into a jump seat and hits the juice with a few random stops and sudden decelerations before boosting off again for the remainder of the 8 books and novellas.