Watched the first episode and really enjoyed it. But I admit to some bias, I've read all 5 of the books and think they're great trad. SF. Like Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle but updated for the 21st century, ie less racism and sexism.
The production values are, ahem, astronomical (for SyFy, at least). The whole thing just screams quality and attention to detail. The one downside is it's a bit demanding. There's a lot of setting information to digest, and the show is -- admirably -- very setting-forward to start off. But the character's in the novels are great (and likable), and so far the casting choices look solid. But it's a big cast in 3 separate story lines that will take a while to intersect. But should be plenty of spaceship & space battle porn to sugar the pill. Best thing about it is the plot will go places, and huge changes happen to the setting.
The one thing it's isn't, contra to some of the initial marketing and buzz, is Game of Thrones in space. There will be Big Damn Heroes. Who survive. I'd say it's closer to Babylon 5, with a dusting of nBSG.