Jester David
Hero
Um.... no.You keep saying that, but the truth is that it doesn't have the player content to back that up, if its a player's guide, its not successful as one, it needs more crunch for that.
To be a player's guide, it needs to be aimed at players and not include DM content. Which means no monsters or secrets. That's the sole requirement. The inclusion or absence of new mechanics or crunch is irrelevant to the status of a book as a player's guide.
In fact, a player's guide to the Forgotten Realms that was all crunch would be a complete failure, despite being 100% player content, because it wouldn't introduce players to the Realms. Some measure of flavour is required. More crunch would just make it an inferior guide to the setting and a much worse book.
This book is very much aimed at players. It contains lore, but the lore is limited and focused on in-world descriptions that a DM can dismiss or contradict under the excuse of "unreliable narration". Unlike a DM campaign setting, which should be more factual and omniscient. The in-character narration makes it a poor DM resource.