Is this a hit board game? The number of BGG ratings and rank (13648) don’t reflect that. Does it stand out in some way from the multitude of similar games?

Reading the article, it looks like it’s a hit because Waterstones, a major UK book store chain, ordered and sold 15k+ copies. That means most of the buyers are readers, not necessarily the usual board gamers crowd. Hence its lack of ratings or attention on BGG.