That's not an unreasonable position, but IMNSHO the combat in PS:T was rather lacklustre, so without the story/writing the game would have been entirely forgettable. While I've seen the 'book' criticism before, I don't think I've ever seen anyone recommend the game for the combat (not that it come up very frequently any more in general gaming discussions).
I still see it come up fairly often with some gamer friends who I'd view as the pretty "hardcore" variety (by which I mean not self-styled) and they still consider it one of the all-time classic RPGs because of its story. The only time combat is mentioned is to point out it's not that great, as you say...
