I have my copy now, thanks to a special order. Even after paging through it twice, I find I still have lots of questions, like how nonlethal damage works. Still, it is coming together in my mind. So far, I am very impressed.
There are some peculiarities. For instance, classes are almost completed defined by a central set of mechanics, tasks, and special qualities. Only their skill lists are background driven, for the most part. For instance, a mage could be anything from a bone-waving tribal sorcerer to the librarian of Unseen University. What unites them is that they cast spells, very powerful spells. Your Specialty more or less defines your adventuring profession, although some are rather abstract. The classic D&D classes are represented as specialties, so you can be a Fighter (dude who wears armor and uses lots of weapons) who advances as a Soldier or a Captain or maybe even an Explorer. So, for instance, a traditional D&D paladin might be some curious-sounding combination such as Cavalier (speciality) + Lancer (class that focuses on mounted combat and combat toughness), going into the Paladin class. A traditional fighter would be a Fighter (speciality) Soldier (class focused on combat feats and proficiencies and improved defense). Some of the specialties are kits or things that might be represented by class variants. For instance, the Gladiator and Guardian specialties impart melee mastery and bodyguard skills, respectively, to a class. It would be very difficult to do a 1:1 conversion from PCs in D&D to Fantasy Craft using some kind of mechanistic process, but doing it holistically is pretty easy. For instance, your typical fighter would be a Fighter-Soldier, but Regdar might be a Fighter-Captain in keeping with his high Charisma.
Partly as a result of this peculier vocabulary, converting someone like Conan can be interesting. For instance, Barbarian doesn't really fit very well since he isn't known for his Berserk Rage, so he's probably a Tribesman (good athletics bonus, probably better from an aesthetic viewpoint than Acrobat or Rogue, other very considerable options). Tribesman also gives him thick hide, so he doesn't bother with armor that isn't fitted steel plate. His first few levels might be in Burglar, reflecting his penchant for larceny, alertness, and agility, so he picks Resolve as one of his origin skills since Burglars don't get that. Burglar gives him a core ability that helps him perform high DC Dex based checks. The next few levels might be in Soldier, then Edgemaster, reflecting his legendary sword skill, and after level 10 or so, he might finish out as a Captain, a king and leader of men more than an athlete.
So to summarize, Fantasy Craft, despite very similar structures, uses a different vocabulary from D&D or Pathfinder. It bears some resemblance to d20 Modern in a number of respects, as well as True20. Overall, it reminds me in tone, scope, and style most of Rolemaster and Fantasy D6, two games I would consider very different. It has Rolemaster's penchant for detail and gory realism balanced with dramatic effects, and D6 Fantasy's generic, toolkit approach based on very simple core mechanics.