The Cranky Old Reader

Another good, solid entry in the Swords/Lost Sword series(es) from Fred Saberhagen. This one is essentially a side-note in the series (appropriate, since it's a "Lost" sword), none of the usual main characters are present except in a few references; instead, Saberhagen introduces a Sherlock-Holmes-like character, and with the requisite Watson analog turns the whole thing into a Holmesian investigation, of sorts. He's really quite good at it, and the story is quite enjoyable...but somehow, doesn't quite click in the end. It's a good story, but when you're reading an obvious Holmes tribute, particularly when it's a well-written Holmesian story like this one, there really needs to be a clever and memorable ending. Unfortunately the ending in this case simply wasn't up to the quality of the rest of the book. If it had been I'd have easily rated the book four stars.