The Clone Saga wasn't the best Spider-Man story, I'll admit. It had it's moments, but was mostly an incredibly disonant mess. But J. M. DeMatteis was able to take lemons (the Saga) and make lemonade with this amazing mini-series.
I am blown away by the story's content; it's characters, it's pacing, the parallel of Ben and Kaine, numerous plots colliding. It is truly amazing. Couple this with John Romita Jr's exquisite pencilling talent and "Spider-Man: The Lost Years" is a real winner!
I would give this book a much higher score than five stars if I had the capability.