Not bad, not wonderful. I like many bits of these stories, but overall they're somewhat unconvincing. I like the part with Warbucks and Annie living in the shack and just getting by - they're managing. Punjab and Morgan are a bit of a deus ex machina, changing the basis of the story although Warbucks refuses to let Morgan change the outward form. Then Eli - again, a rather fantastic figure, in several senses. Warbucks jollying him along is amusing, Warbucks trying to kowtow to him is awkward. Then a great dose of magic in the building the plant, Eli's (and for that matter Annie's) insistence on doing things his way, and an enemy that just doesn't make sense. Slugg's angle on things is seriously weird. Then the problems get out of hand and poof! the magic's all gone, as if it never existed. I dunno, it doesn't get me to suspend disbelief. Then several twists come out of left field, mostly courtesy of Wun Wey, and Annie's on her own again. She does a pretty good job of it, too, for all the rollercoaster ride she's on as an actress. Nice to see Pee Wee again, too! Unfortunately, because the book cuts off at the end of the year, we don't see how this story ends - in fact it cuts off in the middle of a turning point. Sigh. The book also has a very annoying setup - it's missing one strip at the beginning, a Monday 12/31, which since it puts 3 strips on a page and a Sunday takes up a full page means the sequence throughout goes Ts, Wd, Th; Fr, St, Mn; Sn. Ghahh! The Sundays are fully in continuity here too, so to read in order means flipping pages constantly, and not flipping pages means confusion about sequence and messed-up surprises. So easily fixed with just a gap at the beginning. Also - the cover designer really loved the Eonite story - it's on the back of the previous book (where it doesn't belong) and on the front of this one, and the back of this one is Punjab in the leadup to Eonite. Kind of boring - I'd like to have seen Pee Wee, or some of Annie's movie stunts. ( )

Punjab is introduced, and Oliver rebuilds his fortune when he joins forces with Eli Eon to manufacture "Eonite". The plant is destroyed by labor agitators, Eli is killed, and Annie is again separated from "Daddy", and becomes a movie double, and then a star in her own right. ( )