Penny Preston and the Silver Scepter

Misaligned, Book II

By: Armen Pogharian

Narrated by: Michelle Babb

When Penny solves the riddle of an unbreakable knot in time, she unwittingly releases two time travelers from the distant past into Piper Falls. The town is plagued by a series of baffling events related to the appearance of a strange elf-like creature. Penny's science teacher and mentor, Mr. Myrdin, recognizes him as the Coch Coblyn, an evil spirit from Celtic myth with a penchant for igniting city-destroying fires.

Compounding the mystery is the discovery of a prehistoric scepter, made of impossibly pure silver that's intertwined with Seneca creation myth and Master Poe's past. The silver scepter draws the sole survivor from the ancient civilization that created it to Piper Falls. After traveling forward thousands of years in time, he plans to take the scepter back to his own time and save his people from the cataclysm that destroyed them.

Stumped by the escalating pranks of the Coch Coblyn, the Deputy Sheriff contacts his good friend, Darin Kolchak, a paranormal investigator. Kolchak answers the call by bringing the latest in ghost-hunting technology to town in his refurbished U-Haul. Kolchak's methods may not be conventional, but they lead him dangerously close to the truth. Penny and her friends race to unravel the secrets of the artifact, dodge detection, and prevent either of the new arrivals from using it to return to power.

©2021 Armen Pogharian (P)2021 CamCat Publishing

Very Enjoyable.

This is such a good story and we get to know more about the characters in this book. I like that the author has kept them as real kids within their own age group. I like that the author let them make mistakes and go through things kids go through. Makes the story have realism.

The narrator Michelle Babb is a wonderful storyteller. She does a wonderful job with the characters in this book. I have enjoyed every book that Michele has narrated. If I see that she is the narrator I am confident that it's a story I will enjoy!

I was provided this audiobook at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review & I look forward to listening to more books in this series.

Great read

Great fantasy read. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Will continue the series
I received a free copy and left my honest review

Entertaining YA fantasy

Having read the first book in Armen Prgharian's series, Misaligned, I knew I would enjoy book II, Penny Preston and the SIlver Scepter. Even though this is not my usual genre of book to read or listen to I enjoyed this contemporary fantasy for teens. The book is entertaining and delightful with characters who are believable (those of human form anyway!) and interesting. Penny, her friend Duncan and Mr. Myrdin are puzzled by the pranks happening in their town. A Celtic spirit has arrived and is wreaking havoc. Why is he here, and what does he have to do with the ancient scepter? The story moves quickly and the author keeps interest high with suspense, mystery, and some edge-of-the-seat action. The narrator, Michelle Babb, does a nice job of giving characters their unique voice, making for an enjoyable listening experience. I enjoyed the book and look forward to listening to any other books that may come in this series. I received a complimentary copy of the audiobook and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.

more adventures with Penny

I enjoyed following along with Penny and Duncan in their pursuits and adventures. I liked that Penny us strong and smart and willing to go above and beyond for a just cause. This was a bit emotional and a lot suspenseful. I enjoyed it.
I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters and story to life.

Penny Rules!

The incredibly smart and brave Penny Preston returns in Arman Pogharian’s Penny Preston and the Silver Sceptor, Misaligned, Book 2. This is a fun and diverting listen with different story lines taking place over the course of six thousand years (!). I’m still unsure how to label the genre of this series, but I would call it an entertaining combination of young adult, fantasy, time travel, and science fiction with a huge dash of humor included. Mr. Pogharian draws on legends, myths and history to weave an entertaining story which finds Penny doing battle with creatures from the past and other dimensions. She is helped along the way by her friend Duncan and mentors Master Poe and Mr. Myrdin. I appreciate that the far more independent Penny with her quick thinking and courage truly drive the story. She has learned a great deal since the first book.

The narration by Michelle Babb is well done. Ms Babb does a great job of keeping the action moving through the centuries and in giving voice to Penny’s thoughts, as well as giving voice to the other characters.

This is an entertaining book and it’s well worth listening to. It isn’t truly a standalone and therefore I would recommend listening to the excellent Penny Preston and the Raven’s Talisman first. 

I was a given a free copy of this book by the narrator in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions stated are solely my own. 

Time folds, temporal dimensional fabric… interesting

Great story, pleasurable listening, I love the premise of powerful powerful people controlling time traveling.

Good book!

Enjoyed the book! Sometimes a little difficult to follow as it jumps around a bit, but overall good!

Penny & Duncan face interdimensional danger

Penny Preston, her friend Duncan, her multidimensional cat, or "Cait Sith," Simon, and their mentors, Mr. Myrdin and Master Poe, are facing a dangerous new challenge.

Something went wrong with Penny's closure of a new time fold, and something may have slipped through. Meanwhile, a friend of Myrdin's on an archaeology dig has found an ancient artifact, a silver scepter.

Suddenly, people are seeing a strange little man dressed in red, who asks for favors. After he doesn't get them, strange pranks are played--including the local cat lady's cats being hung up in trees, but very carefully, in rope nets that restrain them without harming them.

When the archaeologists, hoping for more funding, arrange a meeting with local figures including a sachem of a local Native American tribe, something less harmless happens. During that meeting, one of the participants finds himself unable to move. Penny, in a class where she and Duncan are supposed to do a presentation on Hatshepsut, is seen by others to faint, while she finds herself floating over the meeting in the town library, about the scepter. In the course of this, the scepter disappears from the hands of the sachem.

Penny, Duncan, Master Poe, and Mr. Myrdin discover that what's going on is a potential threat to the survival of the planet.

It's fun, exciting, and leavened with interesting bits of 17th century and early Native American mythology, and what might possibly be the fall of Atlantis. And despite having unusual powers, Penny and Duncan remain real kids, smart kids, brave kids, but subject to the same impulses and mistakes in judgment based in their limited experience.

A very enjoyable, satisfying story. Recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

A bit confused with the characters, but a good read

This second book in the series is a good story. However, I’ve got a little lost with the characters, and again, I didn’t read the book straight through because I was busy with other stuff. Overall I like the book, I like Penny and Duncan, they both grew in their knowledge of their power. I have to say, Penny and her familiar Simon are my favorite so far. I love the series, can’t wait to read the next book. As usual, Michelle Babb is excellent in her narration.

Slow story pacing requires patience

Slow pacing requires patience

4 stars overall, 3 stars story, 4 stars narration

 

   I adored the first book in this “Misaligned” series, so I had high expectations for this second book.  Part of the reason I loved the first book was that there were only about seven important characters and the fast-paced story kept me hooked.  However, the author did not keep those excellent things for the second book.  There were at least 14 important characters who had chapters from their perspectives.  Plus, six of these characters were in the ancient past, and these chapters set in the past really decreased the story pacing and made the plot clunky.  Only in the final three hours of the book did the story come together and the pace picked up nicely.  Also, I didn’t get enough time with Penny, my favorite character.  In summary, the author made this second book into an epic fantasy with its multiple timelines and overly abundant characters.  The mystery/conflict did get resolved at the end of the book.  I still plan to listen to more books in this series.

 

   The narrator Michelle Babb did a very good job.  She made nearly all of the characters in the past sound properly distinctive and not sounding like modern Americans.  I love her voices for all of the returning characters, and she is great at emoting and action scenes.  It seems by the end of the book that there were so many characters that she ran out of ideas for new and distinctive male voices.  One of the villains in the past sounded just like Duncan, but that is my only complaint about her performance.

 

I requested and received a free Audible copy from the narrator Michelle Babb, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.