Archaic

by John Parenteau

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2026

About the author

John has been an entertainment professional for most of his career, with a passion for storytelling and filmmaking that has kept him busy in Hollywood since 1983. John has worked in nearly every aspect of film, from visual effects and cinematography to directing and producing. He has also written a number of feature length screenplays in a variety of genres.

With a desire to keep his un-produced work alive, John recently began converting his scripts to novels, with “Stillwater” being his first completed effort. John also loves writing about auto racing (“Zero to Apex”) and filmmaking (his forthcoming “Breaking In”).

Reviews

[CherAnn Wright]

A slow-burn creature horror that knows how to build dread!

Archaic opens with a gut-punch of a prologue and never really lets go for the rest of the book. The author delivers the kind of story that lets the isolation of the setting do the work: a tiny, guarded town tucked into the California hills of wine country, empty streets in broad daylight, and locals who clearly know more than they're saying. It's the kind of dread that creeps in slowly rather than jumping out at you.
What kept me hooked, though, was the characters. A group of college students who are at the center of the story, dragged into this town on what should've been a routine research trip. There's the meticulous planner still grieving a loss, the class clown who won't take anything seriously, his sharp-tongued girlfriend, and the quiet outsider. This group's dynamics feel genuinely funny, which is what makes the creeping tension that follows hit even harder. I found myself chewing my nails.
If you like your horror atmospheric and slow-building rather than nonstop action, Archaic is worth the ride.

[LISA]

The novel begins with a compelling opening scene that effectively establishes the atmosphere of dread that permeates much of the narrative. A group of science students embark on a weekend excursion to examine diatomaceous deposits in a rock quarry set within California’s remote and picturesque wine country. The premise is immediately engaging, supported by an appropriately unsettling setting and a cast of characters with enough depth to sustain the reader’s interest. The prose is immersive, and the storytelling maintains a steady sense of suspense. However, certain narrative possibilities are introduced without being fully developed, causing the plot to lose some of its cohesion. Elements that might have deepened the mystery or strengthened the novel’s thematic impact are ultimately left unresolved. The reader is never given a clear understanding of whether the threat is rooted in something ancient, scientific, supernatural, or altogether different. The ending is certainly surprising, though perhaps not in the way the author intended. Overall, this is a fast-paced and absorbing read, one that held my attention throughout, even if some of its intriguing ideas were not fully realized. 3.6 rounded up to 4

[Jenn]

I really liked this one. The horror atmosphere builds while the story pulls you in. The characters are interesting and mostly likeable. I could feel how much the characters cared about each other (some friends, some dating) as they went on what was supposed to be a short road trip to do research for their group's term paper. When things go sideways, the group tries to understand what's going on. The nice thing for me was, they're intelligent college students who avoid most of the standard horror mistakes that make me want to throw the book across the room. They realize they're in danger and try to get out. The characters responding intelligently to what's going on makes the horror that much more effective to me. Overall, this is a really good story. The author brings an original take to the idea of monsters under the town, there are twists and some gutwrenching scenes. Highly recommended.

I won a free advance review copy of this book through LibraryThing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Melanie Houghton]

This is a good horror story with creepy, skin crawling action. Good characters with confrontational interactions. There are a few holes in the story and I was disappointed in the ending but I’m still interested in reading some other things by this author. And now I need to go out and stomp on some bugs.