Sean Platt and Johnny B. Trant have crafted a truly engaging read with *Pattern Black*! This sci-fi thriller takes you into HRO22, a massive prison where ex-cop Mason Shaw finds himself in quite a predicament.

Think of it as a thrilling mix between *Escape from New York* and *The Matrix*, with a touch of *Black Mirror* for added intrigue. Shaw, who's trying to break free from the shadow of his disgraced father, ends up part of "Chamber Therapy," a creepy program that claims to help criminals but often leads to unexpected madness.

Mason Shaw is a deeply relatable character filled with flaws but also a lot of determination, making it hard not to cheer for him. Watching his fight to keep his sense of self in a tough environment is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The story really dives into some important questions about technology and its possible misuse, making you think about where the line is between helping people and taking control of their minds.

The plot races along with plenty of surprises, ensuring you’ll be glued to the pages! Just when you think you have it all figured out, the authors have a way of throwing in a twist that keeps you guessing.

You can really feel the atmosphere in HRO22—where hope is scarce and survival is a daily struggle. The vivid descriptions make it easy to imagine the cold steel bars and stale air around you.

While the fast pace is definitely a highlight, there are moments where character development takes a backseat to the action. Some readers might find the ending a little sudden, leaving a few questions in the air.

Overall, *Pattern Black* is a fantastic pick for anyone who loves a gripping sci-fi thriller. It's dark, gritty, and thought-provoking, ensuring it sticks with you long after you turn that final page. If you're in the market for a book that will keep you up all night, this one is definitely worth checking out!

Stars: 2 out of 5

This book was a chore to read, and I almost DNFed it at 32% when things were making to sense at all and I was getting very annoyed with the narrative.  I powered through it and finished this book, but I'm not sure I made the right choice. It had been a long and often frustrating slog to get through all 700+ pages of this.

The concept itself is really interesting. I mean, I love Inception. I still think it's one of the best movies ever made. So I was really excited to read something similar. Unfortunately, this concept is a lot harder to bring to life on a written page than it is on the silver screen. Where in a movie you could add an element of crazy and reality not making sense in small visual queues, on a page it just makes for a very confusing and frustrating narrative. 

It doesn't help that this confusion persists for the first 40% of the book. This is way too long to leave the reader wondering what the heck is going on. I have seen that a lot of readers DNFed this book around 30-35% in, and I totally understand why. Like I said, I almost did the same.

Once the protagonist emerges out of the simulation within a simulation he's been in for the first half of the book, things start to pick up steam and make slightly more sense, but even then, the action drags. Unnecessarily, in my opinion. I found that the final confrontation took too much time as well. I kept turning the pages and wishing for things to finally be over, yet the conflict still dragged and dragged. When I finally reached the last page, my thought was "thank God, it's done," instead of "wow, that was good book." That should tell you something about how invested I was(n't) in this story.

I got tired of the simulation within simulation within another simulation that was constantly going on. I also got tired of the double- triple- and quadruple-crossing going on in this book. It made my brain hurt. I might have enjoyed the twists and turns better if I cared about the characters, but as it stands, all of them are horrible human beings. Especially Mason. He is awful in the beginning of the book when he is in the simulation, and he doesn't get much better once he emerges into the real world.

In fact, all the characters do is fight with each other, bicker and hurt each other. There isn't a single healthy relationship to be found. They never talk about their issues or try to resolve them. They just lash out and make things worse. The relationship between Mason and Carter is especially toxic, and nothing is done about it. To be honest, by the end of the book I was cheering Mason on when he held the logic bomb, because I would have actually been happy with an "and everybody died" ending for this group of wonderful human beings.

As it stands, the ending is rather unsatisfying, because I don't think our protagonist learned the most important lesson he had to learn - that hiding from his issues isn't a solution. 

I am still giving this book 2 stars, because it is well-written, and the concept is amazing. With more likeable characters you could root for, this would have been a very good story.

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This dystopian novel was a struggle for me and I really had to push through to finish. The first third or so of the book was incredibly confusing and it took until the second third for it to start making sense. Unfortunately, by this point, I had lost interest and overall found this read quite disappointing.

DNF at 25%
I guess I liked the idea and the synopsis of the book more than the book ifself…
I found the plot very intriguing, but so confusing and long.
I can’t force myself to continue reading it but wanted to thank you so much for sending me an ARC of this book, I’m forever honoured to be among the people who have the joy of reading a new release sooner than the specific release date!

While almost like a story within a story, and just when you think you are starting to understand a bit, a jarring plot twist is inserted and off you go in a whole new direction. The story starts off a bit slow, but then gets going and doesn't stop, but while intellectually it was intriguing, I agree with others in that the language inserted just felt forced, not like it really belonged or flowed, nor was particularly relevant. Normally I kind of fly through reading books, but this one slowed me down as I was trying to really piece together the different story lines, the characters, the mind tricks as Mason went under Chamber Therapy. There are many points that give almost a Matrix/Shutter Island/Inception vibe that you really pay more attention to. Overall, I really did enjoy reading it.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

The book starts out slow and is wildly confusing for the first third or so. It slowly cleans up as more and more of the events are explained, and it becomes apparent that the authors made it confusing on purpose, as a way to get the reader to understand how the main character is viewing his reality or unreality. The main character is a bit too much of an asshole to be believable in the beginning chapters but slowly improves as the book hits its stride. The middle chapters are amazing and the story really starts to flesh itself out but the last few chapters seemed to drag on for no real reason.

The story itself is reminiscent of the first matrix movie with lots of cyberpunk influences. A main character who isn’t really aware of what’s going on till it’s all revealed to him (Neo and Morpheus). Even at the end of the book when the character begins to understand everything is very Matrix like.

Overall it’s a decent read but there’s better, more original content out there in the Cyberpunk/Distopian genre.

A raw look into the possible future of our world's prison system. Pattern Black is a fast-paced adventure inside a man's mind as he faces the chilling life of prison. Platt does an excellent job of bouncing between different perspectives to try and draw in the reader (although this means you spend a few chapters completely confused while your brain gets used to the writing style).

The plot and characters of This book make it a solid 4 out of 5 stars!

It is a psicologica thriller mix of "the matrix" and "Minority report". It is about a cop with daddy issues who tries to solve what happened to his father by entereing into Pattern black, an inusual prison. There his mental health is tested. He has to be strong minded to find the solution.

This was an excellent well written book. This was a new to me author. I throughly enjoyed this book. I give this book a five star rating

Totally immersive and mind-bending read. This futuristic novel blends the themes of ‘The Matrix’, ‘Groundhog Day’, and a few other mind-bending psychological thrillers. You are immediately thrust into the action, following ex-cop Mason on his wild ride. It’s a bit jarring but keep going. Once you’re in, you’re hooked! Can Mason find the truth — and expose the dark secret behind Chamber Therapy — before Revival finds a way to shut him up forever? You won’t be disappointed.

This was next-level! This story bounces around perspectives which I wasn't sure I was liking but it actually really fleshes out the story (and overall the book is very fast-paced). You might wonder while reading it if the future of prisons could look something like they do in this book. It is very chilling because of that. In that way, the book is also political and basically questions if it is possible to rehabilitate criminals by using specific techniques/situations? The main character is also a detective turned incarcerated criminal which just adds to the story.

The book have a very interesting subject and the author offer to the writers a very intersting and wonderful story.

It’s really long, tbh i was kinda overwhelmed 😗, but omgg!!, it’s good, really love every concept, and mystery, and Manson is 😏😏, really hard for me to pursue bc this like genre isn’t really on my field but overall I loved it!

When it comes to the team of Platt and Truant you almost never really know what you’re going to get. It might be an alien invasion saga where for a while there doesn’t seem to be any actual aliens (the Invasion series), a fantasy western where the hero rides a unicorn (Unicorn Western), a brilliant literary journey (Devil May Care), or their own unique take on the zombie genre (the Dead World Series) just to name a few. The one thing you do know you’ll get is an entertaining tale. And that is definitely the case with Platt and Truant’s latest work, the rather lengthy tomb: Pattern Black. A tale that instantly pulls you in while also confusing you—in a good way that keeps you engaged. They describe Pattern Black as Escape from New York meets the Matrix and I honestly can’t improve upon that description. Once a respected police officer, Mason Shaw now finds himself an inmate in the Revival corporation’s city sized prison. Want to get out? There are only two ways. One is death, the other is undergoing a rather shady special rehabilitation treatment known as Chamber Therapy, but the treatment is not without some serious risks. Pattern Black features some great characters and a complex action packed story. I'd like to thank Sterling & Stone and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Pattern Black,

https://www.amazon.com/review/RH3N2PQR48ZE2/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Pattern black by Sean Platt and Johhny B. Trant.
Once a respected police officer, Mason Shaw’s father threw away his career by going rogue and landing himself in Revival’s privately-run prison, HRO22. Now Mason is following in his father’s footsteps — he’s an inmate with no hope of parole and only two ways out: Chamber Therapy or a body bag. Chamber Therapy promises the miracle of criminal rehabilitation, curing prisoners of their criminal tendencies. But the flip-side of Chamber Therapy’s success is its ultimate failure: Pattern Black — the total disintegration of identity that drives the prisoner insane. Worse, Revival seems to be hiding what happens to the prisoners once they go Pattern Black. As Mason makes his way through his new reality, a mysterious Preacher seems to haunt his every move. His only hope is Immunity, a rebel group led by a hacker named Calliope, who’s trying to fight the system from inside. Can Mason find the truth — and expose the dark secret behind Chamber Therapy — before Revival finds a way to shut him up forever?
I really really enjoyed this book. Gripping read. Good story and characters. 4*.

This was an interesting story, based on an intriguing premise. Would it be possible to rehabilitate criminals using immersive simulations? Told from the viewpoint of a detective turned incarcerated criminal, the methods and the madness are piece by piece exposed. The politics here are very dark, but given some of the things unfolding in current real-life politics, one wonders if these things aren't plausible. Certainly the criminal justice system is having some major weaknesses exposed. It feels ominous that one possible outcome could be to create city sized prisons where anyone convicted of even the most minor crime is held unless they are rehabilitated through therapy simulations. I found Mason and Dakota very likeable protagonists, and while the technology is definitely a stretch, it made for a great tale. The title made me think there might be some skin color racism issues explored, but that isn't the case. The story did drag on a bit in the third quarter, but I like long books, so that wasn't a big deal for me.