The sternest literary critics rave about Marco’s masterpieces, but thankfully other reviewers have said nice things instead. Here’s a sample…

The Awful Truth About The Sushing Prize is an extraordinary mind carnival that is as funny as it is unusual. Shaughnessy deftly twists and turns the world of literary conventions and creates a brilliantly entertaining story, expertly crafted.

Holly Dobbie

The Awful Truth about the Sushing Prize is the rare novel that manages the dual feat of dishing up a highly entertaining potboiler with all the expected flourishes while also provoking readers into a consideration of the writing process itself. Ocram executes this unusual narrative device so seamlessly that the novel ultimately escapes the confines of its own plotlines to become a broader philosophical reflection on the nature of reality itself, diffusing the line between creator and created. Highly recommended.

Kathleen McFall

The Awful Truth about the Sushing Prize is a brilliantly-written crime thriller, parodizing not only literary works but also the writing process itself. Ocram writes the first thing that pops into his head and doesn't go back to revise anything he's written. This gets him stuck in strange situations, both in writing and in the story, and forces him to use “ludicrous plot twists whenever it suits him” to get himself out of a jam. In the words of Professor Sushing, “This so-called novel is the final gruesome development of Ocram's warped philosophy of literature. It is no less than a catalogue of bizarre and improbable twists from start to end.”

Those with a sense of humor will thoroughly enjoy the book. It's different, original, absurd, entertaining, ridiculous, and hilarious, all at the same time. I loved it. I found myself laughing out loud at various descriptions and situations throughout the book. I highly recommend it. I finished this book and immediately bought the author's next book. I'm officially “Ocramized”.

Noosha Ravaghi

A unique, spectacular reading experience. 

Diary of a Book Fiend

There is a technique in theater known as "breaking the fourth wall" in which the actors expose themselves to the audience. In The Awful Truth About The Sushing Prize, author Marco Ocram-not only breaks the fourth wall, but fifth and sixth, and any other wall foolish enough to stand in the way of this sledgehammer of a writer.

My favourite scenes include the meeting with the Pope, the deciphering of computer code, and Ocram on trial for murder (the courtroom scene turned on its head). If occasionally a joke doesn't work, it's probably a setup for a later one that will pay off in spades.

The Awful Truth is also a novel about the writing process, and as such it has enormous fun with literary terms, writing strategies and the publishing industry itself.

There were times when the intensity of language combined with self-reference reminded me of Flann O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds.

Alex Austin

This was a book that was unlike any book I have ever read before. For the first 52% of the book, this was the FUNNIEST book I have ever read. More than one person had their lunch disrupted by my guffawing at the top of my lungs. This part of the book harkened me back to the days of Monty Python and Police Squad. So outstandingly original and ridiculous, I couldn't read a sentence without a chuckle.

N N Light

This has to go down as my most highlighted ebook to date! Nearly every page brought another tongue-in-cheek spoof of writing, reading, fiction in general, or crime fiction in particular.

I just haven’t read another book quite like it!

The story follows Marco Ocram, bad writer and something of an idiot all round, as he writes his own crime adventure while it occurs. It’s unbelievably meta and incredibly good fun.

Starting with a new television and a squashed body, Marco drags his reluctant hero Como for a romp through the tropes and clichés of crime fiction, framed utterly anew by the unique style of delivery.

There are innumerable media and cultural references: Marco Ocram is basically standing in front of the Fourth Wall nodding, winking and mouthing ‘Ha ha, look!’ periodically at the reader. I think I could reread the book multiple times and still find new gems.

Bookshine and Readbows

This brilliantly written book has tiny veins of hilarity marbled entirely throughout its pages, and only the very observant, or the completely insane, will pick up on all of them.

I have never awarded five stars for a book before, and some will argue that it has to be perfect to merit such an award. I present my case. Find me a book even remotely similar, then we'll be able to compare. Not just unique... but, brilliantly so!

Chris Whyatt

What a hilarious, entertaining, totally off-the-wall and unique read. It is a mirthful and shrewd parody of The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair (a phenomenal best seller a few years back); an astute and sly examination of the publishing industry, the writing process and the ‘celebrity’ author and a knowing poke at literary theory and criticism. 

The narrative is very distinctive and, as other reviewers have commented, it breaks the fourth wall; that is, the narrator directly addresses the reader. Marco Ocram, the narrator, is a hugely successful author who can write what actually happens next. The reader is therefore faced with a writer asking himself (and the audience) what the next action is going to be. He is literally making things up as the narrative goes along and on a number of occasions, through his bad judgement, he writes himself into some ridiculous and very funny situations. 

The, rather unhinged, plot centres on Marco and his buddy, police chief Como Galahad, investigating a murder (a Bulgarian squashed by a shipping container) and the subsequent discovery of warehouses full of millions of editions of a single book. These investigation lead, bizarrely, to meetings with the Pope and Tom Cruise, plus encounters with Bulgarian criminals and the renowned Professor Sushing. Marco frequently loses control of the action and his characters and zany mayhem ensues. The ending is simply priceless in its lampooning of the action/adventure genre.

This book won’t be for everyone but I loved it. The characters are slightly ridiculous but very engaging, the action moves at a breakneck pace and the humour is laugh out loud on numerous occasions. If you want to read something really, really different then I urge you to read The Awful Truth About the Sushing Prize. 

Mary Hulford