Jamaican author Marlon James has won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for his novel ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings.’

James received the £50,000 prize during a ceremony held in London on Tuesday. The judges described his book as the "most exciting" book on the shortlist and a story "full of surprises."

“This book is startling in its range of voices and registers, running from the patois of the street posse to the Book of Revelation,” said Michael Wood, chair of the 2015 Man Booker judges. The book “moves at a terrific pace, and will come to be seen as a classic of our times.”

According to Wood, the jury had voted for ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ unanimously in less than two hours.

The 680-page epic vied with Hanya Yanagihara’s ‘A Little Life,’ Tom McCarthy’s ‘Satin Island,’ Sunjeev Sahota’s ‘Year of the Runaways,’ Chigozie Obioma’s ‘Fishermen,’ and Anne Tyler’s ‘Spool of Blue Thread.’

‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ is James’s third novel and was inspired by the attempted assassination of Jamaican singer and musician Bob Marley in the 1970s.

The story unfolds over three decades and is told through the voices of more than 75 characters.

The 44-year-old Marlon James is the first Jamaican author to win the Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in literature.

This is the second year the Man Booker prize has been open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality. Last year’s prize went to Australian author Richard Flanagan for his wartime novel ‘Narrow Road to the Deep North.’