How Much To..?

The Game #1

by Matt Shaw

The Game is simple. Each of the contestants are asked a question: how much to complete a certain task? They then have two minutes to name a price but if they go too high and their fellow contestants are cheaper, they have just priced themselves out of the game. The trick is to go high enough to win a good amount of money but low enough to ensure you are the winner. By the end of the bidding war, the person who is the cheapest contestant has to then go through, one by one, completing the tasks. No backing out allowed now... But who is running this game? And more to the point - why?!

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Dark, Novella, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

236 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2019

About the author

Biography

MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.


Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.

Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.

Reviews

[Mort · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear Mr. Shaw,

For the most part, I am a fan of your work and your twisted mind.
This book was a JACKASS episode on steroids.
Sadly, grossing me out - in which you succeeded - is not enough to make me like a story. I have outgrown that phase in my life decades ago.

I am sorry to say that this one did nothing for me - almost, there was one thing I liked, which explains the second star.
I can't go into any details without spoiling something about the plot and, despite my rating, I want to give your fans the opportunity to decide for themselves.

Looking forward to something more to my liking.
Recommended to people who wants to be grossed out.

Regards
ms

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contestants are chosen to play a game, each posting how much they would pay to complete a series of deeds. The person with the lowest score of charges wins and must complete the deeds, should they choose not to opt out of the game. Judging by the chores chosen by the creators of the game, I would definitely opt out. Not one of the chores are, shall we say, savory. This is vomitous material, but it certainly keeps a brave reader's attention. Am I brave enough to read the next book in the series? Watch me.

[Lady MacDeath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nil by Mouth!!!

This is the first book of Matt’s which I have read, and I loved it! It is sick, brutal, stomach churning and shocking to think what people would do for money. There would never be enough money in the world for me to do any of it. This is an awesome book for anyone into extreme horror, but one bit of advice....do not eat before reading LOL 😝

[KillerBunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn it was good, finished it in two days, I was thinking about this book all day. The story is amazing, so creative. But the thing with this book is, you can play too, ask yourself "How Much To?" And see if you win, I hope not ! Really excited to continue this serie. Not so much author can make me gag, actually not one but Mr Matt Shaw, he can even make gravy disgusting.

[⋆˚°✩*˖ Gohnar23 (•˕ •マ.ᐟ ˚⟡˖ ࣪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

#️⃣1️⃣9️⃣8️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🐠 🍭
Date 🌬️: Saturday, May 3, 2025 ☄️
Word Count📃: 35k Words, short

╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀🌸💮🌸❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗
૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡ My 6th read in summertime read-a-thon "since idk wtf to do with my life for one thousand — two hundred — twenty four hours straight" (⁠^⁠-⁠^⁠ ⁠)

3️⃣🌟, its eh,.,.,.,,..., not really redeeming
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗

So this book is pretty much very simple, this is honestly one of the most simplest plots that Matt Shaw has ever written (ive only read like 3 or 4 books by this guy currently, i'm planning to read more doee) and it's basically just eight people writing down a price of 10 favors and how much they would do that favor, and after all the questions have been answered and the prices have been combined the person with the least amount of money written will get to win the money that they wrote while doing the said 10 favors they would do.

The favors areee

Drink a pint of gravy
Spit on the person's face of the person who wrote the least amount of money on favor 1
Eat a spoonful of shit
Shoot someone
Shoot yourself
Drink blood
Cut your finger
Eat said finger
Fuck a homeless dude &
Eat the fluids after you're done 👍

But Jennifer who won $70,000 to do all of those is one of the most stupidest and most scaredy cat character of all.. LIKE GIRL YOU WROTE DOWN THE PRICE OF HOW MUCH TO DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS BUT NOW WHEN YOU GET THE MONEY THAT YOU WROTE IS THE PRICE THAT YOU'LL DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS THEN YOU SOMEHOW DECIDE THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO ALL OF THOSE ANYMORE..

so now she's dead :/// its kinda her fault

Like when they say "shoot yourself" on favor #5, dont shoot your damn brains out🤦‍♂️, they didnt specify which part of the body you're gonna shoot yourself, that's kinda the most stupidest decision you'll ever make, SHOOT YOUR HAIR OR SMTH, THEY DIDNT SPECIFY WHAT PART OF THE BODY YOU'LL SHOOT YOURSELF damn Jennifer's so stupid

[MadameD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desperados…

Story 3/5
Narration 4/5

The beginning of, How Much To..? by Matt Shaw was promising. I thought I was going to read a psychologic extreme horror story, but it wasn’t that.
What would you do for money? The concept of this book is very interesting. And could have been better, if it has been less focused on the gross out elements, in my opinion. I was disappointed. I wanted more substance in the tasks for the test participants.
This story didn’t keep me interested.

[james]

dnf @66% because i nearly threw up a few times reading so i don't think this is for me lol

the first part where they just played the How Much - Game was actually rather interesting and they are all idiots and should have asked for more money

the second part of the winner doing the tasks isn't doing it for me cause it's considerably less enjoyable in the most general sense and also because my stomach apparently can't take it

[Mique Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gory games? Sign me up (for the book lol).

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate Stephenson impressed his bosses by securing additional income for the company by renting her body out by the hour. Nate was also the driving force for the format change of the show, pioneering what was later screened as The Game.

[Rayne Havok · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what compelled me, but I tried to eat while reading. The homeless man walked in and, needless to say, I think I'm done with food.
Looking forward to see where the new guy takes us.

[Mrsgmamma · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the whole concept of this story was pretty dope, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. I like the setup of how it goes but I just confused me throughout the whole book. I’m really hoping the next one I read is a lot less confusing. Idk that’s just me though.

[Phoebe Simone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short and easy to read with a fun premise but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

With a lot of typos, poor grammar, mistakes/incorrectly used language and lots of irrelevant detail this book could definitely benefit from an edit. For example, having two Stevens and a Mr Stephenson is ridiculous for a book with approximately thirteen named characters.

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Some scenes were gross, but I've read grosser. Still, it was fun. I enjoyed this book. A group of people play a game, pricing how much it would take for them to complete gross tasks. To say the least, it was entertaining.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very fun, fast, and disturbing read. I picked it up and never put it down. I loved the whole concept of the game and I am looking forward to reading the rest in the series. This was my first Matt Shaw book, but certainly won’t be my last.

[Kirsty Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

[your morbid obsession Minerva🖤 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story, the idea and at least the first half of the book was interesting, as a reader I had a chance to “play the game” myself, so that was fun. The second part was surprisingly so disgusting to me that I actually felt nauseous most of the time reading it and had to stop a few times.
Overall alright, I will probably be reading further parts of this series.

[Amanda Ruzsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I even begin?? This was… twisted. Sick. Depraved. Unputdownable! A popular game has been monetized and put in place by an exclusive company. Right off the bat we meet the employee who will replace his predecessor, so we too get an inside look at training for the job. The Game is definitely just that.. a game. One where you can walk away with a whole lotta money… and a whole lotta trauma… or nothing at all… for a handful of men and women, this could be a huge financial strain lifted… but at what cost? How much is too much, how much isn’t enough? This book visually maps out just how little and just how much this game can help and hurt you. Is a stack of cash worth the moral dilemmas, the deplorable acts one must endure? Read this… seriously.. It took me a day. felt like 3. My throat burns, my stomach twists, my brain bleeds… and I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of this series!

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d

This was just fucked up torture porn which included a homeless man having sex with an unconscious woman. Had I known that when I read the synopsis I would not have paid 99p to read this. Maybe this kind of thing does it for some people but the whole thing was fucking revolting, and felt like the author was just getting off on it.

Plus, the writing was bad fanfic level awful. I think I’ll stick to traditionally published books in future.

How much to finish this? Not enough money in the world mate.

[Tara Losacano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick fun!

How much to... read a gory, sick, twisted book by Matt Shaw? Well free of course! This book nauseated me, made me cringe and almost gag but I loved every minute of it!

[Elizabeth Lapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better them than me. I would have left the game. Ew. No, thank you.

[Paige Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had some really gag worthy scenes. 🤢 How far would you go for money? I sure as hell would’ve quit way before the others did. Absolutely NOT.

I’m curious to see what the prequel entails. Will I finish out the series? You bet. Matt Shaw you’re one sick twisted fuck lol

[Ash Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘How much to?’ …. A simple question with extreme consequences.

I enjoyed this short book, it was a nice and easy read, of which the writing style and book structure takes the reader on a journey, not only to witness the gruesome games the contestants are put through, but also the psychological impact of depravity.

Am now looking to read the next few books in this series.

[Cassie T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

didnt mind it but struggling with the last little bit frankly but its good enough to freak and tweak you out so id say it did its job. love the concept tho

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a T.V show that has contestants that for all personal reasons are in desperate needs of large amounts of cash. So they are perfect contenders as they have to state how much they would accept to do each challenge but as the game progresses the challenges get sicker and more disgusting thus pushing people to their absolute limits.
Full of bitter and twisted depravity, gore and bodily functions I found myself getting bored with the continuity but held on to see if there would be any change.
It was ok, just not for me I prefer a more solid story however it did make me think about just what people will do for money?, who would watch such a game? and marvel at the authors very twisted and warped imagination.
I will still read the second book though to see if it redeems more in my eye as I have heard it is meant to be this authors sickest yet.

[Bryan Moyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Shaw can write some pretty depraved fiction, but this beats them all. This was brutal and disgusting. It's the first time I've ever had a book make me gag so hard that I thought I was going to lose my supper. I have to give him a standing ovation for this one. While being the most disgusting thing I've ever read, the writing was stellar as well. Shaw's descriptions were so vivid, I could taste and feel things that were going on. Fantastic book that I don't think I will be reading again any time soon.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m stuck as to what to say about this. Firstly I’ve just seen it’s a series and said out loud in an empty room omg there’s more!
Yes it’s an extreme horror and yes it really does mean that! Yes by the end I felt sick and still do when I’m thinking about it! BUT I can’t take away from the author how well written it is and how unique it is. I’ve already been recommending it with warnings! Because it’s just so well written but again it’s not for everyone!

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know when you randomly get those ill read things amazon or kindle recommend i read few Matt books but havent in awhile and this one popped up.. this is like a gory twisted game.. that few moments did make me gag on what the people did. Ill be honest it wasnt intresting.. :/

The ending was meh.. their is a book 2.. i might read it. Maybe the games are more twisted? And different? Who knows

[Justinhntr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well...that was something

Body horror. Torture porn. Have a read and see if you have the stamina to finish. Five stars. Holy moly - that was...something.

[Timbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT! Good thing it was short, I don't think my stomach could've taken it any longer! Bravo, Matt!

[Daniel BlutsBücher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inhalt:

Das Spiel lockt Fremde Menschen mit einem hohen Geldgewinn. Es scheint ganz einfach. Alles was die Teilnehmer machen müssen ist es, 10 Fragen mit einem Geldbetrag zu beantworten, für welchen, sie die Dinge tun, die in der Frage verlangt werden. Wer am Ende den niedrigsten Betrag (insgesamt) gesetzt hat, gewinnt das Geld,
sofern er auch bereit ist, die Aufgaben wahrhaftig zu erfüllen. Wie käuflich sind die Teilnehmer?
💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

Es ist wieder ein sehr dünner Extrem Roman. In 3 Tagen hatten wir in durch.

Man wird direkt in die Geschichte geworfen. Man lernt den Spielleiter und seinen Nachfolger kennen. Beim lesen des Buches wird man selbst aktiv und überlegt, für welchen Betrag würde man die gestellten Aufgaben machen und man kann sich denken, dass die Aufgaben nicht ohne sind.
Man fragt sich selbst: „Wie käuflich bin ich?“

Bei einigen Aufgaben wird einem schon übel. Aber dennoch fand ich es einen relativ harmloseren Extrem Band, der sich gut für Einsteiger der Reihe eignet.

Von mir bekommt es 5/5 Sterne ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️