Muze

"Upon arising from bed, my mind was assaulted with these words: you will die soon. As long as you are alive, you have a full range of options. Take what you want; take WHATEVER you want."

In the near future, the world becomes enraptured by a mystery drug called Muze, which promises to boost men's confidence and help them find the woman of their dreams. After Muze becomes a hit among the incel community, one man becomes suspicious after his friend begins taking the drug and then "ascends," vanishing without a trace. His investigation into his friend's disappearance leads him to begin taking Muze himself, revealing a wider plot involving a pharmaceutical firm, a suicidal mental patient, a young woman bred to be the ultimate temptress, an amoral doctor, and more.

Muze is a disturbing glimpse at loneliness, sexual manipulation, and drug addiction in modern America. Andy Nowicki's novella offers a sympathetic portrait of the men left behind by the sexual revolution, a condemnation of how Big Pharma preys on unhappy people, and an examination of the symbiotic relationship between pharmaceutical companies and the government.