The novel “The Eyes of Heisenberg” by Frank Herbert was published for the first time in 1966.

In a far future children’s birth is strictly regulated and each individual’s DNA is manipulated right after being conceived. The products of such manipulations are divided in two reproductive classes: the Optimen, naturally sterile, and the Folks, most kept sterile through a special gas while some others are allowed to reproduce.

Harvey and Lizbeth Durant received permission to conceive a child but during the manipulation that is mandatory for a fertilized egg something unexpectedly happens. The consequence is that the Durant family ends in the middle of a power struggle that also includes the Cyborgs, who’s been trying to overthrow the Optimen’s regime for a long time.

In “The Eyes of Heisenberg”, Frank Herbert develops themes that later became typical of his works. In particular, there’s an interconnection between the topic of eugenics and that of a society, in this case the whole humanity, dominated by an elite group of immortals.

The society is dominated by the Optimen, who are potentially immortal but to keep the stability of their metabolism they must avoid strong emotions. As a consequence the Optimen live isolated from other people and to keep the stasis in their physiology they imposed a stasis in all society also stopping technological progress.

A total control is impossible, also because a biological equivalent of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle causes genetic mutations even against the various artificial manipulation attempts. This element is developed at the limit between science and religion and that too is typical of Frank Herbert

In that society there are people who fight the Optimen’ power: the Cyborgs, who fought the Optimen in a past war and now are still plotting against them helping an underground parents group. The Cyborgs have their agenda, base on their ideas and their lack of emotions and that doesn’t necessarily make them the good ones.

In “The Eyes of Heisenberg” an unexpected genetic mutation during the manipulation of an empryo drives the struggle between the Optimen and the underground groups to a new level and the various factions real plans are revealed.

Honestly this isn’t Frank Herbert’s best novel, also because its reduced length doesn’t allow the development of some topics. He still succeds in being more profound than most science fiction novels in the way he depicts a future society in this case static, the consequences of its status and how power is handled.

In “normal” novels there are the good guys and the bad guys and eventually the good guys win: instead Frank Herbert succeds in showing us shades of grey and an ending far from obvious. Harvey and Lizbeth Durant are far from unprepared but end up in the midst of a battle in which the factions are certainly not interested in their well being.

“The Eyes of Heisenberg” is not an action novel and the pace is often slow, especially at the beginning. The tension is created bu the dangers to some characters and plot twists that are not trivial. It’s a story in which the psychological element is very important and the main characters are well developed so that the reader can discover their thoughts, desires and aspirations.

In my opinion, “The Eyes of Heisenberg” would’ve needed more space to develop its story and its ideas in the best way. As it it, it seems like a novel only partly successful so I recommend it especially to those interested in ideas rather than the plot.