The First One

"The First One" by Herbert D. Kastle is a science fiction novel that examines the complex themes of identity, isolation, and the impact of extraordinary experiences on domestic life, while painting a portrait of a man trying to rebuild his life after a history-making trip to Mars during the early 1960s. The story revolves around Henry Devers, who, upon returning from his pioneering space journey, finds himself a stranger in his own home; instead of a warm embrace, he's met with an unsettling mixture of reverence and apprehension from his family and community. Amidst a strained family environment, Devers grapples with the emotional distance and the challenges of reintegrating into a world that can't comprehend his transformation, while the narrative traces his internal struggles and the slow, painstaking process of bridging the chasm his journey has created between him and his loved ones.