3 Bodies 1 Soul

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Alex Hunter woke up in another world and found himself in control of three different bodies; a timid and weak-willed human guard, a good-for-nothing demon prince, and an elf who wants nothing more than to leave the forest where he lived his whole life, and to go to the outside world to explore and see how the other races were living.

How is Alex going to deal with all of this? Especially after realising that 'he' was leading an army to invade the town 'he' lived in.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Alt41

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 125
Views: 40,661

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

DA_OriginsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story 5/5: I feel like I'm getting a 3 for 1 deal. A story with an underdog human trying to succeed in the world. Tick. An evil young prince who's a demon. Tick. An elf who pines for adventure when his family frown upon it. Tick. Bringing all three narratives together in a well planned and interesting story line. Now that's unique!
Style 5/5: something about the style is simple but extremely alluring. The story flows extremely well and keeps you hooked while the detail and exposition is enough to not be overbearing. I guess there really is beauty in simplicity and I think the authors style perfectly matches the isekai genre.
Grammar 4.5/5: A few things here and there but no glaring issues. I'm not a grammar expert but i feel like the grammar improves with each and every chapter.
Characters 5/5: I really like the characters in this story. Each has their distinct traits that make you excited to follow their journey. What's more is that the MC controls all three characters at once. Still too early for me to comment about the side characters
Overall 5/5: The author has created something really special here. A new take on the transmigration isekai novel that is sure to pull you in and leave you wanting more. I've no doubt we'll be seeing this in the trending or rising stars list soon enough.
DandyJordanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style - I've never read a story like this before. One person controlling three bodies wasn't even a type of story that I've ever seen or thought of existing. The style of having three people being controlled by one mind might sound chaotic, but it flows incredibly well and comes off as a true three-in-one.
Story - This story starts fast and goes hard right out the gate. I appreciate good set up, but starting this story off with the trio brings a kind of chaos that's super entertaining.
Grammar - I didn't catch any flaws in the grammar. But also the story's flow in the first person feels so oddly fitting.
Character - All three 'bodies' have personalities that make up different aspects of the whole that the MC controls. They don't seem to get along, but they fit together like a horrible and amazing puzzle that you can't look away from.
Overall - Honestly I say you should read this story for the sheer unique factor if nothing else. I've never seen anything like it, and it doesn't feel like some tacky gimmic, but a well thought out and well written story. I'm looking forward to seeing what this story brings us in the future!
IanFlatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Three bodies? Bloody brilliant idea.
This starts very much in the middle of the protagonist(s) being confused, disoriented, grappling with their new reality. Which makes the chapter itself a little confused and disoriented … but effective. And the threat of Shouty Man really helps orient the reader. We know there's trouble …
(Should be 'two pairs of eyes, two pairs of ears'; each body only has one pair.)
Clever of the author to begin with one body meditating. Not only to help the protagonist, but mostly so the reader doesn't have too many new characters to worry about.
Extremely nice range of characters: absolutely ordinary, scrawny, cowardly, victimized human. Arrogant piece of shit. Soft-spoken maybe spiritual elf.
The exposition about the characters is … very expository. I'd normally say 'show don't tell,' but with the one soul in three bodies, this might be the best way to help the reader orient to the situation.
The author does a great job putting two of the bodies into immediate action/conflict. The interactions with the maid and with Lambert are both clear despite the protag's multiplicity, as are the issue of the army meeting, and the Ceremony. Very nicely handled. And, most importantly, it makes me wonder what'll happen next.
LadyFluffingtonsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Multilead stories are already pretty rare, most novels on this site focusing on a single perspective. But a multilead story where the Main Character -is- the other leads as well? Now that's a unique take that I'm 100% behind.
Each of the lead's are distinct, the remants of their personalities giving individual quirks even as they're piloted by the same consciousness. I'm especially eager to see more from the perspective of the Elf, so this is one I'm definitely following.
Style - As I said, each of the characters have their own quirks, Dorian's perspective is frequently from the viewpoint of, let's face it, a bit of a coward. Zagmuz' hotheadedness bleeds well into Alex's more controlled manners, and it's reflected in the writing.
Story - The conflict in the setting gets off to a quick start, two of the three souls on a collision course with one another from the jump. I do hope that the Elf will eventually get a bit more of a focus, but you can't blame Alex for having bigger priorities.
Grammar - Solid grammer and a lovely sense of prose. A+ from me.
Character - The sole reason I haven't given the character score a full 5/5, if the lack of focus on the third soul. While we get an idea that the Elf is a cool collected sort, it'd be nice to have some amount of input on it's day to day.
Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a unique take on the "multi-lead story" genre, fans of fantasy, and just in general, anyone looking for an interesting story!
CKJ5Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story 5/5: the concept of this story is amazing. Having MC being three MCs is a unique take and one that I welcome. The way the author handles it is also really well done. The MC has access to the three characters’ memories, which means he knows what he is doing most of the time. Two of his characters are on a collision course, and we will see how that resolves itself.
Style 4.5/5: As I said before, the story has a unique angle, which I assume also makes it challenging to write. The author does a great job of ensuring the readers don’t get too lost. After the first few chapters, I felt right at home with the style and characters.
Grammar 4.5/5: I did not see any crucial grammatical errors that made the story hard to understand. With another pass or two, it should be near flawless.
Characters 5/5: the one thing that stands out is the author made three distinct characters that are being role-played by another character, and he manages to keep the characters' voices separate.
Overall 5/5: it is rather difficult to explain the experience that 3 Bodies, 1 Soul is. It is a very ambitious project that, so far, is coming together nicely. I have no qualms suggesting that you give this story a try.
Adam SampsonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is a weird idea. I like it. The author really leans into the idea that the isekaied guy is in control of three bodies. Not babies either, adults with difficult situations that he has to start addressing right away.
It’s helpful that he has access to the other body’s memories but, at least for now, he has problems focusing on more than one body at a time.
It’s a situation fit for drama, and the author just runs with it.
BullerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I've always loved multi-body stories. Being fully honest, I am angry we don't have more of them. This story shows off what potential the genre has and should be used as an benchmark.
Take that me as seeing it as average. Yes, it's great fun to read through. Yes, the premise is to die for. Yes, it needs a bit of work with overall pacing and stylistic choices. It's some great stuff that could be even greater with a mild touch-up. For now, it's a 4.5/5
AstrilleRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Overall:
3 Bodies 1 Soul is an interesting new take on the isekai genre which I haven't seen done in this way before. I've seen swapping between characters and bodies, but not simultaneous control which is interesting and has a huge potential to be explored. The three characters that our singular soul is controlling are markedly different, which again adds the potential for exciting depths to be explored.
Unfortunately, because the concept is so fresh, I'm not quite sure what to make of it as there's little to compare it to. There's a lot going on and with the individual bodies retaining most of their original memories and personalities, a little of the 'magic' feels as though it's lost here.
Style (4 stars):
The author's writing style makes the switching between viewpoints easy to understand. It could be easy to lose track of who is doing what when flitting between bodies, but I didn't find this to be the case. My issue was that, regularly, the writing felt a little stale. As I said earlier, there's a lot going on with different cultures and people involved. The author has included backstory about this, but the way that it is dropped in makes it feel like they've stepped away from the story and suddenly we've got a dry extract from a glossary. The introduction to the Elven body and descriptions of the types of demons, in particular, made me less inclined to keep reading. It may be worth the author reading back through and seeing if there might be a more organic way of telling us that this particular demon is 2.7 metres tall and a relatively common species despite being the only demon of this species that has been introduced.
Story (4.5 stars):
The story, and its interesting premise, starts strong and introduces conflict early on. By chapter 5/6 we're already reaching a turning point where sizeable action and heavy consequences seem unavoidably close. Will there be chaos? Trauma? Hilarity? Only the author knows, but it looks like it'll be a fun ride for anyone wanti
EkoRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
I have loved the concept of a protagonist with multiple bodies/perspectives ever since I read Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice. While stylistically the transitions between POV bodies are rather careful and less fluid than they could be, more like reading about 3 different characters than 1, the story still utilizes the entire concept in an entertaining way.
What holds back the story is the mediocre world building and the synopsis that sets some of us readers up for disappointment because of it.
The synopsis is setting up this great moral conflict - He is leading an army to invade a town he lives in. What will he do? How will he reconcile the responsibilities and trust that his men have in him as their commander with the loyalty and love he has for his city?
The world building gives us a terribly boring answer, which is: Humans good, demons bad. Because demons bad, our hero can just completely betray the demons (and his army) and try his best to get them all massacred which is perfectly justified because demons bad.
I don't think I can overstate how boring and annoying this is. The MC has the memories of all 3 of his bodies, he has a unique and unparalleled perspective into the cultures and views of all 3 of the races and he comes to the conclusion that demons bad??? No compromises, no arguments, no confusion.
His demon body is used just as a spy/saboteur and that is it. He could work to try and become the next demon king, to end the enimity and bloodshed between humans and demons for good or he could at least have some moral qualms about doing his best to massacre his army. He doesn't, of course.
From what I have read I would say that "demons bad" is not the conclusion the author wants to make. The demon characters are written like normal people, often sympathetic and we are never given a reason for the war, so I can hope that there is a good one instead of demons bad. However, and this is something many new authors don't realise, "show don't tell" works both ways.
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Evelyn AdelbergRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Although the base premise is unique and interesting, there isn't much else going on.
Judging by the other reviews, it will get really good later on. But for me it's hard to get passed these first few chapters where nothing much, other than exposition, happens.
I think the prose plays into that, almost monotonous aspect, as well, with a lack of variety in paragraph length, and scarce dialogue.