Transliterated [Xenofiction Isekai]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

NOTE: Due to unforeseen life circumstances, Transliterated is on break! Be back soon!

"Adorable fluff conceals existential horror."-Beetlebat

Two animals awaken in the forest, no longer themselves. Struggling to hold on to their human identities despite their new animal bodies, they have to find their place in this strange world of animals with their own civilization, but no humans.To the natives of this world, these two people are not strangers, but friends and family who have been stricken with a mental affliction, in need of care and a cure.Do they have a responsibility to those they've harmed through no fault of their own? Do they even have a right to exist, when that existence came at the cost of another?When they have lost their voice, their home, and even their names, they have to face the possibility that the humans they remember no longer exist. And if so . . . who are they?

Things you can expect from this book ↓

- Animal Isekai with heavy existential themes

- A detailed and considered society in a world without humans.

- A defined magic/power system geared towards communication and discovery, not combat.

- 3rd Person Limited PoV, multiple main characters

- Compassionate and clever MCs.

- A fleshed out side cast of native animal characters with unique personalities and motivations.

- The cutest pair of squirrel kits you will ever meet.

- Occasional interstitial chapters featuring in-universe writing, always relevant to the current events in the story.

- Emotions running high.

Whatnotto expect:

- Power progression. The setting's magic grows through practiced technique and discovered uses, not statistics or unlocks.

- The characters to regain human form, as much as they wish they could.

- World-ending stakes. The stakes may sometimes be life-or-death, but only for the characters themselves.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Perpetual Motion

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 602
Views: 146,144

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

icecream sandwichRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I don’t usually write reviews—I’m not great at putting my thoughts into words. But this story is so criminally underrated that I feel like I have to say something about it.
Honestly, this is one of the best stories I’ve read in a long time. Normally, I’m not into isekai. They’re often full of wish fulfillment and bland, one-dimensional characters. However, this story avoids both of those pitfalls entirely.
The characters are incredibly well-written and feel very real. Each one has their own personality, strengths, and weaknesses. It’s fascinating to see how they interact with each other and the world around them.
The magic system is also really interesting—a refreshing twist on the usual tropes. I won’t go into too much detail; you’ll just have to trust me on this one.
All in all, it’s a great story with fantastic characters, great pacing, and a cool concept.
Arteris EntriRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Or maybe the Warriors series? Watership down? Do you have fond memories of reading books about very much animal characters with very much human existences and problems? Then read this, don't miss out on another great story that fills that animal MC shaped hole in your heart.
Transliterated takes that idle thought you may have had, you know the one-- "What if I woke up in the world of Warriors, or Redwall, or Watership down?" And brings it to life in a way that I guarantee you aren't expecting. Curious? Go read the first chapter, you'll see what I mean. You can thank me later.
Grammar:
I am a terrible judge for proper grammar, without spell-check I would be lost-- forever unreadable. This story has no such problems, in fact it approaches language in a delightful and insightful way. That may be more involved with a story aspect than any mention of grammar, though. The whole thing is so good I'm gonna mention it here anyway, It's not like I have anything more to say in this section other than "Grammar good!" and moving on.
Style
I like this author's style, it's unique with a good voice. The concepts they approach here are incredibly hard to put into writing, so the clarity and skill put into getting a reader into the character's headspace speaks to an invisible skill in this department. You may not notice or be impressed by some stylistic flair, but remember every time you feel for the characters in their situation it speaks to the author's skill.
Story:
A Review and a story are at odds I've found, I'd like to shill for how cool this plot is but saying too much ruins the impact for those of you who I inspire to read this story. So we keep this section spoiler free. What I can tell you is that this is an intense drama with a fish out of water plot for all main characters involved. The world may not be at stake, but that doesn't mean that the world isn't crumbling around the ears of our MC's. The events and elements that go into this story are enthralling and pull me dee
BeetlebatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was really surprised to find a story like this on RR but I am delighted it's here. I've always been a fan of things like The Animals of Farthing Wood , Watership Down and The Animals in That Country amongst others so it's great to have this story.
Of course stories like this often tend to lean into horror territory even if not immediately obvious, but so far this one is riding the edge of uncomfortable rather than awful - its thought provoking but so far nothing really terrible to read. As of chapter 12 there has been no horrific physical death scenes (unlike the books I mentioned earlier in this review, ha!) but the world isn't without danger and weirdness so I'm bracing myself.
Time is spent establishing how different it is to think and feel and move in a new body and learn to communicate in what is to you and alien way. This resonates with me both as an ND weirdo and as someone with a chronic degenerative disease - feeling consistently alienated from and frustrated by my own body and it's failure to do what it is supposed to is something I deal with irl so I really feel for these poor souls as they flail around trying to get their body to just function and move on the basic level they expect.
This story is pretty weird, and niche, but if you're looking for something that explores identity, thought, language, perception and understanding those different to you through the eyes of a ragtag bunch of talking animals in a weird fantasy parallel earth setting, please give this one a try. The author has taken quite a heavy and difficult premise on, and so far they've managed something quite intriguing.
JohnathanmummertRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story. Grappling what it means to be human, the ethics of their situation, al of that interesting stuff. Not just punching stronger and stronger things. 11/10, will read again. The ethics of appearing in bodies not your own, bodies that had different lives, is very interesting and thought provoking. The best books provoke thoughts and emotions, and this certainly is one of them.
ShadestyleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is one of the best fictions I've ever read, dealing with the consequences of a human placed in an inhuman body, and the consequences of a being being exposed to the alienness of a human mind.
The grammar is perfectly readable, and the plot is engaging without taking away from the key draw of exploring the unnatural horrors and curiosities of being trapped in an unusual body, with unusual new abilities and limitations.
The characters are a delight, and each one is used effectively to portray a variety of facets of its core themes and goals that it tries to explore. There are characters who embrace the change, reject it, merely accept it, are traumatized by it, and a wide range of other possibilities, almost all of which are explored on some level.
The plot, meanwhile, is acceptable, though for those who are expecting Magic fantasy, instead of Science/Clarketech driven fantasy, there may be aspects that are unsuitable later on. It begins by hinting at a fantastical, seemingly magical premise, but slowly pulls back the curtain to reveal hints that it will in the end be a science-based setting. This may be an incorrect reading of the work, however.
Overall, I consider it one of the top ten fictions I've read, and currently the best thing I've read this year.
SkaisRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Don't know how to put this, but to keep it short i can say that the story is amazing and hooked me very early on, the quality of writting is very good and i simply want to see more, definitely worth the read if you like stories about charecter dealing with a new world and body
Sneaky CuttlefishRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The writing in this story is absolutely fantastic. I seldom find stories with such a high quality of writing.
I usually hate multiple-POV, but in this story, it works very well, and it feels natural.
I love that the author chose to focus on aspects of an isekai that usually get neglected. Instead of quickly or awkwardly skipping over the protagonist's transition to a new world to get on to leveling up or saving the world or whatever, this story focuses on the emotional, psychological, social, and ethical consequences of people being isekai'd. And it's done in a way that feels emotionally impactful and realistic to how people would actually act in such a situation.
AlmonihahRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A fascinating take on the idea of a world of intelligent animals, with a lot of mysteries to draw you in. Not to mention the tension of the displaced human-minds-in-animal-bodies and just what's going on with them.
The grammar, spelling, and other mechanical pieces have been good, I haven't noticed any major issues.
auredRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a fantastic story. The characters are compelling and engaging. We get a variety of different character points of view and they are all quite distinct from each other. A variety of journal entries and reports add some nice variety and perspective to the narrative.
While the character perspectives are all from humans isekei'd into animal bodies, we get a lot of (second hand) perspective from the friends and colleagues of the people whose bodies they now inhabit. This provides a lot of wonderful tension that drives the character development.
TexanRattlerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I’ve really been enjoying reading this as it’s been updating. I can tell a lot if thought has gone into this world and it’s been lovely to peer into the little details and fine points that can be gleamed from the text. I’m even trying to grab a friend to play a new game described in detail by one of the chapters, it sounds like fun.