Fate of Eight

by Dhiraj Singh

A riveting thriller, Fate of Eight tells the story of eight people whose lives are entwined through the three key milestones of one's life: birth, marriage and death.

Diya, Mira, Pratima and Radhika are four strong women, each embodying a trait designed by God herself. Their destinies are linked to the unique personalities of four other men-Venkat, Guru, Jagdambe and Rahim. Birth, marriage and death are the common destiny points for this chosen group of eight, the only condition God sets out for their souls. What happens in between is a saga of choice and fate. They all cross each other's path in the course of their lives-as lovers, spouses, siblings, friends, sworn enemies. Some relationships last for life and some break off in between. And not all survive the trials of destiny.

Who amongst the eight will be linked together in the final destination of death? Who will have the true love that lasts forever? Where does God's plan finally lead to?

An absolute page-turner, Fate of Eight is a gripping story of human relationships and fate, of success and failure, culminating into a murder and a thrilling search for the killer!

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2020

About the author

Dhiraj Singh has successfully established and led several businesses in the infrastructure, services, and financial sectors in India & abroad. He is currently part of the senior leadership team at the largest Indian business support services group. Dhiraj holds a Master’s degree in International Management from The American Graduate School of International Management, Thunderbird and an MBA in Finance from Tulane University, New Orleans. Dhiraj did his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Dhiraj was born and brought up a in a small town from where he travelled to study and work in different cities both in India and abroad. He has always excelled both in studies and sports while remaining
a big movie buff! He is a keen observer of people from different cultural & social backgrounds , and enjoys interacting with them & listening to their “stories” . He has had major personal & spiritual
transformation over the past decade due to many accurate astrological predictions and personal premonitions, including the death of his father, in his own life. Being an engineering and science student, he found the new “dimension” very baffling as well as interesting, and started to study & believe in “alternative science”, a science which he now believes exists but is not understood. His books in the series “Fables of Fatal Fate” are interesting fictional stories that are sometimes inspired from real life experiences and have a unique mix of drama and thrill creatively woven around the fabric of his “alternative science” views - which he sums up as "100% Intelligent Bollywood Masala"!

Reviews

[Sonali Dabade · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 60%.

I will still give this book a 1 star rating even though I didn't finish it because it is incredibly sexist, racist, and badly written to the point where my head came *this* close to exploding. I would have not written anything if it were merely badly written because I know how it can get, but the sexism and racism were too much to take.

[Kajree Gautom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay I don't know what to say about this book. Honestly, it was so bad. The blurb promised a thriller, I got nothing even near to it. Nope. Nada. The writing was so sloppy and caked with racist + sexist comments. I cringed so much at different parts thought-out the book, and the was so part I could read without disliking it. Honestly.

The characters honestly all felt the same and their personalities did not stand out at all. Like, I couldn't care about any of the characters and what they were doing. They were annoying and their repetition of dialogues based on stupid analogies made me roll my eyes. Gosh, it was so stupid!!
There plotline was interesting, though, and the last two chapters were good to read I think. But nothing just happened for pages and pages you know. Nothing that could be called thrilling enough to keep turning the pages. I think it was a great plot but the execution fell short on different ounces and could've been far far better.

[Merril Anil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fate of Eight is amazingly intricate in its plot weaving. The one thing that fascinated me about the book was how the basic structure of the book was so interesting crafted to form the base of an amazingly thrilling plot. To me the book outshined because of the basic structure and plot wickedness. Rest everything picked up and formed around it making it even more interesting.

Let me be honest. First couple of chapters were a bit tricky. Since the initial chapters are were the setting for the whole book is being decided, these chapters acted as a fast slide show. These chapters come at you as a wave giving you a peak and fast timeline of each of these characters. Their past, present and the whole entourage. So one needs to fasten the seatbelts because these characters will eventually be rolling the entire story ahead.

So as I said since the initial chapters kind of quickly take you through the characters it can be tricky. So pay attention to the bread crumbs that the author throws at you through them and you are all set to go.

The magic happens when these characters and their life tracks becomes parallel and the plot reaches its meat. That is when the things get rolling to its glory. You will notice the way how author connects these intricate details and characters to form the story that is absolutely fascinating and worth your ride

As I have been saying again and again, the plot is what I loved in the book the most. The language and the narration skills brings the best in the story. It is definitely a thrill ride with its moments and tricks and turns. I would say it is a fun read that is absolutely easy on narration and time.

[Tanishka · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATINGS :-
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 3.5/5
Writing : 3/5
OVERALL RATING : 3.5/5

Genre : Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

* I received the book by the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are unbiased. *

Fate of Eight, is one of the few thrillers that surprised me in the year 2020. I am not a big fan of thrillers but this book really grasped my attention to the fullest! As the synopsis states, the book revolves around eight people who are interlinked by destiny. On their life journey they encounter many hardships and search for truth.

The plot was really diverse and yet very gripping. It was quite charming on it’s own and did not have to depend on characters or any other elements to shine. I really was not expecting it to be one of those plot which would always keep me on my toes. But, I was proved wrong!

“She saw herself as these waves, never ready to give up, always unpredictable, and going a few inches higher up the sand dune on the beach every now and then.”
The characters were quite interesting as well. I liked the character developments throughout. It was quite smooth and well paced as well.

The writing style was a little out of the place. It took me some time to get along with it however, I believe the author has a long way ahead to improve his writing as it just needs a little more polishing.

Honestly, I loved this book so much that I really want to tell you all about the breathtaking plot twists, fierce new characters and many new heartwarming beginnings that this phenomenal book deals with! But, instead of revealing all of it I want you to read and find out instead.

[Kidliomag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fate of Eight By Dhiraj Singh

A riveting thriller, Fate of Eight tells the story of eight people whose lives are entwined through the three key milestones of one's life: birth, marriage and death.
Their life, destiny all decided and pre-planned by God and he wanted to know how their lives entangled with each other.

Diya, Mira, Pratima and Radhika are four strong women, each embodying a trait designed by God herself. Their destinies are linked to the unique personalities of four other men-Venkat, Guru, Jagdambe and Rahim. Birth, marriage and death are the common destiny points for this chosen group of eight, the only condition God sets out for their souls. What happens in between is a saga of choice and fate. They all cross each other's path in the course of their lives-as lovers, spouses, siblings, friends, sworn enemies. Some relationships last for life and some break off in between. And not all survive the trials of destiny.

Story is very intresting and having a unique storyline which weaved around eight people, very different from each other but how their lives interconnected with each other is very intresting to read.
Story goes very smoothly till 200 pages but after that Murder of Mira turned the whole story , i never imagined through out this book that it turned out to be a crime thriller. All the characters are well elaborated ,specifically all the women characters are so strong and independent. Narrative is the main highlight which bound the readers interest intact throughout the book . Recommended to everyone.

It's a good engrossing read.

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Deotima Sarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four women and four men with only set points of birth, death and marriage and with one virtue (or vice if you may) have been let loose by God to choose their destiny themselves! The story is about how Radhika, Mira, Diya, Pratima meet and mingle and make stories with Guru, Rahim, Jagdambe, Venkant!
.
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The beauty of the book lies in how all these different characters from all over India meet and their life falls into a parallel path! Oh,I forgot to mention its a thriller 🙈🙈
Mira founder and owner of a maid supply service and married to Venkant is murdered! Venkant is a big businessman.
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Diya s mind reading traits will amaze you, while Rahim obsessed with injustice and his bird and mother has my heart! With a lot kf POV s the story gets busy and a little unsettling but never difficult! The bollywoody masala feel and the way its narrated as a sinister experiment of God, was quite appreciable!
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I loved the cover of the book and the overall feel, missing a little on that wow, settling somewhere in the middle of my read list!
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[Hema · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest the blurb was soo intriguing and I just wanted to read it. The overall plot seems so unusual that I couldnt resist getting into it. But when I was reading it I didnt find it that interesting but I would have to say the way the story is weaved and connected was just amazing.
How everything changes towards the end and the fate brings together the people who were suppose to be together. I even liked the time when the goddess comes into the picture and their conversation. At times I was getting confused in the names of the characters because there were 8 main characters and somehow they were connected. I didnt even imagine the blow that comes up towards the end. P.s you will understand it when u read it. Overall a good read. 3.5-3.75 stars

[Viha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the cover! And could understand the context more as I went through the book. I am a middle class person, and hence could relate very easily to Jagdambe and Guru. And I wish I had the power of Diya as an added bonus! I loved all the other characters in the book too, and the author seems to have intentionally followed a non-linear storyline which can understandably irritate some of the readers. Some of the experiences and incidents in the book seemed a bit far stretched at times, but you cant fault the author when the God herself finds it relaxing to lay down on the periphery of the black hole! I did find 1-2 editing errors, and hope publisher will be careful in future.”

[Pooja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly the author is deeply influenced by the movie industry, and that shows! Might not appeal to someone looking for the structured and formal style of writing – but to someone who wants a breezy read with an intelligent plot and just enough mix of drama, thrill, romance, politics, crime, supernatural – this book is not a bad bet. Had been recommended by someone known to the author, and I don’t regret the recommendation even though this was not the usual genre of my reading list.

[Anshul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of Dhiraj’s book that I read. This has the same signature style which I have started to love about his writing. A fast read, the meticulous build of characters, suspense till the last chapter and belief that God is a female :).



I try and read a fictional story in a month to break the monotony of reading business books and Fate of eight was successful in doing that.

[Umesh Sonawane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, past paced, easy to understand, with some raw nuggets of wisdom and analogies, and with twists right through the book – make it one of the best entertaining reads I have had in a long time. A breath of fresh air compared to many other authors who feel writing something that no one understands is great writing!

[Sidharth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific thriller as expected from Dhiraj. A writer waiting to be discovered on Screen.

[Jainee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a bit of puzzle solving and a memory test! But it works! Enjoyed the Rahim Khan’s scenes and the overall newness of the concept, and the writing style!

[Krish Boricha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potential web series material! And with the ending all set for another of God’s experiment – for another season! Cheers!

[Anukriti Malik · Rating 2 out of 5]

God is the controller of all things. This is something that we are taught right from the day we were born. But what if she is the writer of your life? Right from the time you are born, your love life, and your death, what if everything is in her control?

This is the pretext of the novel. Eight people (four boys and four girls) are picked up randomly by God for an experiment. These eight people are destined to meet at one of the three key milestones: Birth, Mariage, and Death. Each man and woman have a trait, picked up by God herself.

These eight people cross each other's path at one point or the other. But, who will end up with whom? Will this experiment be a hit or a miss? And will all of them survive?

Honestly, one didn't work out for me. From the very beginning, the book failed to grasp my attention, and the writing is all over the place. Since this has almost nine POVs, the author should have invested more time in structuring the novel. It's all messy and took me a while to figure out whose point of view I am reading. Maybe sectioning it or giving it a title would have done the job.

There were very unnecessary sequences that I would refrain from going in details because it wouldn't really add anything extra.

The concept is something I was looking forward to, and the book did pick up pace post page 100, but it was too late to impress. Had it not been deemed thriller, I would have DNFed it after the first 50 pages. I was just left very disappointed after this.

I'd say SKIP IT!

[Nilesh Kanakraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling read

I couldn’t put it down as the author keeps us engaged from page 1 till the end

Enjoyed every bit of it

Recommended read for sure

[ReadnMarked · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝘆 @𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗷

“𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱.”

8 souls sent to Earth by God to run an experiment and there starts a gripping story of love, hate, politics, and betrayal. This book tells the story of eight people whose lives are supposed to be connected with each other in some way or another. Time and again, their paths will cross which will leave you thinking whether they are ready to fulfill their destiny or not.

“𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲.”

The story of all 8 characters consisting of 4 men and 4 women has been portrayed beautifully and I could actually picture every one of them and what they would do in a particular situation. So all these 8 souls come to Earth and there starts a saga of choice and fate.

“𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿!”

I loved the flow of the back and how at one moment I was moving in one direction with my thinking, but the book took a 360 degrees turn and left me to think again of the entire 8 characters from the very start.

“𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.”

This 254-page turner is a light read and you can pick it up if you are looking for some good thriller. I love the fact that the author has set the belief that God is a female. The part of God’s conversations is fairly interesting and I really wish there were more chapters on God’s point of view on the entire experiment she decided to conduct in the first place.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝟰 / 𝟱

[Barsha Roy Chowdhury · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where do I even start? Okay, for starters, the blurb promises a 'riveting thriller' and all throughout those 221 pages I kept waiting for the said thriller but alas!

The concept of the book goes like this- God calls for a tall bearded man in Heaven (or was it some 43rd planet in a whole different universe?) I don't remember. So God asks this tall bearded guy to send 8 people to Planet Earth and screw up their lives in a tangle of birth, marriage and death (like marriage is the only f***ing purpose of our life right?) These 8 people say A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H are related to each other in some screwed up manner. A is B's husband, B is C's colleague, C is D's enemy but D is A's sister so A finds E to help C take revenge from whatever. This could have very well made a good blood relation problem for 9th standard Mathematics. Now what was the whole purpose of this complicated plot? And where is the thriller?

221 pages, 8 characters, no effing back story and then finally when someone kills someone and there's a little scope of something interesting in the next few pages, we again have God asking that tall bearded man in some 55th planet to screw up their lives a little more. Like really, God has other problems to solve rather than experimenting with human lives. It just ruined the whole feel of a thriller to be honest.

To add to my disappointment, the book was very poorly edited with hundreds of grammatical errors that cannot be ignored. The writing is all over the place. There are so many pov's going on altogether without any mention of whose pov I am reading and mere 221 pages is not enough to cover up all. The author should have taken time covering their back stories, building up the story line so that the readers had an idea who the characters are. But it was so rushed and messed up. This book has put me into a deep reading slump and I can't seem to get over it. You might wanna save yourself by not picking it up.

[Rakhamaji Sonawane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to choose my favorite characters in the book – but Rahim Khan, the street prince, definitely stands out! The villainy of Pratima is brought out very subtly, but I wished there was more space given to the potential romance with Jagdambe. But Radhika Kambli is the most free-spirited of all – God intended it to be that way! As the book picks pace in the later half, you are left catching up with the various permutations and combinations – and the race only ends at the very end! Definitely a must-read!

[Purushottam Tyagi]

At the start of the book, I was getting a bit flustered trying to keep track of all the characters – but soon I settled in with all the characters – and was a smooth ride after that! But the ride of the story as nowhere as smooth – the turns and twists, and the connecting of all dots effortlessly amazed me completely. Hope authors like Dhiraj sir get recognised more by other readers – they might have a hidden gem to uncover!

[Shankar Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masala from Dhiraj , this one is full of action & lot of characters to deal with .All character has been beautifully crafted & with all the twist in the story line one is just left to keep imagining how the story will evolve. Current phase of lockdown when nothing is moving , this book will give you enough reason to enjoy . Happy Reading

[CA Manish · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Have a beer, some savouries, sit in the balcony with the monsoon rains in the background – and this book in one hand! And let your mind visualise the story as you read it – and you will not miss the multiplexes experience! A complete Manmohan Desai amongst the book I have read (for those from the 70s-80s!). Good work Dhiraj!

[Adil Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hype around this book has been unquestionable and, admittedly, that made me both eager to get my hands on it and terrified to read it. Beautifully knitted story, keeps you wondering what will happen next.. must read for fiction lovers

[Dev Mukherjee]

Fantastic book written by Mr Dhiraj

A riveting thriller, Fate of Eight tells the story of eight people whose lives are entwined through the three key milestones of one's life: birth, marriage and death.

[Sanjay ME]

A swing mood excellent reading. One would like to cling on to the chairs till the last page. The turns and twists are treasure hunts to uncover.

One is sanguine that the author will definitely come to lime light as a recognised Author among others in the fore run

[Hunny Chugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book, really liked the story. You never feel bored at any point and gripping story keeps you pushing to read another page before you keep it down for next time. I had read some more books from Dhiraj Singh, you never regret your choice.

[Sunil Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few books that keep readers engaged. When I started reading this book, the same thing happened to me. I enjoyed reading it!!!

[Rahul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but felt that Dhiraj’s other books had more rawness, more chutzpah!

[Dinesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most amazing books I have ever read. I would recommend everyone to read it once.

[Shariq Anwar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and gripping book with entincing tales.
It binds you with every character and then the suspense opens the shock impacts.
A real delight.