Abhay Narayan Sapru graduated from Delhi University and subsequently joined the prestigious Indian Military Academy. Commissioned in 1988, he volunteered for the elite Special Forces. During his decade long stint with the Indian Army, he served extensively in almost all the insurgency-ridden areas in the subcontinent—Sri Lanka, Kashmir and the north-east of India. He is a recipient of the Sena Medal awarded for gallantry in operations in Sri Lanka and of the Army Chief's Commendation Card. He is now settled in Mumbai and works for Yes Bank. Besides writing, he has keen interest in distance running, trekking and sketching.

"The Beckoning Isle is the story of the degeneration of a society and the vicious politics of retribution. But it is also a tale of two men, on opposite sides of the battle, united only by the fatalism of their ideologies. Abhay Sapru offers a unique perspective of the Sri Lankan War in an engaging, page-turning account of the clash between the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the LTTE, with voices from both sides of what will go down as one of history’s great tragedies - Shashi Tharoor

The Beckoning Isle is a masterpiece in realistic settings of Sri Lanka during the days of the IPKF. Though it follows the travails of an Indian Special Forces Assault troop crisscrossing the path of an LTTE colonel, it takes you through a bit of history and the whole gambit of politics, intrigue, conflict, human behaviour and the tribulations that surrounded the war between the IPKF and the LTTE. The style of the author who himself was part of the IPKF is excellent and the lucid narration will keep you engrossed to the last word. - Lt Gen (Retd) Prakash Katoch

Abhay Sapru’s second book on war from a combat soldier’s perspective is the real McCoy. It catches you by the scruff of your neck and doesn’t let go till the end. A chapter of the Indian Army’s ill-fated adventure into Sri Lanka, fought in dense jungles, against a cornered comrade turned enemy, you can smell the fetid smell of the jungle, mixed with the smell of death, fear, courage and strangely, respect for an enemy who was fighting for its very survival. Only a combat soldier could have written this! - Prahlad Kakkar