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A DUA LIPA’S SERVICE95 ‘MUST READ’ FOR 2026

‘A smart, razor-sharp takedown of the machismo of Big Oil’ CAOILINN HUGHES
‘Propulsive and engrossing and deeply fascinating’ SAFIA ELHILLO
‘A thrilling and emotionally complex ride ‘ ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS
‘Required reading for the Petroleum Age’ DAVID HUEBERT
‘An utterly brilliant, searing, incisive novel’ LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY
‘Fast-paced, gripping and gloriously entertaining’ TILLY LAWLESS

Being one of the boys was one thing. Being the boss of the boys was something else altogether.

Expert driller Zainab is called to take charge of a high-stakes oil rig operation. Unable to resist the opportunity, she leaves behind her pregnant sister and heads offshore for the job of her life. But there’s a catch. The rig is teetering on the edge of disaster – and Zainab is the only woman amongst a crew of hardened men who want absolutely nothing to do with her.

At the helm but forced to prove herself at every turn, Zainab labours to investigate the rig’s imminent collapse. She quickly grasps that the real danger lies in the cold calculations and base desires of the men she is forced to spend every waking moment with.

As tensions rise and secrets unravel, Zainab races to uncover the truth bubbling below and fend off the looming catastrophe. Explosive and thought-provoking, At Sea is an exhilarating story about the clash of ambition, principle and prejudice, and the unexpected consequences of our choices.

Publisher Review

Zesty, intense and thrilling – a wonderful achievement. This is a jarring expose of the satisfactions and brutality of the workplace. The joys of career success, the power struggles with colleagues, the humiliations and bruised sense of worth. How ambition can become a trap, and how structure and mental absorption can be an escape from family difficulties — LEILA ABOULELA Written with the urgency of a thriller and the distress signal of an allegory, At Sea is a smart, razor-sharp takedown of the machismo of Big Oil and what it is to be a woman operating in such a hostile industry. Abdel-Magied tells this compelling story with a fresh, authoritative voice — CAOILINN HUGHES With a kick-ass heroine, and moving between Sudan and Scotland, Australia and a rig on the verge of blowout, At Sea captures the high stakes, drama and the claustrophobia of life off-shore in the service of Big Oil — GAVIN FRANCIS A thrilling and emotionally complex ride . . . A story of gender and power politics, the cost of capitalism and unhealed wounds, this is a masterclass in drawing a reader into worlds unknown and making it consume their every waking thought. Abdel-Magied has written a carefully composed novel that pulls no punches as it deftly explores the painful reality of life on the rig that is both compelling and captivating — ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS Propulsive and engrossing and deeply fascinating, Abdel-Magied’s At Sea is a feat of vivid world-building, of characters sketched with such empathy and with a poet’s economy of language. My heart was in my throat the entire time. This story will haunt me forever — SAFIA ELHILLO Abdel-Magied is a writer who pays attention. Suspenseful, moving, often surprising and even funny, At Sea is an engrossing novel, and its protagonist Zainab is full of heart and charm. Abdel-Magied deftly charts the complex dynamics between characters in a world where games of power and ego can have devastating and perilous consequences — FATIMA MIRZA The book I’ve been waiting for . . . A rollicking offshore adventure and a stirring emotional saga, At Sea delivers an unforgettable cast of working men who are by turns crass, harsh, desperate and menacing, but always deeply, powerfully human. The story draws on the robust technical knowledge of someone who’s been there. In this impressive debut novel, Abdel-Magied brings us to the fringes of the open sea and deep into the fathomless below, confronting and harnessing the chthonic energies that make our weird world turn. Required reading for the Petroleum Age. — DAVID HUEBERT An utterly brilliant, searing, incisive novel that holds a mirror up to some of the darkest tendencies of human nature and the systems we build, and what happens when those systemic and personal failures intersect. It is a terrific powerful novel about race, gender, capitalism and the importance of bearing witness. I absolutely loved it and will be telling everyone I know to read it. As well as being incredibly powerful and poignant, it is also beautifully written, moving, perfectly rendered and a staggeringly good piece of literary art. I’ll read absolutely anything Abdel-Magied writes. This book truly is a triumph — LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY Poignant and complex. At Sea is a thrilling mystery, neatly rendered and culminating in an ending that had me holding my breath. As fast-paced as it is heartfelt, Abdel-Magied’s defiant heroine takes us on a journey that will defy reader expectations — AYISHA MALIK Startling, thrilling, subtly shocking: a superbly-crafted piece of volcanic tension — MUSA OKWONGA