The Diamond Device by M. H. Thaung

SPFBO9 SPSFC 2022

After diamond power promises to replace steam, an unemployed labourer and a thieving noble unite to foil an international plot and avert a war. Alf Wilson resents the new technology that cost him his factory job, especially as his clockwork leg bars him from army enrolment. He daren’t confess his unemployment to his overbearing mother. Desperate over the rent, he ends up in a detention cell with a hangover. Impoverished Lord Richard Hayes maintains his expensive parliamentary seat by a mixture of charm and burglary. During a poorly planned break-in, he inadvertently witnesses a kidnapping. To cap it all, the police arrest him for the crime. At least he's using a fake identity. The real criminals make off with not just the professor who discovered diamond power, but her plans for a diamond-fuelled bomb. When Rich encounters Alf in the neighbouring cell, he sees an opportunity to keep his noble reputation intact. He persuades Alf he's a secret agent who needs an assistant. This chance association will take them to the oddest locations. But law-abiding Alf’s first assignment? Break Rich out of jail.

A Quiet Rebellion: Guilt (Numoeath, #1) by M. H. Thaung

SPSFC 2023

When infectious paranormal powers aren't a gift but a threat to society, a man's conscience leads him into increasing trouble as he opposes a corrupt official. Convoy captain Jonathan has a guilty secret: he killed a traveller who was cursed while under his protection. The killing wasn't to defend the innocent, but to hide governmental employment of curse victims—like Jonathan—who have developed paranormal powers. To assuage his guilt, he bends the rules to help another, younger victim. His growing fatherly affection for her leaves him vulnerable to pressure from an unethical researcher. Can he navigate the bureaucratic web, do his duty and still keep his conscience intact? This is the first book in the Numoeath trilogy.