It's said that powering every thriller is "tension" that typically comes from the existence of a protagonist and antagonist. I was taught this by the best, but I've always wondered if an antagonist-villain was really necessary to power a thriller. One thing about QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) that's different than many other thrillers, is that there is no personification of evil, no antagonist-villain per se. In that sense, perhaps, QUANTUM DEATH is more of a mystery by definition. And yet...

Okay, I'll admit that perhaps in a subplot Koski is the protagonist (cheers) and to some extent Kate plays a protagonist-like role (boos), but Koski isn't all good, and Kate definitely isn't all evil. Instead they're both complex modern women each with her own agenda. And if Falk is a protagonist, then his obvious enemy, Grigorov, the Russian Intelligence Officer who would like nothing more than to bleed his mind of everything useful, would be his antagonist. But...in the end Comrades Korov and Grigorov prove to be absolutely necessary to the survival of the USA, irrespective of what everyone from local Hawaii Intelligence to the President thinks.

And then there's the "innocent" victim, the good ol' USA, and its historical protagonists, Russia, China, North Korea, the Middle East terrorist organizations, even organized crime. And yet...the vilified Quantum Death Machine or kvantovaya mashina smerti ends up more of a creation of all of the above, each, including the good ol' USA, playing respective "dark" parts. 

So what makes QUANTUM DEATH "work?" I believe it's the "natural" tensions between individuals, whether they be people or nations, that set the best stage for a true thriller. All that's needed then is some unusual action.