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Athenaeum, Inc. : Door Number Three
Dan Kemp takes you along for a deep dive into a shadowy world of espionage, private military contractors, criminal organizations and government agencies where the good guys and bad guys are often one and the same.
If you had enough capacity for violence to seize a billion dollars from a powerful drug cartel, would you do it?
The Professor has problems, and not just what decades of soldiering did to his back and his knees. His boss just died, leaving him as CEO of the extremely discreet intelligence contractor Athenaeum, Incorporated. His old buddy the Operations Director is a highly skilled Army Ranger veteran but his finance chief is slightly unhinged and spends her money on highly inappropriate work outfits. The surviving old men on the Board of Directors are stuck in the 1970s. Running Athenaeum out of an old Cold War bunker and keeping their roster of experts together is expensive, but the government contracts are drying up or going to bigger, flashier corporate players.
Then an intercepted phone call puts them on the trail of a drug cartel’s shipping container of “maybe” a billion dollars in cash, so its command decision time.Door Number One, ignore it. But… a billion dollars with a capital B.Door Number Two, tell the Feds. But that might bring official notice to the shady intelligence gathering they have been paying Athenaeum for all these years.Or open Door Number Three, which might get them all killed, or worse.
If you had enough capacity for violence to seize a billion dollars from a powerful drug cartel, would you do it?
The Professor has problems, and not just what decades of soldiering did to his back and his knees. His boss just died, leaving him as CEO of the extremely discreet intelligence contractor Athenaeum, Incorporated. His old buddy the Operations Director is a highly skilled Army Ranger veteran but his finance chief is slightly unhinged and spends her money on highly inappropriate work outfits. The surviving old men on the Board of Directors are stuck in the 1970s. Running Athenaeum out of an old Cold War bunker and keeping their roster of experts together is expensive, but the government contracts are drying up or going to bigger, flashier corporate players.
Then an intercepted phone call puts them on the trail of a drug cartel’s shipping container of “maybe” a billion dollars in cash, so its command decision time.Door Number One, ignore it. But… a billion dollars with a capital B.Door Number Two, tell the Feds. But that might bring official notice to the shady intelligence gathering they have been paying Athenaeum for all these years.Or open Door Number Three, which might get them all killed, or worse.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2023
85 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 26, 2023
Challenging and intense
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 22, 2023
This is an intense and detailed private military adventure, noting armaments and equipment in detail. If that’s your thing, you will love this.
It’s an Ocean’s Eleven-type of escapade with in-depth planning and focus, and colorful main players.
It’s well-written, with splashes of humor and wit, and except for the loss of the Oxford comma, has perfect grammar and editing. I understand that was his editor’s doing, not the author’s.
I congratulated myself for getting most of the nerd/geek references but this guy has me way outclassed. What a mind!
Things got way more interesting to me in the second half of the book. I found myself finding ways for the MC’s to get things done and to resolve issues. Nope, they did it another way.
Although I struggled with the first 1/3 of the book, I find myself now looking forward to the next in the series.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 22, 2023
This is an intense and detailed private military adventure, noting armaments and equipment in detail. If that’s your thing, you will love this.
It’s an Ocean’s Eleven-type of escapade with in-depth planning and focus, and colorful main players.
It’s well-written, with splashes of humor and wit, and except for the loss of the Oxford comma, has perfect grammar and editing. I understand that was his editor’s doing, not the author’s.
I congratulated myself for getting most of the nerd/geek references but this guy has me way outclassed. What a mind!
Things got way more interesting to me in the second half of the book. I found myself finding ways for the MC’s to get things done and to resolve issues. Nope, they did it another way.
Although I struggled with the first 1/3 of the book, I find myself now looking forward to the next in the series.
May 24, 2023
WARNING!
(and a cool 'However' fact)
Don’t waste ANY time looking for the first two books in this series; they don’t exist. The ‘Door Number Three’ in the title references ‘The Price is Right’ game show, in which contestants can pick from one of three doors. Door Number Three is a bit like The Gripping Hand, in that there are two choices which are pretty nasty, and then a third choice, which is better for the narrator and his comrades.
HOWEVER: There IS a prequel, of a sort. I've not read the book, but in Seth Anderson Bailey's "Edge of the City," the real-life person of Dan Kemp is given a literary existence, and encouraged to write more. So, he did.
(IS THAT NOT COOL?)
That character appears in this book as The Professor, a former US military special ops person, now working for much more money in a civilian agency (which is also involved in special ops). Because they are civilians, they can get involved in things the government needs to remain distant from, and so they have come to rely on government contracts and funding to operate. The government jobs aren’t exclusive, though, and thus the private sector also provides them with some work.
Taking the name Athenaeum Inc, with some associated links and influences elsewhere, the agency is governed by a small group of aging spooks, goons, happy guys, and whatever else seemed good at the time. As we enter the story, recent and impending death, plus a desire for a less active role, has resulted in The Professor getting drafted into heading the organization.
A word about The Professor: he is solidly ensconced in middle age, but years spent doing physically damaging activities have left him with a body that is somewhat-almost-maybe near-crippled. Mentally, though, he’s still got what it takes; more importantly, he has some (unspecified, I believe) moral compass that is the real reason that the old guard are comfortable in hiring him. Perhaps most valuable is his ability to recognize that he REQUIRES help in some areas, both physical and intellectual.
Nearly first in line among the required help appears in a flash of glitter bombs (not literally!) TA DA! As a financial genius who has been stealing LOTS of money from cartels. She’s about to get killed, or arrested, when The Professor appears in her bedroom holding a gun. Of course, she takes door number three (SWIDT?), and goes to work for the Professor at Athenaeum as their accountant.
Quick plot summation: steal lots of money from very bad people, then meet bad people who are kind of good, who can help you turn lots of money into something useful (and hidden). Will it work? Read the book to find out!
The author is, I believe, a person who truly appreciates guns and gear. I know NOTHING about gear, but I do appreciate assorted firearms, and I found all of the passages in which they are discussed to be quite pleasant. By that, I mean that there are NONE of those goofy errors found all too often when it becomes bitterly clear that the author doesn’t know the difference between a Dan Wesson revolver and a Dan Wesson 1911, or even the fact that Dan Wesson exists. I believe this type of writing is referred to as ‘gun porn,’ and Mr. Kemp has my heartfelt thanks for getting it right.
I have no means of assessing whether he gets the rest of the gear/equipment/transport/customs items right, EXCEPT that his writing style consistently deals with THOSE issues in the same way he discusses assembling a complete Ithaca 1911 from loose parts. So, I’m going to say he’s got it right.
I hope you don’t find those things boring. The ONLY things I found boring were the mind-numbing political debates he has with assorted semi-governmental drones in the latter part of the book. HOWEVER: I THINK those debates were really intended to prove just how stupid/incompetent/goofy the drones were, and they end badly for his opponents.
Minor quibble: a person as damaged as The Professor is NOT going to easily engage in bedroom gymnastics. Fortunately for geezers (I’m one), mostly the bedroom door is closed on those scenes, anyway.
In a review published on my blog, I have another minor (maybe) quibble: I wanted to know what happened in Dallas, and I suggested that might eventually appear as Door One and Door Two books. I have since discovered, in a private communication with the author, that those events are in the previously referenced "Edge of the City."
Peace be on your household.
(and a cool 'However' fact)
Don’t waste ANY time looking for the first two books in this series; they don’t exist. The ‘Door Number Three’ in the title references ‘The Price is Right’ game show, in which contestants can pick from one of three doors. Door Number Three is a bit like The Gripping Hand, in that there are two choices which are pretty nasty, and then a third choice, which is better for the narrator and his comrades.
HOWEVER: There IS a prequel, of a sort. I've not read the book, but in Seth Anderson Bailey's "Edge of the City," the real-life person of Dan Kemp is given a literary existence, and encouraged to write more. So, he did.
(IS THAT NOT COOL?)
That character appears in this book as The Professor, a former US military special ops person, now working for much more money in a civilian agency (which is also involved in special ops). Because they are civilians, they can get involved in things the government needs to remain distant from, and so they have come to rely on government contracts and funding to operate. The government jobs aren’t exclusive, though, and thus the private sector also provides them with some work.
Taking the name Athenaeum Inc, with some associated links and influences elsewhere, the agency is governed by a small group of aging spooks, goons, happy guys, and whatever else seemed good at the time. As we enter the story, recent and impending death, plus a desire for a less active role, has resulted in The Professor getting drafted into heading the organization.
A word about The Professor: he is solidly ensconced in middle age, but years spent doing physically damaging activities have left him with a body that is somewhat-almost-maybe near-crippled. Mentally, though, he’s still got what it takes; more importantly, he has some (unspecified, I believe) moral compass that is the real reason that the old guard are comfortable in hiring him. Perhaps most valuable is his ability to recognize that he REQUIRES help in some areas, both physical and intellectual.
Nearly first in line among the required help appears in a flash of glitter bombs (not literally!) TA DA! As a financial genius who has been stealing LOTS of money from cartels. She’s about to get killed, or arrested, when The Professor appears in her bedroom holding a gun. Of course, she takes door number three (SWIDT?), and goes to work for the Professor at Athenaeum as their accountant.
Quick plot summation: steal lots of money from very bad people, then meet bad people who are kind of good, who can help you turn lots of money into something useful (and hidden). Will it work? Read the book to find out!
The author is, I believe, a person who truly appreciates guns and gear. I know NOTHING about gear, but I do appreciate assorted firearms, and I found all of the passages in which they are discussed to be quite pleasant. By that, I mean that there are NONE of those goofy errors found all too often when it becomes bitterly clear that the author doesn’t know the difference between a Dan Wesson revolver and a Dan Wesson 1911, or even the fact that Dan Wesson exists. I believe this type of writing is referred to as ‘gun porn,’ and Mr. Kemp has my heartfelt thanks for getting it right.
I have no means of assessing whether he gets the rest of the gear/equipment/transport/customs items right, EXCEPT that his writing style consistently deals with THOSE issues in the same way he discusses assembling a complete Ithaca 1911 from loose parts. So, I’m going to say he’s got it right.
I hope you don’t find those things boring. The ONLY things I found boring were the mind-numbing political debates he has with assorted semi-governmental drones in the latter part of the book. HOWEVER: I THINK those debates were really intended to prove just how stupid/incompetent/goofy the drones were, and they end badly for his opponents.
Minor quibble: a person as damaged as The Professor is NOT going to easily engage in bedroom gymnastics. Fortunately for geezers (I’m one), mostly the bedroom door is closed on those scenes, anyway.
In a review published on my blog, I have another minor (maybe) quibble: I wanted to know what happened in Dallas, and I suggested that might eventually appear as Door One and Door Two books. I have since discovered, in a private communication with the author, that those events are in the previously referenced "Edge of the City."
Peace be on your household.
April 20, 2023
An interesting take by new writer
I believe this is his first book, I read this guy’s next book. Was it a great book, no a little too much fan boy fantasy wishlist- two hot Asian Chicks who are up for threesome with our ADD hero. At least he gets that years of infantry take a toll and the move to the civilian side can be very rough. I liked the protagonist despite the in my view unnecessary extraordinary sex life and politics that get pushed. Not many 40 plus year ex military are banging hot chicks. The private intelligence and contracting world rings true and tracks to what I saw. Also no Superman invulnerable BS, action brings pain. The Characters have real problems and messy lives. I really hope he gets to write the follow up and recommend this anyone. So buy it and help him get another at Bat.
I believe this is his first book, I read this guy’s next book. Was it a great book, no a little too much fan boy fantasy wishlist- two hot Asian Chicks who are up for threesome with our ADD hero. At least he gets that years of infantry take a toll and the move to the civilian side can be very rough. I liked the protagonist despite the in my view unnecessary extraordinary sex life and politics that get pushed. Not many 40 plus year ex military are banging hot chicks. The private intelligence and contracting world rings true and tracks to what I saw. Also no Superman invulnerable BS, action brings pain. The Characters have real problems and messy lives. I really hope he gets to write the follow up and recommend this anyone. So buy it and help him get another at Bat.
November 19, 2024
Thriller for the Present Day
Author Dan Kemp rolls in years of military experience, firearms hobbying, historical obsessions, and a metric boat load of Gen X pop culture references to satisfy an old buddy like me (who helped a bit).
This thriller operates in the grand tradition of great heist films, like the almighty Heat, with the international flare of a Guy Ritchie film, or something starring Michael Caine from the 1970s. Throw in more than a liberal dose of 90s era nerd tropes and fanfic wish fulfilment back when the internet was awash in places that started with the magic words "rec.arts...." Don't forget enough guns to make Larry Correia jealous....maybe. Most of all, have fun!
Author Dan Kemp rolls in years of military experience, firearms hobbying, historical obsessions, and a metric boat load of Gen X pop culture references to satisfy an old buddy like me (who helped a bit).
This thriller operates in the grand tradition of great heist films, like the almighty Heat, with the international flare of a Guy Ritchie film, or something starring Michael Caine from the 1970s. Throw in more than a liberal dose of 90s era nerd tropes and fanfic wish fulfilment back when the internet was awash in places that started with the magic words "rec.arts...." Don't forget enough guns to make Larry Correia jealous....maybe. Most of all, have fun!
November 1, 2025
I just finished Athenaeum, Inc.: Door Number Three by Dan Kemp Author and what.a.ride! This isn't just a series of action sequences with a bit of plot to hold it together. The characters are varied and engaging and REAL! From character quirks to vices, all those things that makes us who we are, are right there on the page. There's alsovso many unexpected bits, such as a useful tip for using a broiler to cook a steak...REALLY? I felt dumb for not knowing that...and put it in my back pocket for use later. But, seriously, this book has alot going on and the author does it well! I recommend taking the plunge! Side note-I had to Google how to properly pronounce Athenaeum, lol!
July 9, 2025
I was quite surprised by this book. The characters and their description's alone as well their interactions and quirks make this book worth reading. Add in the storyline and back grounds and it moves like a freight train going down hill. At times you wonder what could possibly happen next and then out of left field comes something that makes you not want to put it down. The Author has done a terrific job with this book. I’ve already got the next installment lined up to start. Haven’t enjoyed a book this much in awhile. I can only hope the next book is as good.
December 28, 2025
Just getting started
I want to give Dan props for keeping me interested in a thriller that takes rambling tangents and literally half the book to get the action going. The juice is absolutely worth the squeeze. The Main character is a rambling, grouchy old salt of a solider and I enjoyed every minute of it. If you enjoy darl humor, wacky relationships, and nuanced characters, this one is worth a crack. The story, and the action is really just starting.
I want to give Dan props for keeping me interested in a thriller that takes rambling tangents and literally half the book to get the action going. The juice is absolutely worth the squeeze. The Main character is a rambling, grouchy old salt of a solider and I enjoyed every minute of it. If you enjoy darl humor, wacky relationships, and nuanced characters, this one is worth a crack. The story, and the action is really just starting.
May 4, 2023
The Wordsmithing is incredible!
This reads like the diary of Jack Ryan, of Tom Clancy fame, if he'd left direct government service instead of becoming president. Lots and lots of credible-sounding references to popular conspiracy theories. Also references real people like the Web Griffin novels did, but not as much direct action as WEB. G. had.
This reads like the diary of Jack Ryan, of Tom Clancy fame, if he'd left direct government service instead of becoming president. Lots and lots of credible-sounding references to popular conspiracy theories. Also references real people like the Web Griffin novels did, but not as much direct action as WEB. G. had.
May 8, 2023
This one's a helluva lot of fun.
If you like Larry Correia, Peter Nealen, Ian Fleming, John Ringo, Mike Williams, Kratman, and other similar authors - basically the red pilled crowd, you're going to love this.
Great first book, and I'm really looking forward to more content from the author.
If you like Larry Correia, Peter Nealen, Ian Fleming, John Ringo, Mike Williams, Kratman, and other similar authors - basically the red pilled crowd, you're going to love this.
Great first book, and I'm really looking forward to more content from the author.
May 24, 2023
From one old Cold Warrior to a Next Gen - Great job, dude!
Dan Kemp gets it. Us low ranking grunts have our daydreams, Dan Kemp puts his into the pages with gusto. I haven’t had so much fun since Ringo wrote “Mohiiinga” in that awe and fear inspiring voice. Get ready for a fast and rollercoaster ride on tracks that some times are just a leeedle bit uneven. I want more.
Dan Kemp gets it. Us low ranking grunts have our daydreams, Dan Kemp puts his into the pages with gusto. I haven’t had so much fun since Ringo wrote “Mohiiinga” in that awe and fear inspiring voice. Get ready for a fast and rollercoaster ride on tracks that some times are just a leeedle bit uneven. I want more.
July 4, 2025
Great read
Military fiction fans will love this. Throws in real history and real events to introduce the shadow world of American politics. Well written. Two more books in the series. Already downloaded them.
Military fiction fans will love this. Throws in real history and real events to introduce the shadow world of American politics. Well written. Two more books in the series. Already downloaded them.
September 2, 2025
not what I expected. it was even better
A first person account of mayhem and fun. The main character’s mindset reminds me of the old Mack Bolan The Executioner series but updated and - hard to believe - a little less graphically violent. Love the black humor.
A first person account of mayhem and fun. The main character’s mindset reminds me of the old Mack Bolan The Executioner series but updated and - hard to believe - a little less graphically violent. Love the black humor.
March 11, 2025
I enjoyed this book and learned some things about war material trade. I'd have rated it a 5 if it had more action.
April 7, 2025
not bad
A little slow at first but got better. Not a fan of going back and forth with world building but Mr. Kemp did a good job of it.
A little slow at first but got better. Not a fan of going back and forth with world building but Mr. Kemp did a good job of it.
June 18, 2025
Great read!
Lots of talking in this one! But a great read! I loved it, it delves into plots within plots toward the end, lots of gun descriptions.
Lots of talking in this one! But a great read! I loved it, it delves into plots within plots toward the end, lots of gun descriptions.
October 19, 2025
Gun bunny fiction in a fun package
Recommended if you like the Paladin series by John Ringo. Much the same vibe, from a similar character. Not as ego-heavy as Marchinko's tales.
Recommended if you like the Paladin series by John Ringo. Much the same vibe, from a similar character. Not as ego-heavy as Marchinko's tales.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews