Stallion Gate

by Martin Cruz Smith

In a New Mexico snow storm, four men cross a barbed-wire fence at Stallion Gate to select a test site for the first atomic weapon. They are Oppenheimer, the physicist; Groves, the general; Fuchs, the spy. The fourth man is Sergeant Joe Peña, a hero, informer, fighter, musician, Indian. These four men—and a cast of soldiers, roughnecks and scientists—will change history forever.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Espionage, Historical, Adventure

Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Martin Cruz Smith (AKA Simon Quinn, Nick Carter, Jake Logan, and Martin Quinn) was an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He was best known for his 11-book series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was introduced in 1981 with Gorky Park and appeared in Independence Square (2023) and Hotel Ukraine (2025). [Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense read...I balanced with a break away, then back again. It was not at all what I expected since my choice dovetailed North Korean missile hijinks, thinking it would be good to read about the participants at Los Alamos where it all started - the ultimate bomb making to eliminate or defend against enemies.
I expected to read about the scientists. Wrong. This is centered around a New Mexican Indian, Joe, his physical prowess, success with other mens' wives, his knowledge of the belief systems of the Indians of the surrounding area, making him the ideal guide.
The General in charge considered Los Alamos his "personal duchy" and Joe was his driver. "Other brass and VIPs who had come from Washington with the general referred to Joe as 'Groves' Indian.' "
"We're depending heavily on this site being right. The alternative test sites are some islands off California, sandbars off Texas, some dunes in Colorado. The last place I want to hide an atomic blast in is California."
And from one uneasy participant: "...we have to make the ethical choice. Joe, I didn't leave Amarillo to become a physicist to atomize a hundred thousand human beings. When Oppy came to Columbia and recruited me, it was to make a bomb so Hitler wouldn't use his. That's all I signed up for; that's all anyone signed up for."
And there's poetry in these pages, some describing physical love, some just observing nature.
"On the road to the Hill, deer dashed in front of Joe's headlights. They were mule deer, five or six of them. He braked and skidded right to the edge before he stopped. His lights picked out the scribbling flight of moths, the dart of a nightjar, and then faded over the long drop to the canyon floor. The world was full of victims, all too eager to take you with them."
The tension leading up to the test blast is taut and the book provides a heart-pounding finish.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

From a 2003 Usenet post:

I'd make a note to avoid STALLION GATE, an early novel about Los Alamos & the A-bomb project. Seldom have I read a more tedious novelization of an interesting subject. The violence is tedious. Even the *sex* is tedious. Avoid, avoid!

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pulled this off the shelf last night to give me some straightforward relief from The Bros. K. and Tristram Shandy. Set in NM, so that's nice. I read "Day of Trinity" a long time ago so I have some historical background of the times and places. I've been close to Los Alamos, but turned off to go to Bandelier that day.

Pretty entertaining so far, as this author does seem to have some authentic chops. The NM geography is fun to follow too.

Past the midway point as the date of Trinity fast approaches. So far the "plot" seems to be mostly a device around which to spin tales of Joe Pena's past and present exploits(including sex) and to take a look at north-central New Mexico in the mid 1940's. One thinks of an intersection between Tony Hillerman and Len Deighton(or many other thriller/spy writers). It's fun enough to read, but pretty pointless all-in-all.

Almost made it to the end last night, but bedtime called. Looks like the last 20 pages or so will be action-packed for super-Chief Joe the hero. Isn't he perhaps just a bit TOO resourceful and invincible and BUSY? When does the guy sleep?

Finished a couple of nights ago. The endgame was predictable, with a mano a mano, good guy vs bad guy fight to the death on the bomb tower and an ambiguous ending. The good writing saves the day.

- a solid 3*

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭✭

[William]

To be honest, I read this so long ago I can't rate it.

I remember enjoying it, but nothing more.

NOT an Arkady Renko book.

[Carole Bucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a wonderful, beautifully crafted, intense read. Had to read the last 100 pages or so twice. Multiple, diverse and compelling story lines woven into the events leading up to Trinity, the testing of the atomic bomb in Los Alamos. That we know the outcome of this test will kill 100s of thousands of Japanese, ending WWII and give birth to the ongoing atomic threat, only adds fuel to the fire he creates in this book -- smoldering at first and erupting into a surprise, almost mystical final act, encompassing all the horror and awe of our human foolishness. Smith's capacity to agitate, fascinate and create a superbly minimalist reading experience makes this book worth your time, and mine.

[Gerald Sinstadt · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are at Los Alamos where scientists are preparing the first tes firing of the atomic bomb. This is former Indian territory and a an Indian sergeant in the US military is part of the team - as a driver for Oppenheimer.

The plot is complex but progressively more and more gripping. In time this may be seen as the best book by a deeply thoughtful author.

The audio version is brilliantrly delicered

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading of this book was inspired by my tour of Los Alamos and my visit to Santa Fe - but Martin Cruz Smith is always fun to read and he always tells a great story. This novel is set at Los Alamos during the last stages of the development of the atomic bomb, and the focus is on the test of the bomb, which took place at a location known as Stallion Gate (hence the name of the novel). The main character is a Native American who has been released from military imprisonment (among other things, he has a penchant for the wrong women!) by an officer at Los Alamos on the condition that he work at Los Alamos. He is the driver for Robert Oppenheimer, the carrier of bomb parts, a liason with the Native Americans and, of course, a spy for the officer who sent him there. I found this to be much better than a standard spy novel. Because our hero is Native American, we see not only into his family life (his mother was a potter - pots like hers are all over Santa Fe) but also into the lives of other Native Americans at the time and their interaction with the military who have infringed on their native territory (of course our hero helps them in ways the military officer could never know about!). There are lots of very human scenes and descriptions - particularly of Oppenheimer who is portrayed in great detail (a lot of research went into his character). There is love - with a female German scientist. There are spies (of course!). But there is also a theme of underlying doubt about the nuclear project among the scientists themselves, ranging from whether it would work (and if not, they would all be in a bad spot with the American government) to, more importantly, whether it should even be undertaken, tested or used. These last issues are clearly the ones one thinks about while touring Los Alamos. This novel fit very well into my own recent personal experience, but I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Los Alamos project. In addition, it has been a while since I enjoyed a character as much as I did the hero of this novel.

[Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing...perhaps because my expectations were too high. Having recently enjoyed Smith's Polar Star, I had high hopes for Stallion Gate, but those hopes were dashed on almost all fronts.

First, the plot. It cuts back and forth across a variety of story lines that for me built frustration rather than engagement. There's the making and testing of the atomic bomb...the spy among the good guys...the retelling of previous war experiences...plus a quest for music and boxing...plus lonely, frustrated military wives who cheat on their husbands...plus Native American mysticism opposed to European science...There's a little something for everyone and thus not much of anything.

Then there are the characters. I didn't particularly care about the main character, Joe Pena, and I didn't understand or believe his love for Anna Weiss. And what's with her; she's a psychologically damaged German scientist not looking for love who falls in love (or does she?). There's also a captain so deranged he could be a Dr Strangelove spin off. As for the real historical figures, I didn't find them clearly drawn, compelling, or real for that matter.

So Stallion Gate failed for me on both plot and characters. I was interested in the testing of the bomb itself, but even that story line lacked interest and urgency, perhaps because we all know the outcome or perhaps because the bomb testing gets lost in all the other lines of action. (To balance the picture, the final assembly of the bomb on the tower and Joe's boxing match were both interesting.)

In retrospect, I should have turned to history or biography to learn about Los Alamos. And in the future, I plan to stick with Martin Cruz Smith's sweet spot, the Arkady Renko novels. I have high hopes for them, and there I'm guessing Smith will meet, or even exceed, my expectations.

Irrelevant cheap shot. If you're ever looking for a submission in one of those worst fiction contests, you might try the sex scene between Joe and Anna. Let's just say it's a humorous interlude and leave it at that.

[Lemar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stallion Gate is an excellent, taut, atmospheric dive into the heart of Los Alamos, NM in 1945. Robert J, Oppenheimer comes fully to life and as do his wife, the ruthless security personnel and the lowly dogfaces of the army. Crucially, Martin Cruz Smith takes our experience to another level by weaving us into the land and the people of northern New Mexico.
Our hero is Joe Peña, a Native American from a local Pueblo village. He grounds the story.
There is not a false note in this story. It’s often funny, always gripping, and has a compelling romance, all occurring while we know what’s coming. Robert Oppenheimer would later quote the Bhagavad Gita, “I am become Death.” Fate looms over the people in this book, as their lives continue to flicker and flame and they fight to avoid it.
Cruz Smith is rightly celebrated for his terrific Arkady Renko books set in Russia, but he has more up his sleeve. Interestingly, he published this book immediately after his breakthrough, Gorky Park. Nightwing is a an underrated book set in the Southwest; his two books featuring a Roma detective are favorites as well.

[Federico Bolognesi · Rating 3 out of 5]

La trama è interessante. Lo stile di scrittura non è facile da comprendere. Piuttosto che sull’azione, il focus è sulla dimensione interiore dei personaggi; soprattutto quello di Joe, il protagonista della vicenda.

[Mike Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Los Alimos during the run-up to Trinity, the first test of the atomic bomb, this novel features a big tough Indian, a nasty Army Captain obsessed with the communist threat, a beautiful jewish scientist, and a bunch of the people who really did build the first bombs. Oppenheimer is a major character, as is General Groves; most of the rest have minor roles, but seem to be thrown in to add authenticity.
I liked the plot, which was quite different from the usual thriller. I was put off by the unreality of it all: the Indian, a sergeant, is a war hero (Bataan), talented jazz musician, professional boxer, and, most unlikely, confidant of Oppenheimer. He’s assigned to be Oppy’s driver, but he also plays a crucial role in assembling the bomb. In short, he’s too much!
So read one or two of Cruz Smith’s really good novels before settling for this one.

[Bob Koelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of the British TV or films where you learn more about the "downstairs" crowd than the upstairs. You don't spend much time with Oppenheimer, Teller or Fermi, but with the staff in charge of security and other mundane tasks. Chief Joe is very similar to Arkady Renko in his world-weariness, which is a plus for me, since I ran out of Renko novels.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cruz Smith had a terrific idea, to set a mystery thriller at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project, and a great idea for a protagonist, a Pueblo Indian hired to be Oppenheimer's driver, and dammit, he pulls it off.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the elements (style, tension, excitement, characters, setting) I expect from Martin Cruz Smith. Not sure why readers stick only to his Renko books. They're missing out.
Audio narrated by my favorite, Frank Muller, can't help but bump it up to the top for me.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good on second reading, 20 years later.

[Minnesinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because of the subject, location, the actual history, and the dry humor.
A story is bound to be interesting with such an odd mix of people, forced to work and socialize together in a remote area. Distinguished European scientists—physicists mostly—and their wives, together with US Army enlisted men, native New Mexicans, including Santiago Pueblo, Communist spies, Indian Service agents, jazz club/bar patrons, Santa Fe artists & tourists, and Texans with money to burn and egos the size of, well, Texas. Some of the natives are indeed restless here—but so are the Anglo wives, bored out of their skulls.

People from all strata of society have to live together, from the educated elite and their Wellesley wives to honky tonk musicians, bare knuckle boxers, native artists, and blue collar grunts from Joisy. Joe Peña fits in everywhere and nowhere; he is a native American but likes “nigger music” (Hilario’s term). He learned to play the piano at Casa Manaña, the best—and only—jazz club in New Mexico. Joe used his size to earn money from boxing.

Joe is a multi-dimensional character; he has heart, and a conscience, but is no pushover. He’s learned life lessons the hard way, from growing up poor to surviving World War 2 in Bataan—where his brother Rudy perished. Joe has been around the block enough times to avoid Hilario’s schemes—but not to avoid feminine wiles. What can he do when women love him so?

He’s a conundrum: he has trouble with authority, yet is a survivor. He accepts becoming a snitch for Captain Augustino, but tells the targets how to evade the corrupt Captain on his Communist witch-hunt. Augustino thinks he owns Joe because he got him out of the stockade, but Joe has other plans. When Mrs. Augustino appears naked in his bed, he knows sleeping with her will enrage the captain and tries to talk her out of it, but finally succumbs when he thinks about what a bully Augustino is. When Augustino plants listening devices in Oppenheimer’s home, Joe follows and rips them all out. When the Captain gives him ‘evidence’ to plant on Oppenheimer, Joe keeps it instead to bring Augustino to justice for killing his wife. Oppenheimer can’t figure Joe out, because he obviously came from a poor background and little education, but he occasionally reveals flashes of brilliance and dry humor.

Joe has acquired a certain wisdom, in that he learned to not struggle when the odds were against him (like in the war, when he had dysentery and was pushed out to sea in a leaky boat, surrounded by sharks.) He’s still a bit Quixotic though, tilting at windmills; he can’t resist helping a brother in need—even if it means taking the place of troublemaker Roberto in a native dance painted as a clown.

This is masterful story-telling with great characters and witty dialogue, though light on the science. Only those expecting a more in-depth account of Oppenheimer er al will be disappointed. For a story written in the 1980s, it shows the author to have very modern sensibilities: He doesn’t treat women as 2-dimensional objects. While there aren’t as many female characters here as male ones, that’s understandable given the history of the actual event. He portrays Anna Weiss sympathetically, letting her describe what it was like to grow up brilliant but not fit in, and be locked up later in an asylum. Men could still do that, which makes me extremely grateful to live today, not yesterday.

I’d only read one novel by Cruz Smith before, Gorky Park, and was surprised to find that he wrote this novel featuring a Native American protagonist, not a Russian for once. But that could be explained by the fact that Cruz Smith is part Indian (and proud of it), which he reveals in a brief bio at the end of the book.

[Lindsay Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin Cruz Smith, known for his Arkady Renko mysteries, wanted to explore his New Mexico roots on his mother's side. While driving in New Mexico, he saw a sign for Stallion Gate, and discovered the road led to the atomic test site near Los Alamos. He decided to write a historical novel about set in NM, about events leading up to the atomic test at the Trinity site.
The vehicle for the book is Sgt Joe Pena. He's an Indian, a jazz musician, a boxer, and a somewhat reformed trouble maker. He's also a little too good to be true, but still a good protagonist. We know the test will be successful, but the scientists, military personnel, and spies at the site don't. Smith manages to weave all their stories together into and entertaining book.
Joe is Oppenheimer's friend. They have a history together and he's been assigned to drive Oppy around and be his assistant. Due to his wide variety of skills, he's assigned many differing tasks. Major Augustino is convinced Oppy is a Russian agent or at least a Russian tool. He's also mad at Joe because Joe had a fling with his wife. Augustino sets out to make sure Oppy and Joe both get in trouble.
Meanwhile, Joe has an opportunity to own a jazz club in NM and is going to have one last secret prizefight to finance it. So Joe is awash in secrets. In the end, the bomb works, Joe wins his fight, Augustino falls to his death after a confrontation with Joe, and Joe miraculously escapes being blown up in the test.
It was interesting to see all the political machinations of the players in the Manhattan project. We're usually taught about it from the perspective that it's going to work and the US is good. The characters in the book don't know it will work and some of them want it to fail. There's perhaps too much going on, but I still found it entertaining.

[Robert OKeefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced, well-written novel set in and around Los Alamos, New Mexico in the final preparations before Trinity, the first successful test of the atomic bomb. Real-life figures Oppenheimer, Groves, Gold and Fuchs are mixed in with many fictional characters, the lead being Army Sergeant Joe Peña. The author makes Joe do a lot of heavy lifting: he's Native American and grew up in the area so can serve as a liaison between the Army and the local Native communities, and taught a teenage Oppenheimer how to ride horses. Joe's also a former professional boxer, a jazz pianist, son of a renowned Native potter, and attracts officer's wives to his bed like moths to a flame. This makes him a perfect candidate to be an informer for the head of security at the installation who wants Oppenheimer to revealed as a Soviet spy at all costs.
There's some beautiful writing here in descriptions of the landscape and weather, some great fight scenes and depictions of the Native communities and their suspicion that having the Army and Los Alamos as a neighbor may not be the best thing for their long-term viability. Joe's being caught between two worlds provides enough conflict to make the book exciting without the added villainy of the security chief. While Joe is a great character, he gets placed at every pivotal scene to the point that it strains credibility. The book's ending is thrilling but somehow unsatisfying.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plagiarism? I wonder about the relationship between Stallion Gate (copyright 1986) and Joseph Kanon's book Los Alamos (copyright 1997). Subterfuge, World War II, Los Alamos, personality quirks given room to run, infiltrators, and suspense are present in both. There is also confusion between required hidden agendas, unrequired hidden agendas, and spying, and Smith does it better.

Smith's Joe Pena reminds me - and this is not a bad thing - of Smith's Arkady Renko. There is the same wryness, larger understandings, threatening his superiors through no fault or intention, callous humor, a past that dogs the protagonist, and the insanity of weak, jealous apparatchiks. I enjoy the sense of fates larger than circumstances, which in this case is that of the new intellectual power brokers and their relationship to the war effort. For Renko, it was communism and a different set of power brokers.

They're both underdogs and I'm thrilled when they win.

The end is great. Did he make it? Did she? He always does, so he must, except when he couldn't, but he did before! So? It's that kind of interplay and plot suspense that keeps the reader thinking.

[Dan Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Cruz Smith does many things well. Pity he has apparently never learned much about firearms. In his latest novel, I forgave his slips. For this trek into the backlist, his goof is egregious, the more so since what he wanted to accomplish could have been done without error. Well. No matter, we'll let that slide and concern ourselves with the 320 pages where he wrote things correctly.

One of the massively satisfying and large books I've had the joy to read was Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb". While only a fraction of the Rhodes volume took place in New Mexico, it felt like being among old friends as Mr. Smith's invented hero mingled with military and scientific personalities so wonderfully examined by Rhodes. Even without the non-fiction book as background, the present effort would rate highly. "Stallion Gate" followed "Gorky Park" and maintained the high bar Mr. Smith has been vaulting for decades.
Interesting to note that both Rhodes' book and "Stallion gate" were published the same year.
Recommended.

[Steven Pace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Cruz Smith is a creative story teller who thrives on the imagined conversations of the Cold War era. Here the author of Gorky Park tells us a tale of 1945 and the beginning of the Nuclear Age when the U.S. was preparing to test the ultimate war weapon - The Atomic Bomb. At a highly secret site the Army called Trinity in the vast New Mexico desert where they thought no one would notice, except a few Indians. Enter our hero, "Chief" Joe Pena. An Army sergeant, veteran of Bataan, Court-martialled, bailed out to be the body guard for project director, Robert "Oppy" Oppenheimer. And chief handler of all issues with the natives. (Turns out Smith is part-native.) A very inventive character not at all what we come to expect. A brawler, a boogie-woogie piano player, a desirable lover. A patriot. We literally wait the whole book for the thing to blow up, or not. A good read, not Tony Hillenger, but close. A worthy read. And a hard to find Cruz Smith novel.

[David Margetts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Captivating thriller surrounding events around the development of the 'bomb', culminating in the end of the war. The book tries to handle some of the psychological issues, as well as the 'conspiracy theories', but the depth of analysis is shallow. The book focuses a lot on the main character / hero, and in some ways 'overplays' his role, making him less plausible. The book also surprisingly ends rather abruptly, leaving the reader 'hanging' without a real conclusion surrounding many of the central issues. Overall though, entertaining and easy to read, but would have preferred more in depth historical facts and analysis and a more conclusive ending.

[Willie Kirschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of this author’s Arcady Renko novels and had this recommended to me by a friend. I was expecting more from the book than I got and was not particularly impressed by the ending, so I am not recommending this book, although I did enjoy some of the characters and some of the action. I did enjoy that I am familiar with the area in the book, but I expected to learn more about the bomb and testing than I did. I have been left 2 books about Oppenheimer and I suppose I will learn more from those.

[Steven Howes · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this was another one of those books that was difficult for me to figure out where it was heading and left me hanging at the end. It contained enough historical information and references to native culture that held my interest and stimulated me to do some outside reading on the Manhattan Project and the individuals involved. I assume the details regarding the development and assembly of the bomb used in the Trinity Test are historically correct and frankly somewhat disturbing.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting story about the fictional possibilities of life at Los Alamos as we made and tested nuclear bombs.

Honestly though, I picked this book 109% for the reader, Frank Mueller. I’d listen to anything he reads - anything at all. His vocal range and quality, plus the skill he exhibits as he brings characters and places to life. Amazing. Franks been gone a good while now, so anytime I find something read by him, especially something new to me, I’m on it.

[Amberwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early book by Cruz Smith, this book takes place during WWII, when Oppenheimer developed the nuclear bomb at Trinity.
The main character is a native indian; a boxer, a jazz musician, now a soldier and a spy. He has very little volition, seems to be drifting through life (reminiscent of the protagonist in the much later The venice girl), although he does have agency and takes charge when push comes to shove.

[AD LAND · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cruz is my favorite author of this genre and his Renko books are a thrill to read. This book totally misses the target [no pun] in so many ways. Joe Pena is just not believable. Who is this guy who can do twenty things in ten places at the same time? Similarly, the other fictional characters were all just stereotypes. Very disappointed.

[Grahamalba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book as I was expecting something in the vain of Arkady Renko. The main theme is the atom bomb, which is based on fact. The hero is Joe Pena, a Staff Sergeant who is a lovable crook who really likes to play music. The rest of the cast are just there. A spy story I don’t think so. What the story was about other than the bomb is a mystery to me.

[Li Hwee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My only favourite part of the book was the boxing match. The engineering parts are Super tedious even though I did a physics module in university. Slogged my way to the end of the book and maybe so did Mr Smith by the way he ended it. So sad!!!!