The Deerslayer is an adventure novel, and action and suspense dominate the plot. There are a number of climaxes, each with a cliff hanger. Excitement builds up as first Tom Hutter and Hurry, and later Deerslayer, become prisoners of the enemy Indian tribe. Their individual rescue attempts form mini climaxes in a series of suspenseful events. There is a canoe to be recovered, prisoners to be freed, Indians to be evaded, while the enemy Iroquois are equally cunning in trying to achieve their goal of capturing the whites and gaining their floating home.

Cooper is a master of slowly building up to a climax — "as Deerslayer drew nearer and nearer to the land, the stroke of his paddle grew slower and slower, his eyes became more watchful, and his ears and nostrils almost dilated with the effort to detect any lurking danger." The series of events leads...