Customer Reviews

Pathfinder

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For lovers of adventure, pioneer tales, westerns and Cooper's own "leatherstocking" stories, this one's not bad. Not up to the pacing, depth or vision demonstrated by Cooper in "The Last of the Mohicans", this book nevertheless continues the adventures of the wilderness scout Natty Bumppo ("Hawkeye" in "Mohicans" and "Pathfinder" here). Still the prototype of that strong, silent and simple man of virtue (who finds a higher moral calling in the wilderness among his beloved Indians and far from the zones of civilization whom we met in "Mohicans"), Natty now seems somewhat older (though not much time appears to have elapsed) and longing, at last, for what he has always eschewed: a place and family of his own. Brought to a lakeside fort (Lake Ontario) at the urging of an old friend who is in charge of running the day to day soldiering at the fort and who desires to play matchmaker between his daughter and Pathfinder, Natty soon finds himself in the midst of intrigue and betrayal on the lake. It is still the time of the French and Indian Wars and the action involves naval activity on the lake and in the Thousand Islands. But Natty soon finds he has competition for the hand of his old friend's daughter in the person of a young naval officer who promptly falls under suspicion because of his French origins. In the end, Pathfinder must get to the bottom of the betrayal while making the noble choice with regard to the fair maiden and his rival for her hand. The action involves a swift "sea" chase over Ontario and a denoument among the Thousand Islands as Pathfinder and his faithful companion, Chingachgook, seek to protect the small military force in their charge from a French attack which is aided by unknown turncoats in their midst. It's a good story but less powerful, and a good deal more wooden, than "Mohicans". Natty, himself, seems a might too talkative for the strong silent type he is alleged to be (didn't seem as problematic in the earlier "Mohicans" as it does here), but there are some good moments including an opening scene where the great forested country is vividly depicted, a fine shooting match at the fort (reminiscent of Scott's knightly tourneys), an exciting chase across the face of the lake and a fine wrap-up when Pathfinder struggles to save the outgunned outpost in his charge. Still this one read better when I was much younger than it does today.

Stuart W. Mirsky
author of The King of Vinland's Saga

I originally wanted to read the Last of the Mohicans because of the very enjoyable movie but I picked up this book and chose to read it first. I do not regret my decision. I was unaware when I began reading this book in the Leatherstocking series that it was not the first book in the series. A reader who has not read other books in the series can feel confident that they won't feel lost if they start reading this book. The book portrays very detailed images of the forests, lakes, rivers, and people of the French and Indian War time period during the 18th century. The character development and plot are very well done. The book also gives a glimpse of the harsh realities of war during this time period. The writing style of the book is also fascinating and reminds me, at times, of epic poetry. I highly recommend it.

In this, the third Leatherstocking tale chronologically (after Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans), James Fenimore Cooper takes us, once again, to his vision of pure, unadultered, nature. Once again he weaves a tale around his ideas of morality, race, and religion. This time around Leatherstocking (known here as Pathfinder) is the pursuer of love, whereas before (in Deerslayer) he was the pursued.

These three books are the only ones that I have read to this point, and it is true that both this and the Deerslayer are more of romances than the Last of the Mohicans, which is an adventure.
Alot of people give the other books in the series flack because they are expecting the same as what they read in Last of the Mohicans. However, if you begin reading the book without those preconcived notions leading to disappointment, I think you will find that the other books are equally entertaining

All three are great books and I highly recommend them all.

Chronologically speaking, this is the sequal to Last of the Mohicans, though not written in that order. Pathfinder returns us to the Seven Years War in colonial times. A great book, Pathfinder is probably Cooper's most romantic book in its depictions of upstate New York, the most modern of his writing capabilities, and the most active in its depiction of war. Enjoy.

In the fourth installment of the Leatherstocking Tales, Cooper introduces a nautical theme upon the surface and along the shores of Lake Ontario. The Pathfinder is ultimately a love story tinged with the conspiracy of treason, though it takes no extra-sensory perception to uncover the traitor long before he is exposed in the book. Cap, a grizzled saltwater veteran, accompanies his niece to visit her father stationed at the British outpost of Fort Oswego, NY. Once there, the two become embroiled in the confrontation between England, France, and their Native American allies for control of the lake. Cap is dismissive of landlubbers and "freshwater ponds", such as he describes Ontario, setting the stage for his mind to be turned by the derring-do of inland waterman, Jasper Western. Indeed, Cap is so outspoken in his contempt for the ways of his new found associates, that he becomes somewhat of an annoyance to the reader. Cooper chose to give the character little in the way of redeeming qualities nearly spoiling the pleasure one takes in Cap's ultimate and grudging respect for the wilderness and the men who master it. Such a thoroughly boorish character simply creates no emotional connection. But, Cap isn't guilty of treason. You'll spot the traitor shortly after he appears.

The Pathfinder is formulaic, utterly predictable, and, at times, almost childlike in substance, but throughout, as in all other Leatherstocking Tales, radiates the simple goodness, manly deportment, and rustic charm of Nathaniel Bumppo. Indeed, Bumppo as a character is so masterfully wrought that Cooper could place him in a melon patch for the duration of a book and still manage to eke out a classic. Having previously read The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Prairie, I find The Pathfinder the weaker of the four, but fourth in favor in this wonderful series of stories isn't any black mark. Indeed, it qualifies The Pathfinder as yet another loveable yarn from the pen of James Fenimore Cooper. 4+ stars.

James Fennimore Cooper's five books known as "The Leatherstocking Tales" ( the Pathfinder is the third in the series) are some of the most exciting books I've ever read. I highly recommend!

"The legend is purely fiction," reads the preface of one
of the Leatherstocking tales, "no authority existing for any
of its facts, characters, or other peculiarities, beyond that
which was thought necessary to secure the semblance of reality."
It is difficult to say that the author would have agreed with
the statement between the years 1823-1841, the tales' seedtime. But
what Cooper does in his tale, The Pathfinder, is give a brilliant
image of the first rude settlements in North America, referring to
the story as our legend. If he did invent, it was in terms
of what he actually had learned during a visit to a region of the
country.
The underlying motive of his novel, from beginning to end,
was to move and capture the reader by what he once identified
as a "stoicism which (Pathfinder) imbibed from long association
with the Indians." This is a naturally compact dependent clause
for a concept of philosophical submission, and Cooper's observation
of its existence cunningly changed many times in the unfoldment
of his story,- mostly in the direction that would
awaken those who were practised in the ways of the world.
At the heart of the observation, nevertheless, the interpreter can
monotonously perceive the play of three observable realities:
position; time; and the quantities, such as energy and growth,
that are attributed to them.
The first of the plotting instruments, conspicuously a solitary
sign with Cooper and his characters is the bearing of position.
Once place, environment, is known, the sergeant tells another character,
'it will be something gained to learn our position.' Unless
you have it, the place will be too dark to reveal the color of
nature's pristine appearance. Like the woodsman's, the reader's
patience is a virtue as he changes position. Few writers have traced
so diligently the trails found in the American forest while
managing to evade the mentality that believed so convincingly that
sharks inhabited the wilderness. Few, antithetically, have been
skillful enoug

The third book (chronologically) in the Leatherstocking series was, like 'The Deerslayer,' written late in Cooper's career. Timewise, 'The Pathfinder' appears to take place only a few years after 'The Last of the Mohicans,' although Cooper's overt chronology doesn't quite add up.

Although 'The Pathfinder' has a promising premise, Cooper's plotting is seriously off-track. After rescuing this novel's 'heroine' (Mabel) from the Mingos, Chingachgook vanishes and Natty is stuck playing a rather awkward suitor to Mabel. In fact, one can hardly call 'The Pathfinder' a frontier adventure at all. It verges on a romance novel, which instantly makes it much less interesting than the other Leatherstocking Tales.

The book is also hurt by slow pacing. Cooper always takes his sweet 'ole time spinning a yarn, but 'The Pathfinder' is a painfully slow read. Not much happens, and what does happen is pretty irrelevant to the plot. For example, the long sequence where the 'Scud' sails around Lake Ontario contributes nothing to the story. Even worse, I always knew exactly where the story was going dozens of pages before Cooper got there. One hundred pages could easily have been chopped from this book without losing a thing.

Even when the action finally picks up late in the book, Natty and Chingachgook do next to nothing. Instead, the heroism is handled by the underdrawn character of Jasper Western. It doesn't help that Cooper sets up the final battle by having Mabel's father leave her alone in a fort with an unscupulous suitor and practically no soldiers for protections. It's so unbelieveable that the rest of the novel seems forced.

Least palatable is Cooper's unfortunate weakness for melodrama. Sometimes his plots are strong enough to render this only an annoying flaw, but the plot of 'The Patherfinder' is too thin to manage this. Cooper really lays on some dreadful schlock.

As a result, 'The Pathfinder' is without question the weakest of the Leatherstocking Tales, and is definitely NOT the place to start. In fact, I'm hard pressed to come up with anything the novel contributes to the series. As a result, it should be read last (if at all) unless you are determined to read all five books.

This book was as boring as clipping my dog's toenails. It has no invention, no creativity, and it's crass stupidities are passed on as "the delicate art of the forest." Delicate art of the forest my Aunt Fanny! The book's style is set forth in an implausible way. For example, when the males are all shooting at a stupid tree-more specifically, a nail head in the tree-Cooper sets the nail about a 100 yards away! And yet everyone seems to see this nail and shoot at it. That's about the size of a house fly. Now this pathfinder-natty bumpo-deerslayer person is able to shoot at a hundred yards and hit the thing dead on! This man is able to see a housefly at a hundred hards and confidently say that he did so. Can YOU do it?

The style of the writer is tremedously tedious. It seems to add things not needed and omit things that are necessary.

I would recommend this book to those who do not value time.

this book goes on and on and its very lon