Hacker News Books

I only know this from reading Hatchet (which is about Canada, but Alaska is basically the same)

I don't read much fiction either. I did read more when I was younger.

I enjoyed many of the Halo books (there are a couple duds in there too), which lead me to other books authored by Eric Nylund. I like his writing style, even though he has more fantasy elements to his stories than I would typically like but it somehow works. A Game of Universe and Mortal Coils are some that I have read.

I also read some of the Splinter Cell books. They were ok from what I remember, but probably only good if you liked the games. Tom Clancy has some good books (the Splinter Cell game books are ghost written). I remember Rainbow Six was a good one.

You could also try non-fiction adventure books. Since they are set in areas you are not familiar with, your brain still has to build the environment and imagery. Something like One Man's Wilderness. I enjoyed that book. I used to read and listen to books like Hatchet and this was along the same lines but non-fiction. I'd also say to be careful about these. For me, it makes me want to quit and live on a farm.

In addition to this, I like considering things that should be entering the public domain. Using the initial copyright length of 14 years, renewable for an additional 14, anything published in 1987 should be entering the public domain in the upcoming year.

* Predator

* Robocop

* The Princess Bride

* Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams

* Watchmen, by Alan Moore

* Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

These should all be open cultural works, ready for new writers to use as a basis. Ready to be used as the backdrop for new stories. Instead, they are locked universes, only containing a small number of stories.