[keiferski]

A fiction author would have to be an absolute master to create such a complex world.

I suggest looking into some better-known fiction writers from the past, as my experience has been entirely the opposite to yours. I find good fiction to be infinitely better at creating complex realities, whereas nonfiction tends to all operate from the same contemporary pseudo-omniscient viewpoint.

I happened to be listening to this podcast this morning, which is actually about the exact topic of fiction and history:

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/fiction-history

It's about Joseph Conrad, whom I definitely recommend as a writer worth reading.

[jacurtis]

I was going to say the same thing. This is why I like Fantasy and Science Fiction genres. They both stretch your mind with new ideas by combining what is known and possible today with what could be possible or might just be fun conceptually to explore.

I find that good fiction stretches the mind to explore new ideas that non fiction can’t do since it is rooted in reality and known facts.

I find that i try to juggle one fiction book and one non-fiction book at a time. There are times when my mind wants to be rooted in reality, fact, and true history. But then sometimes (even within the same reading session) I may switch to fiction to let my mind wander in new ways which sometimes results in ideas and conceptualization in my real life brought by the fiction exploration.