What genre does Mark Helprin write in...?
He writes novels, but they usually, to some degree, have a fantastic element. His writing is absolutely beautiful and is not shallow, I think you'd enjoy it JenB, esp. Winter's Tale, which is far and away the best. He blurs the definitions of time in that one.
In 1983, when Winter's Tale was published, the NYT book reviewer said that he trembled at writing a review for fear of not doing it justice.
Helprin is also staunchly conservative and writes editorials for WSJ and Imprimis. But even liberals are stunned by the beauty of Winter's Tale. After LOTR, it's probably my favorite book.