Nebula Award Best Novel Winner

Timescape

by Gregory Benford

Summary

Gregory Benford splits his narrative between 1962 California and a 1998 world sliding toward ecological collapse, where scientists try to send a warning to the past using tachyon particles. The book treats time communication as a genuine physics problem and dwells on the daily texture of how research actually gets done. Written by a working physicist, it stands as a landmark of hard science fiction that takes both science and scientists seriously.

Historical Context & Significance

Benford, a professional plasma physicist, won the Nebula, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and the British Science Fiction Association Award for this novel.