Timescape won the 1980 Nebula Award, and it is viewed as a very successful example of blending hard sci-fi with detailed character development. The setting is split between California in the early 1960s and England in 1998. Scientists in the latter setting are attempting to use faster-than-light particles (tachyons) to send a message to scientists in the earlier setting, so that an ongoing global climate disaster can be averted.

Benford's protagonists are much more nuanced than typical sci-fi characters, and for most of the novel, I thought that his handling of time-travel paradoxes was brilliant. The climate problems ring amazingly true today, especially for a novel that was written 30 years ago. Unfortunately, the ending didn't quite work for me. I'm reluctant to say much for fear of spoilers, but I will say that JFK's assassination isn't quite the same singularity for my generation as it was for Benford's.