Science Fiction Library collection - Hyspamérica / Orbis

Back then when I was describing the Cousteau's Secrets of the Sea encyclopedia, I mentioned another collection which was distributed in Lima, Peru by Importaciones Riguse: "Biblioteca de Ciencia Ficción" ("Science fiction Library"). This one was a collection of 100 science fiction novels and anthologies published as softcover pocket books in Argentina by Hyspamérica between 1986 and 1988 for distribution throughout Latin America, while it had been originally published in Spain first by Orbis between 1985 and 1987. The collection had been curated by Spanish science fiction writer Domingo Santos, and included some volumes by Spanish and Latin American authors, included Santos himself. Both the Spanish and Argentine editions followed the same order up to volume 52, but from 53 on, the order was changed in Argentina, probably de to the popularity (or lack of) of Spanish language authors in Latin America compared to Spain, or the necessity to secure the publishing rights outside of Spain for those authors' works, which needed additional times. Anyway, the rest of the collection was reshuffled, and classical authors were printed first, while those ones were pushed further back in the collection. This collection has also been know as the "Blue series" ("Serie azul"), due to the front and back covers being colored blue, with the titles and authors in blue letters on a chrome background, and the collection's title and volume number in chrome characters at the top; additionally, the Argentine version featured Hyspamérica's name at the bottom in chrome characters, too. The spine was also colored blue, with the collection's title in chrome letters at the top, the publisher's logo in chrome at the bottom, and the author, book title and volume number in blue characters on a chrome background below the collection's title.

Here's the list of titles as they were published by Hyspamérica in Argentina:

1. The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
3. Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
4. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak
5. Ringworld - Larry Niven
6. Planet of the Apes - Pierre Boulle
7. The Naked Sun - Isaac Asimov
8. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
9. Martians, Go Home - Fredric Brown
10. Dangerous Visions #1 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
11. Dangerous Visions #2 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
12. Dangerous Visions #3 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
13. The Caves of Steel - Isaac Asimov
14. A Case of Conscience - James Blish
15. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
16. The Embedding - Ian Watson
17. Ubik - Philip K. Dick
18. This Immortal - Roger Zelazny
19. Changewar - Fritz Leiber
20. The Lovers - Philip José Farmer
21. The World Inside - Robert Silverberg
22. Eye in the Sky - Philip K. Dick
23. Metropolis - Thea von Harbou
24. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
25. Night Walk - Bob Shaw
26. The Persistence of Vision - John Varley
27. One Hundred Years of Science Fiction - Damon Knight (anthology)
28. Paradox Lost - Fredric Brown
29. The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories - Isaac Asimov
30. Darker than You Think - Jack Williamson
31. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Special 25th Anniversary Anthology - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 1)
32. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 2)
33. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 3)
34. Strange Relations - Philip José Farmer
35. The Computer Connection - Alfred Bester
36. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 1)
37. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 2)
38. Venus Plus X - Theodore Sturgeon
39. Under the Shadow of the Barbarians - Eduardo Goligorsky
40. Guardians of Time - Poul Anderson
41. The Man Who Fell to Earth - Walter Tevis
42. Barefoot in the Head - Brian W. Aldiss
43. Make Room! Make Room! - Harry Harrison
44. Typescript of the Second Origin - Manuel de Pedrolo
45. Greener Than You Think - Ward Moore
46. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
47. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
48. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
49. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
50. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 3)
51. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 4)
52. The Puppet Masters - Robert A. Heinlein
53. The Rest of the Robots - Isaac Asimov
54. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
55. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
56. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
57. Tears of Light - Rafael Marín Trechera
58. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
59. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
60. The Last Castle / The Dragon Masters - Jack Vance
61. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 1 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 1)
62. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 2 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 2)
63. The Inner Landscape - Michael Moorcock (anthology)
64. Candy Man - Vincent King
65. Space Chantey - R. A. Lafferty
66. Planet of Exile - Ursula K. Le Guin
67. The Legion of Space - Jack Williamson
68. Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis
69. Perelandra - C. S. Lewis
70. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 1)
71. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 2)
72. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
73. Not Far Away from Earth - Domingo Santos
74. What Mad Universe - Fredric Brown
75. Arrive at Easterwine - R. A. Lafferty
76. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 1)
77. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 2)
78. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 3 1946-1955 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
79. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 4 1956-1965 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
80. Nightwings - Robert Silverberg
81. Trafalgar - Angélica Gorodischer
82. The Best of Spanish Science Fiction - Domingo Santos (anthology)
83. The Best of Latin American Science Fiction - Bernard Goorden / A. E. van Vogt (anthology)
84. Master of the Wheel - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo
85. The Serfs of ISSSCO - Guillermo Solana
86. Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
87. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
88. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
89. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 3)
90. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 4)
91. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
92. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 1 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 1)
93. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 2 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 2)
94. The Science Fiction of Jules Verne - Jules Verne (anthology by Domingo Santos)
95. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
96. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
97. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
98. Tiger! Tiger! - Alfred Bester
99. The Year of the Quiet Sun - Wilson Tucker
100. The Inferno - Fred Hoyle / Geoffrey Hoyle

And here are the covers of the Hyspamérica edition:

I couldn't afford buy all the titles from this collection, either, and anyway, I had some of them already in my shelves from, other collections I had bought before. Even so, I managed to buy 24 of them altogether, including the first 2 volumes (which came bound together, but unlike the Oveja Negra novels, didn't include any brochure or listing for the complete collection), and volumes 3 to 14, 24, 35 to 38, 40, 43, 46, 47 and 74, most likely in Scala rather than in Monterrey or at newsstands. I donated volume 2 (2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke) to my school's library since I had already bought previously a 1985 second edition in pocketbook format by Plaza & Janés (P&J) from Spain, part of their "El Ave Fénix" ("The Phoenix") collection, which featured the exact same translation, even:

Unlike the collections from Colombia I've shown previously, this one from Argentina didn't feature an ISBN for the whole collection, and for individual volumes, the ISBNs were of the form 950-614-nnn* (where nnn stands is a number assigned toeach volume in a non-sequential way, and * was the checksum value; volumes split in multiple parts featured an additional ISBN for the original as a single whole volume). The prefix for the ISBN now was the one assigned to Argentina (950), and no barcodes were present at the back cover here, either. Later volumes in the collection stopped printing the covers in blue and chrome, and switched to blue and light gray instead. Here's an example of the ISBN printed inside for volume 74, "What Mad Universe" by Fredric Brown:

In comparison, the order for the original collection released by Orbis in Spain was the following one:

1. The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
3. Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
4. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak
5. Ringworld - Larry Niven
6. Planet of the Apes - Pierre Boulle
7. The Naked Sun - Isaac Asimov
8. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
9. Martians, Go Home - Fredric Brown
10. Dangerous Visions #1 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
11. Dangerous Visions #2 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
12. Dangerous Visions #3 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
13. The Caves of Steel - Isaac Asimov
14. A Case of Conscience - James Blish
15. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
16. The Embedding - Ian Watson
17. Ubik - Philip K. Dick
18. This Immortal - Roger Zelazny
19. Changewar - Fritz Leiber
20. The Lovers - Philip José Farmer
21. The World Inside - Robert Silverberg
22. Eye in the Sky - Philip K. Dick
23. Metropolis - Thea von Harbou
24. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
25. Night Walk - Bob Shaw
26. The Persistence of Vision - John Varley
27. One Hundred Years of Science Fiction - Damon Knight (anthology)
28. Paradox Lost - Fredric Brown
29. The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories - Isaac Asimov
30. Darker than You Think - Jack Williamson
31. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Special 25th Anniversary Anthology - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 1)
32. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 2)
33. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 3)
34. Strange Relations - Philip José Farmer
35. The Computer Connection - Alfred Bester
36. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 1)
37. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 2)
38. Venus Plus X - Theodore Sturgeon
39. Under the Shadow of the Barbarians - Eduardo Goligorsky
40. Guardians of Time - Poul Anderson
41. The Man Who Fell to Earth - Walter Tevis
42. Barefoot in the Head - Brian W. Aldiss
43. Make Room! Make Room! - Harry Harrison
44. Typescript of the Second Origin - Manuel de Pedrolo
45. Greener Than You Think - Ward Moore
46. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
47. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
48. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
49. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
50. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 3)
51. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 4)
52. The Puppet Masters - Robert A. Heinlein
53. Tiger! Tiger! - Alfred Bester
54. The Year of the Quiet Sun - Wilson Tucker
55. The Inferno - Fred Hoyle / Geoffrey Hoyle
    
56. The Best of Spanish Science Fiction - Domingo Santos (anthology)
57. The Best of Latin American Science Fiction - Bernard Goorden / A. E. van Vogt (anthology)
58. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
59. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
60. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
61. The Rest of the Robots - Isaac Asimov
62. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
63. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
64. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
65. Tears of Light - Rafael Marín Trechera
66. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
67. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
68. The Last Castle / The Dragon Masters - Jack Vance
69. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 1 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 1)
70. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 2 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 2)
71. The Inner Landscape - Michael Moorcock (anthology)
72. Planet of Exile - Ursula K. Le Guin
73. The Legion of Space - Jack Williamson
74. Candy Man - Vincent King
75. Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis
76. Perelandra - C. S. Lewis
77. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 1)
78. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 2)
79. Space Chantey - R. A. Lafferty
80. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
81. Nightwings - Robert Silverberg
82. What Mad Universe - Fredric Brown
83. Arrive at Easterwine - R. A. Lafferty
84. Not Far Away from Earth - Domingo Santos
85. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 1)
86. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 2)
87. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 3 1946-1955 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
88. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 4 1956-1965 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
89. The Science Fiction of Jules Verne - Jules Verne (anthology by Domingo Santos)
90. Trafalgar - Angélica Gorodischer
91. Master of the Wheel - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo
92. The Serfs of ISSSCO - Guillermo Solana
93. Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
94. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
95. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
96. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 3)
97. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 4)
98. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
99. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 1 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 1)
100. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 2 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 2)

The main difference between the original Orbis collection and the Hyspamérica one, aside from the different numbering, of course, is the absence of the Hyspamérica name at the bottom of the front covers, and the Orbis logo at the bottom of the spines instead of the Hyspamérica one:

Aside from that, the ISBNs for individual volumes were of the form 84-7634-nnn* (where nnn stands is a number assigned to each volume in a non-sequential way, and * was the checksum value), 84 being the ISBN prefix corresponding to Spain.

And now, here's a series of sales tickets from Monterrey and a few more from other stores like Scala, Galax and Tía, plus a receipt from the La Familia bookstore, all dated between 1986 and 1988, showing the evolution of the prices from various collections along the years. The price of 22.90 Intis in February 1987 corresponds to Cousteau's Secrets of the Sea, which by August 1987 (under code 15858 and description "FASCICULO") had already increased to 25.50 Intis in Monterrey, while at La Familia it was 30 Intis, then by November 1987 had already become 40 Intis, then 114 Intis in April 1988. Similarly, the price of 21.25 Intis by June 1987 (with code 19209 and description "REVISTA") corresponds to one of the collections from Colombia, possibly Great Adventures (since we previously saw Thrillers had the same price but a different code and description, while Best Sellers had a price of 21.60 earlier), rising to 25.50 by August 1987 and 55 Intis by February 1988, and then 104 Intis by May 1988. The price of 15 Intis in October 1987 with code 32793 and description "NOVELAS SURT" most likely becomes to Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die", which I bought from a different collection instead of Oveja Negra's Great Adventures. This collection, OTOH, may be the one listed at 24 Intis in Scala by July 1987,

And that's it for this post, which is also the last on this series about book collections from the 1980s, at least for the time being...