Even if you limited your reading to deep space science fiction novels and short tales, you could read them all in your lifetime.
I mean, who has time for that? Here are some of the finest tales in the genre, presented in no particular sequence, if you have a thing for aliens, space travel, and the loneliness of the emptiness.
Bloodchild - Butler, Octavia
Octavia Butler is a fantastic writer of short stories, as is typical of outstanding science fiction novels. The title tale in one of Butler's volumes, "Bloodchild," is just as eerie as anything else she has ever produced. On their home planet, a colony of humans and an extraterrestrial species known as the Tlic live in harmony. Families must offer up a kid to serve as a host for the Tlic's eggs, which is the sole catch. The narrative is given from the viewpoint of a host, and it is actually made more unsettling by the fact that he accepts his destiny.
Arthur C. Clarke, "Into the Comet"
The author of 2001: A Space Odyssey tells a tale of survival and sophisticated mathematics in "Into the Comet." When a scientific ship's computer fails and the comet's gases obstruct its radio communications, the spacecraft is forced to stay in orbit in order to study the comet. The crew has given up on surviving since they are unable to determine a course that will free the spacecraft from the comet's gravitational influence. Subsequently, a journalist who joined the expedition had the brilliant idea to provide the team with abacuses so they may manually assess their chances of survival.
Stanislaw Lem: Let's Save the Universe
Another legendary sci-fi author, Stanislaw Lem is most renowned for penning the book Solaris, which Andrei Tarkovsky turned into a film in 1972. "Let Us Save the Universe" is an open letter from Ijon Tichy, a well-traveled spaceman who appears in a full collection of short tales written by Lem, to the rest of mankind. It serves as a fantastic beginning to Ijon's book and deftly blends worldbuilding throughout the cosmos with social critique.
Ray Bradbury, "The Long Rain"
One of the most prolific science fiction authors, Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451. "The Long Rain," which relates the tale of a group of astronauts who crash upon Venus, is taken from his collection of short stories, The Illustrated Man.
The Green Hills of Earth - Robert A. Heinlein\
As they attempt to reach the Sun Dome, the only safe location on the planet, they have to deal with the unending, almost magical Venusian rain that gradually drives them mad.Rhysling is a blind composer who books passage aboard spacecraft voyaging around the solar system with his musical abilities. In order to spend his last days on Earth, he makes the decision to make one more journey there. Naturally, catastrophe follows, forcing Rhysling to write his farewell song and confront his impending demise at an early age. "The Green Hills of Earth" is a heartwarming short tale that discusses death and the value of art while using the suspense of a spacecraft disaster.
Gene Doucette - Schrödinger's Catastrophe
A tale for fans of intellectual sci-fi horror is "Schrödinger's Catastrophe." similar to Event Horizon. The narrative takes place on board the USFS Erwin, a ship where all known rules of probability and physics abruptly and catastrophically break down. Nothing in Corporal Alice Aste's military experience has prepared her for the turmoil that she finds when she boards the Erwin to learn what happened to the crew and why the ship ceased communicating.
Margaret St. Clair,
Prott
The bizarre tale of first contact presented in the guise of journal entries is found in Margaret St. Clair's "Let Us Save the Universe." The journal in question belonged to a scientist who ventured far into space to investigate the reproductive practices of an extraterrestrial species known as the Prott. In addition to observing the aliens, the researcher makes a concerted effort to establish communication with them before attaching his notes to a rocket and returning them to Earth. The strange impressions of the aliens in question will stay with you for days, but this first contact narrative isn't about what will happen to humans, which is a welcome change of pace.
James S.A. Corey's Drive
This narrative, which takes place in the The Expanse world, centers on Solomon Epstein, the man who created the spacecraft drives that propelled humanity's ascent into space. "Drive" effectively conveys the majority of the major ideas and sentimental undertones that contribute to the extraordinary quality of The Expanse in only a few dozen pages. "Drive" is a short tale that is certain to stick in your memory. It is a blend of emotional romance, political intrigue, and futuristic sci-fi.
Le Guin, Ursula K.; Vaster Than Empires and More Slow
All the information you truly need to know about "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow" is its author, Ursula K. Le Guin. "Vaster Than Empires," written by renowned science fiction author Le Guin, is a remarkable tale of first encounter about an exploring spacecraft landing on a planet covered in trees. The crew first believes that there isn't any conscious life on the planet, but they ultimately start to suspect that the planet could really contain living things.
Meg Elison as The Pizza Boy
One of the most enjoyable science fiction short tales I've ever read is "The Pizza Boy." The narrative centers on a young child who, like his father before him, delivers pizzas to a military fleet's several ships for a job. The narrative of a space-age pizza shop that starts out almost whimsically gradually turns into one of peaceful resistance and the struggle against imperialist powers. "The Pizza Boy" ought to be the one tale you read if you only read one from this list.