In Assignment in Eternity (1953), Robert A. Heinlein again tackles the ability of the mind to perform a kind of magic, or extra-sensory perception. A series of four short stories, each deals in some way with humanity's reaching into the "Other World" or another dimension.

Heinlein's 1965 novel, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, deals with Manny, Wyoh, and Professor de la Paz trying to free their land from the tyranny of Earth with the help of a sentient computer named Mike. While the revolution is deadly serious to the humans involved, it begins solely as an elaborate practical joke for the bodiless Mike until he realizes his own mortality.

Mercedes Lackey's The Last Herald-Mage trilogy— Magic's Pawn (1989), Magic's Promise (1990), and Magic's Price (1990)—deals with the "science" of magic and how it works in the land of Valdemar. Young Vanyel...