Carly asked Greg Van Eekhout:

I loved California Bones, especially the detailed magical system. Gearing up for Pacific Fire, I've got a random question. Daniel's dad says magic "transcends" the First Law, but the story treats it as nonrenewable. What happens when the osteomancer uses magic? Is it converted into energy or conserved? Also, where does a golem's osteomancy come from, since it sounds like golems innately contain (edible) magic?

Greg Van Eekhout Most osteomancers can't expend more magic than they consume, but Daniel is one of the rare ones whose magic, as Sebastian Blackland says, transcends the First Law. Or so it appears. Actually, Daniel is like a sponge, and he can draw magic from his surroundings in a way magically analogous to osmosis. In Pacific Fire we'll see the cost of this.

Golems have the magic of the person they're generated from, so if that original is strongly osteomantic, then the golem will be as well. With someone like the Hierarch, I think of their golems as organ-donor clones.

Thanks for asking, and I hope you enjoy Pacific Fire!

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