Completing the Circle: Traces of Magic, Book III

Traces of Magic #3

by Rev. Patrick J. Dolan

With the penetration of the Earth’s defenses by the death monster, the city and valley are devastated. They struggle to discover how to reweave Earth’s broken sacred protection barrier, but they cannot seal it shut until they somehow coax her back through it. Evading the death monster’s touch which can kill with fear on contact, various characters, even ghostly ones, work together to deceive her. These intricate activities and conflicting interests reveal the intertwined character of all those living in the city and the valley — or dying there.

Audible Audio

Published September 29, 2021

Reviews

[Chris Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite in the series so far. I've made peace with the fact that I don't understand how the magic system works. Sometimes Fr Pat puts the analogy before his characters - in order to set up certain situations (to comment on our world), characters seen to act against their personalities. However, the connections to our world shine for the most part, and seeing evil people likely not get punished is sad but true to life. On a story level, I loved hearing about the paladins as they protected the townsfolk from Lilith, and I loved seeing more Michael in this entry, but holy swords now seem common as opposed to rare, and I found the conversion of the druids fairly contrived.

[Eric Worre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spiritual fantasy that shakes your soul.
This book isn’t just a story it’s a pilgrimage. Rev. Patrick J. Dolan doesn’t simply continue his saga he completes it with emotional fire and spiritual depth that few fantasy authors dare to touch. The death monster isn’t just a creature of fear it’s a metaphor for despair itself, and the struggle to reweave Earth’s sacred protection feels hauntingly familiar in today’s wounded world. Every page pulses with life, death, redemption, and the whisper of something divine.
I finished this book and sat in silence, feeling like I’d been part of something ancient and holy.

[Amber Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tapestry woven with myth, spirit, and humanity.
Dolan’s prose sings like an old legend retold at a fireside by someone who knows the unseen world is real. The imagery earth cracked and bleeding, ghosts whispering through the wind, people risking everything to heal what’s sacred hit me deep in the heart. The balance between light and shadow, life and death, is beautifully rendered.
This isn’t light reading it’s rich, layered, and full of meaning. If you’ve ever felt the world’s pain and wondered how to help mend it, Completing the Circle will speak directly to your soul.

[Ella Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where sacred storytelling meets raw humanity.
This book broke me and healed me at the same time. Rev. Dolan writes with a rare combination of wisdom and compassion he understands the ache of being human and the miracle of connection. The struggle to repair the earth’s broken barrier felt like watching our own world fight for its soul.
Every character, living or ghostly, plays a role in this circle of redemption. The final chapters left tears in my eyes not just because of what happens, but because of how deeply I believed in the story’s truth.

[John Skyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rev. Patrick J. Dolan brings his world full circle with breathtaking depth. Traces of Magic Completing the Circle is not just fantasy it’s spiritual poetry in motion. The struggle to mend Earth’s sacred barrier feels like an echo of our own human journey toward healing and unity. The imagery of the death monster killing through fear gave me chills. It’s both mythic and deeply psychological. Dolan writes not only about magic but about the soul itself.

[Lucas Heyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What struck me most was how real every character felt, even the ghostly ones. Their pain, hope, and courage carried the story beyond the usual good vs. evil trope. The valley’s devastation isn’t just physical it’s emotional and moral. You can feel the weight of every decision. I finished the last page with tears in my eyes and a sense that I’d been changed somehow.

[Grace Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolan’s storytelling is like a grand symphony each chapter, a movement building toward a haunting crescendo. The concept of fear as a lethal force, the earth’s protective barrier as a living spirit these ideas are original and profound. It’s rare to find fantasy that makes you think this deeply about faith, mortality, and connection. I can’t stop recommending this book.

[James Enock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like a mirror held up to our world. Beneath the battles and magic lies a truth about the human condition our constant effort to repair what’s been broken. Dolan’s prose is lyrical, almost sacred at times. He writes about death with reverence and about life with gratitude. Completing the Circle isn’t just an ending it’s a spiritual awakening.

[Nerina Vaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who’s read the first two books, I was blown away by how beautifully this one ties everything together. The theological undertones are handled with such grace you can sense Dolan’s background as a reverend, but it never feels preachy. Instead, it feels alive. The magic system, the emotional stakes, the interplay between the living and the dead all of it resonates on a divine level.

[Lioren Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few antagonists have ever unnerved me like the death monster. Dolan crafts her not as a mere villain, but as an elemental force of fear itself. The way the characters must outwit her, not with power but with unity and love, gave me goosebumps. It’s a story about how even death can be deceived by hope.

[Maissy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something timeless about Traces of Magic Completing the Circle. It reads like a myth rediscovered a story that could have been whispered around fires centuries ago. The earth itself becomes a character, and the interplay between spirit and soil feels sacred. This book left me both devastated and inspired, like I’d witnessed a ceremony rather than a story.

[Liora Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than just the third book in a series it’s the emotional and spiritual culmination of an epic journey. The prose is rich, the pacing deliberate, the stakes immense. I found myself highlighting passages just to sit with them later. Dolan has completed his own circle as a storyteller here, blending the mystical with the deeply human. I can’t imagine a more fitting conclusion.