Blackfire

Blackfire: The Girl with the Diamond Key (Volume III of the trilogy) concludes the story of four unlikely teenagers who are summoned by a mysterious stranger to save another world being destroyed by evil. Elli Adams and her friends Beatriz, Jamie, and Alex must overcome challenges of blindness, self-confidence, and Down syndrome as they struggle together to fulfill their mysterious calling as Bairnmoor's last prophetic hope. Join them as they adventure through singing forests and stardust valleys full of mystical, glorious, and ferocious creatures, all of which test their resolve in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Eckblad's novel wrestles with the age-old questions of Good and Evil and the nature of the heroic life, even as it provides a fresh perspective on how we can have faith in the Good against every indication that Evil is prevailing¿and how each of us can be immensely more than we seem to be.

""With the conclusion of the Blackfire trilogy, James Eckblad has broken new ground in the world of fantasy literature. His universe is full of exotic and magical creatures, the plot is set against a background of metaphysical seriousness about the conflict between good and evil, and above all, his central characters display the heroism of the ordinary. They are truly differently abled, and in their case, ""differently abled"" is the simple truth. They find their power as they work together in compensating for each other's difficulties. Read it for the story, read it for the philosophy, but above all, read it to recover your faith in the strength and goodness of human beings.""
--David W. Johnson, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

""In this splendid third volume Elli and her friends reach the culminating moment of their quest to save from forces of Nothingness the beautiful and mysterious world of Bairnmoor. Against seemingly insurmountable odds and their own self-doubt, we see their hard-won bravery and love of the Good forged in fires of adversity. And with them we learn too the redeeming power of imagination and hope. A wonderful conclusion to a stirring epic!""
--David J. Gouwens, Brite Divinity School

James Daniel Eckblad has served as both minister and trial attorney, with degrees in law and theology from UW-Madison and Yale. Having raised four sons in Wisconsin¿on Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Rowling¿Eckblad now lives with his wife, Mary Ann, in Chicago.