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Beneath the floodlights
When Birmingham football club Kingsbarr United are relegated from the English Premier League they are seemingly rescued by a mysterious new manager from Transylvania, Professor Cezar Prodanescu and his stable of young superstars - who also happen to be a nest of vampires! Once darkness falls and the floodlights glow, their powers enable United to win games by incredible margins. Buried nearby is the world's first vampire and Cezar's plan is to resurrect a clone from the extracted DNA of his ancient bones. But Cezar did not legislate for falling in love with human girl, Lily, or for acquiring such admiration for team captain and local hero Johnny Knox and United's other human footballers. But as Cezar struggles with his emotions and attempts to shield his identity as a master vampire, his finest example, star striker Andrei is eager to keep things on course. But will the cloning of the world's first vampire materialise? Will Cezar lead United back to Premiership glory? Does Cezar hold any answers for the disappearance of Johnny's long lost son? And when the evil Andrei takes a shine to Johnny's teenage daughter, a dramatic showdown ensues in a desperate bid to rescue her - and the entire human race.
- GenresVampires
364 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2010
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Martin Tracey
32 books34 followersMartin Tracey is inspired primarily by three things - music, football(soccer) and the supernatural. All three elements feature in his writing, although he does not necessarily consider that his writing is genre specific.
"I'm wired with a very vivid imagination and therefore my novels have many layers to them. I approach my writing with a skeleton of a plan but my writing takes me on various journeys and the story grows organically which makes for a more interesting read I feel. However, if I were to have a gun pointing at my head demanding that I commit to a genre I guess I would have to state horror or supernatural."
A proud native of Birmingham UK, Martin tends to set his books in and around his home city or other English settings. His working-class upbringing is reflected in the edginess and honesty of his writing and his novels have a sense of realism. He is also a big admirer of Quentin Tarantino so coupled with his realistic approach Martin's novels probably shouldn't be read by those who are easily shocked or offended.
Before producing novels Martin's literary output was writing songs. "Raging Bull" a song penned and co-performed by Martin can be found on "Old Gold Anthems - the Songs of Wolverhampton Wanderers".
Another highlight of Martin's musical career was supporting Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals at Birmingham's Alexander Theatre.
"I'm wired with a very vivid imagination and therefore my novels have many layers to them. I approach my writing with a skeleton of a plan but my writing takes me on various journeys and the story grows organically which makes for a more interesting read I feel. However, if I were to have a gun pointing at my head demanding that I commit to a genre I guess I would have to state horror or supernatural."
A proud native of Birmingham UK, Martin tends to set his books in and around his home city or other English settings. His working-class upbringing is reflected in the edginess and honesty of his writing and his novels have a sense of realism. He is also a big admirer of Quentin Tarantino so coupled with his realistic approach Martin's novels probably shouldn't be read by those who are easily shocked or offended.
Before producing novels Martin's literary output was writing songs. "Raging Bull" a song penned and co-performed by Martin can be found on "Old Gold Anthems - the Songs of Wolverhampton Wanderers".
Another highlight of Martin's musical career was supporting Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals at Birmingham's Alexander Theatre.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 18, 2012
“Beneath the Floodlights” is a vampire novel with great intensity and surprises. I saw the premise for the novel and quite frankly was very intrigued. Well, being a self-professed, vampire connoisseur of the paranormal genre, I have my standards to maintain… I was not disappointed.
Who can wrong reading about a hunky team of vampires invading the soccer scene? I was hooked just from that!
I thought the action was quick in “Beneath the Floodlights” and the vampire Andrei is to die for Evil, literally! Not to mention that the book is really packed with action scenes, but also some great thoughtful passages especially with Lily and Cezar.
Ladies and gentlemen both will love this book. I do rate it a little ‘r’ for language, but oh my, I did not mind a bit.
For this and much more, I have to rate, “Beneath the Floodlights” by Martin Tracey 5 out of 5 stars!
March 8, 2013
Notes: rough draft
Interesting prologue ....
Impressive and enjoyable different type...
Interesting prologue ....
Impressive and enjoyable different type...
October 5, 2023
3.5
It's a fun and original story that mixes vampires and football. The idea is interesting and the book is nice, but it sometimes drags on a bit. Overall, I had a good time reading it
It's a fun and original story that mixes vampires and football. The idea is interesting and the book is nice, but it sometimes drags on a bit. Overall, I had a good time reading it
June 20, 2012
Wow this book really has a unique storyline uniting the unlikely worlds of vampires and soccer and I got totally drawn in from the start. The book will naturally appeal to lovers of both vampire tales and football but the book offers so much more - in particular the complicated love story of the Professor vampire Cezar and the human girl Lily, which is symbolic of just one of several themes of the book: where the power of good wrestles with evil.
The pace and action of the story was expertly portrayed by the author's use of short "cliff hanger" chapters which certainly assisted in making this book a "page turner".
Night time English football is brought alive with match reports that could fill the sports pages of any well-known newspaper, excluding the terrifying references to vampires of course which contributes to an ever intriguing and exciting plot.
As one reads the book, somehow the emergence of vampires into a soccer team becomes a realsitic concept and even the most doubting of readers would take notice of these vampires, such is the skill of the writing.
I loved the way the book reveals how the vampire race is created from an unlikely source in an unlikely location, which again gives this vampire tale a refreshing new angle. The vampires in Beneath the Floodlights have evolved to exist in daylight but as the title suggests it is when darkness falls that the reader is able to experience the dramatic football skills which are displayed on the pitch as well as the terror that is unleashed once the football boots are hung up until the next line of victims are destined to suffer at the hands of the mysterious Fosturnea School of Football Excellence.
This book could easily transfer to the big screen and I would be first in the cinema queue to watch what would undoubtedly be a great action packed horror movie!
A great read, thoroughly recommended!
The pace and action of the story was expertly portrayed by the author's use of short "cliff hanger" chapters which certainly assisted in making this book a "page turner".
Night time English football is brought alive with match reports that could fill the sports pages of any well-known newspaper, excluding the terrifying references to vampires of course which contributes to an ever intriguing and exciting plot.
As one reads the book, somehow the emergence of vampires into a soccer team becomes a realsitic concept and even the most doubting of readers would take notice of these vampires, such is the skill of the writing.
I loved the way the book reveals how the vampire race is created from an unlikely source in an unlikely location, which again gives this vampire tale a refreshing new angle. The vampires in Beneath the Floodlights have evolved to exist in daylight but as the title suggests it is when darkness falls that the reader is able to experience the dramatic football skills which are displayed on the pitch as well as the terror that is unleashed once the football boots are hung up until the next line of victims are destined to suffer at the hands of the mysterious Fosturnea School of Football Excellence.
This book could easily transfer to the big screen and I would be first in the cinema queue to watch what would undoubtedly be a great action packed horror movie!
A great read, thoroughly recommended!
February 7, 2017
After a hard season the team, Kingsbarr United are down and Johnny Knox, the local football hero takes his normal pilgrimage to Transylvania, where he lost his son, Callum. The main characters son went missing years ago and he keeps going back in a hope of finding him. On the trip something more surprising happens and he ends up coming home with a young boy. The problem is that he is no ordinary boy, and when he starts crying out for blood and the cat comes back to life, people begin to ask questions. He is not the only one. Now there are vampires in England, and they want to join the football team. Will Kingsbarr United ever be the same again?
When first hearing about this book, I assumed that it would be a very light read, footballing vampires, it has to be a laugh a minute. What surprised me was the starting point. The main character has lost his son and goes every year to the place he went missing. With his heart broken, he travels the area hoping against all odds in finding him, and we are drawn into his loss.
For me, even when we talk about fantasy and myths, it still has to feel real or it loses its impact, what I found hard was finding a boy, and not deciding to take him to the local authorities, but he uses his son’s passport, puts him on a plane, without any real contemplation, and then accepts him into his home. It needed to be done in order to move the plot along, yet it jarred a little for me. Saying that, it moved well, the writing nicely paced. The characters are enjoyable to get to know. Johnny and his family, the team and even the vampire coven all play a part in creating a very unique story.
The characters grow throughout, and I found the biggest change in Professor Cesar. From wanting to increase his coven, falling in love and ultimately willing to sacrifice himself to save others. It was a fast, fun, fascinating read.
When first hearing about this book, I assumed that it would be a very light read, footballing vampires, it has to be a laugh a minute. What surprised me was the starting point. The main character has lost his son and goes every year to the place he went missing. With his heart broken, he travels the area hoping against all odds in finding him, and we are drawn into his loss.
For me, even when we talk about fantasy and myths, it still has to feel real or it loses its impact, what I found hard was finding a boy, and not deciding to take him to the local authorities, but he uses his son’s passport, puts him on a plane, without any real contemplation, and then accepts him into his home. It needed to be done in order to move the plot along, yet it jarred a little for me. Saying that, it moved well, the writing nicely paced. The characters are enjoyable to get to know. Johnny and his family, the team and even the vampire coven all play a part in creating a very unique story.
The characters grow throughout, and I found the biggest change in Professor Cesar. From wanting to increase his coven, falling in love and ultimately willing to sacrifice himself to save others. It was a fast, fun, fascinating read.
June 21, 2012
I have to admit that this book took me totally by surprise. How could the unusual mix of vampires and football work....I can assure you it does! The pace and action of the story had me hooked from the first page. Almost every chapter hangs on a cliffhanger and I didn't want to put the book down.
Being a Brummie I liked the locations used in the book such as Birminghams nightlife zone of Broad Street and Sutton Park (Birminghams answer to Central Park!). The inclusion of such locations gave a refreshing backdrop for the story to unfold.
The passages regarding the football scenes are well described and you can almost tangibly feel the atmosphere whilst sitting amongst the crowd on the terraces of Beacon Park being dazzled by the skills of the Kingsbarr United footballers, including the vampire footballers.
The book is far from being just about football though, as the relationship between Cesar and Lily is sensitively explored. The Vampires in this book are "real" vampires in the truest sense who are driven by the uncompromising fundamental principles of sniffing out human blood. There is even room for humour in the book which is injected at appropriate opportunities.
As this book is so unique in its scope, marrying the world's of vampires and soccer together, supported by a well written and intriguing plot, I would have to give Beneath The Floodlights 5 out of 5 and urge everyone to rush out and read this refreshing novel. Furthermore the book is simply crying out to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster!
Being a Brummie I liked the locations used in the book such as Birminghams nightlife zone of Broad Street and Sutton Park (Birminghams answer to Central Park!). The inclusion of such locations gave a refreshing backdrop for the story to unfold.
The passages regarding the football scenes are well described and you can almost tangibly feel the atmosphere whilst sitting amongst the crowd on the terraces of Beacon Park being dazzled by the skills of the Kingsbarr United footballers, including the vampire footballers.
The book is far from being just about football though, as the relationship between Cesar and Lily is sensitively explored. The Vampires in this book are "real" vampires in the truest sense who are driven by the uncompromising fundamental principles of sniffing out human blood. There is even room for humour in the book which is injected at appropriate opportunities.
As this book is so unique in its scope, marrying the world's of vampires and soccer together, supported by a well written and intriguing plot, I would have to give Beneath The Floodlights 5 out of 5 and urge everyone to rush out and read this refreshing novel. Furthermore the book is simply crying out to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews