Mischa van Vlier

Mischa van Vlier

Mischa van Vlier (1976) is a historian and a journalist. He grew up close to the city of Rotterdam and studied history in Leiden. He now works as a reporter for Dutch Television in the Netherlands and abroad.

COLD GROUND - Koude grond

Rotterdam, the near future. The city is on fire again, but unlike the first time—it was bombed during WWII—the inhabitants themselves are now the instigators. The long-dreaded racial riots rage through the streets, and its violence and blood do not spare anyone. Flames devour mosques, churches and police stations. A state of emergency has been established, but even the army doesn’t succeed in controlling the situation.

From his apartment window, a man observes the downfall of his town with mixed feelings. He doesn’t know how it will end, but what he does know, is how this chaos started: because of him.

Cold Ground is the story of a Rotterdam inhabitant who can no longer stand the violence, hatred and decay that surround him, and decides to act upon it. Because he loves his city and his country. His actions do not only make him the inciter, the person who lit the fuse, but they also turn him into the enemy of everything he stands for.

Mischa van Vlier wrote a moving novel about the tension in today’s society, politicians, and the media.

Cold Ground is a topical, daunting, and confronting debut novel. But above all, an extremely thrilling reading experience.