Book Review: ‘Beyond Grimm’ by Alan S Kessler

Title: Beyond Grimm: Stories & Rhymes from the Dark Corners of Fairyland

Author: Alan S Kessler

Illustrator: Kali Kahn

Publisher: Rootstock Publishing

Publication Date: 2026

As the sub-heading states, Beyond Grimm is a collection of short stories and rhymes from the dark corners of fairytale. These twisted and macabre versions of classic fairy tales and nursey rhymes are aimed at adults.

Alan S Kessler takes well-known tales and rhymes such as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Humpty Dumpty and gives them a nightmare-ish gothic makeover. Even knowing what to expect I was still surprised by how quickly the stories turned grizzly.

My favourite types of stories in the collection were the ones that offered an alternate explanation for the villain’s actions. For example ‘The Four Little Pigs’ asks: what if the wolf was working for a fourth pig who wanted to take out his competitors. Meanwhile ‘Shepherd Boy’ suggests that maybe the boy who cried wolf had a reason for summoning the beast.

The texts within this book range from single page rhymes, flash fiction and short stories. At less than 130 pages, the quick pace of the stories together with their easy to consume length means that Beyond Grimm is a fun, satisfying collection to read.

I have to take a moment to mention Kali Kahn and her amazing artwork. The black and white designs appear before each story and feature to either a character or scene from the upcoming tale. It is very difficult to choose but if I had to pick a favourite it would either be the adorable fluffy lamb that is tonally in complete opposition to the blood-soaked ‘Lamb Chop’ rhyme or ‘The Frog Prince’ image for the wonderful detail in the character’s outfits and the ornate furniture behind them.

Although it is the nature of a short story to be brief I did find that some of the stories ended quite abruptly. In tales such as ‘Little Red’ and ‘Hans and Gerta’ there was a good dramatic build up followed by a very sudden conclusion. While a lot of the stories allow the reader’s imagination to fill in what happens next there were some that I wished had painted in more detail during the final paragraphs.

While Beyond Grimm’s dark and gory retellings likely won’t appeal to every reader they nevertheless provide a hauntingly enjoyable look at what could have happened if our favourite fairy tale characters had chosen different, more bloody, paths.

The review of this Advanced Reader Copy was originally published on Reedsy Discovery in July 2026. The book’s expected publication date is October 2026.

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