This is Grimtooth’s Traps Lite (1992), a book I didn’t realize I owned until I was rummaging around for a book I was sure I did own but apparently do not (perhaps I need to confront the reality that this collection needs a serious paring down).

So, I said yesterday, before I knew I owned this (which, actually, there are about two weeks between the writings) that Grimtooth had worn out his welcome. I can confirm this is the case! 

This one is all over the place. I like that it starts with a collection of nuisance traps (rated, instead of skulls, by a number of salesmen?) across the the previous book’s categories — room traps, corridor traps and door traps. These are generally more in line with what I expect out of dungeon traps, though they lean harder into bad joke territory (I definitely didn’t need the creepy sexist portrayal of the hostess, Grimtooth’s little sister). Then there’s trap items, science fiction traps and, to make up for the lack of death in the first half, mega-death traps finish the book out. The further into the book you go, the worse it gets. There’s far too many pop culture references that instantly date the book (nothing says dusty these days like a Three Stooges gag, but I sense some real hostility toward Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men here) and they honestly dilute the appeal of Crompton’s illustrations. There’s also some straight-up racist jokes in some of the comics. No thanks. This one’s going in the bin.