So an old college pal wrote to me the other day to ask for advice on which recent Stephen King novel he might check out.  He told me that he was interested in something more mainstream horror.  He said he enjoyed King more before the author “got into all the dark tower stuff and a wondering dude.”  I steered my friend away from “Joyland” and toward “Mr. Mercedes.”

But I love that typo.  A “wondering dude” immediately makes me think “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski” wandering around Mid-world, befuddled, after accidentally stepping through an inter-dimensional door.  He’d have a “beverage” in one hand and a WTF expression on his face.