I am just about finished reading Don Quixote. It is a classic, perhaps the first true novel, written when Spain had just ousted the last of the Muslims, and was expanding into a world empire in the Western Hemispher.
Spoilers
Its about a well off land owner who reads all the current popular books about questing knights, to the point that he goes insane and believes that he is a knight errant. He spends the book (two actually) seeking adventures and basically getting the tar beat out of him.
My thoughts--if this were written today, what would be Don Quixote's delusion. I mean, knights in armor are just not in vogue.
At first I thought "Fantasy novels". He would be imagining being some great hero, mage, D&D character.....
but then it struck me.
The Don Quixote of today would not be a wizard, or a knight. No. The Don Quixote of today would be....
Count Don Q--Vampire--Reformed.
He would be an angsty man of dark shadows and a tortured soul where there should be no soul. Ok, he'd be some middle aged toothpick of a guy who pictures himself as a young, brooding, reformed Vampire looking to do heroic deeds to make up for his past souless life of bloodshed.
With his faithful human servant, Sam Cho, he would go out at night, on great adventures, looking to stop other vampires, destroy demons, and getting the tar beat out of him.
Don Quixote had his Lady Dulcinea whom he worshiped from afar, who's beauty drove him out to seek an honorable name worthy of her. Count Q would have his Lady Delilah, human beauty that he would worship from afar, who saved his soul and drove him out to seek honor worth of her.
Yeah. I can see it.
Now if I only had time to write it.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
When Joss Whedon wrote it, he called it Angel.
:ducks:
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Jeez. I love the concept. I'd buy this book.
Posted by Dogbreath (Member # 11879) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: When Joss Whedon wrote it, he called it Angel.
:ducks:
But Angel was a serious character, i.e, he actually *was* a reformed vampire. This would be a book about some middle aged guy who thought he was, in a perfectly normal world.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
Spike would fit the description a little better than Angel, during a certain period of Buffy.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Interestingly, DonQuixote was the thought which first sprang to mind upon reading the WhaleWars thread.
Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
Except you would have to make his new name even more angsty, but at least related to the original. Count Don Darque would be my vote.
Posted by Darth_Mauve (Member # 4709) on :
Don Quixote's assistant was a commoner named Sancho Panza. His basic cowardly, greedy, stupid and annoying qualities make him funny, but in today's world they could easily come off as racist.
(Sam Gamgee was originally based off of Sanch Panza, but Sam got better.)
Since I want to keep as close to the native material as possible I thought to have him a traditional Latino who is trying to keep all of his customs and faith in a world of hookin up and PC Speak. If done well, would this still be offensive?