Book Review: Kingdom of Souls

Summary: Magic is a disease.
 Across the land, normal people are suddenly developing wild and unstable powers. Infected by a rare strain of magic, they are unwittingly endangering their own lives and the lives of the people around them. Terrified and confused, their only hope lies with the Sanctuary. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are needed now more than ever.
  And then there's the small matter of Kitana. A normal teenage girl who, along with her normal teenage friends, becomes infected. Becomes powerful. Becomes corrupted. Wielding the magic of gods, they're set to tear the city apart unless someone stands up against them.
 Looks like it's going to be another one of those days…

Thoughts: This was one of the few books in this series that actually seemed to touch on some more serious notes than normal. There's the concept of bad and good and good that's twisted into bad. Nice people are introduced and many are hurt. Valkyrie actually questions the way she and her partner do things and thinks about other people for a bit. I appreciated the new look in this otherwise dark and funny story. 
 The plot is, at its basic form, save the world again. But this time, the main villain isn't trying to destroy it. He's trying to make it a better place. The problem comes when bad people twist that intention and then you've got several highly powered psychos running around.  
 I will always love the main cast for this series. The side characters and the new ones are good but can sometimes feel like the last bunch of extra characters. Even so, it's hard to not enjoy the good ones when the bad guys are tearing up the place.
 The writing is still great. The back and forth between all the cast is usually quick, witty and absolutely hilarious! And the action is well written, it keeps tings interesting but is easy to keep up with. 

Content: My least favorite part of these books (posting about them and reading them). 
 Language is bad; D***, C***, H*** Bloody H***, and several others of the same level are present in here. There are also a few inappropriate comments on some female characters because of their lack of modest clothing. Kissing. Magic, lots of magic. And lots of dark creatures such as vampires and werewolves. Also plenty of frightening and violent scenes, the plot lines get really dark and mature. All in all, I would not suggest this book to anyone under sixteen to be honest and really can't recommend it to anyone sensitive to anything listed above. But it is still another fun and thrilling edition to this dark and hilarious series.