So here we have the latest bit of unique fiction, inspired by songs, from this immensely talented writer. Dark, violent, and fully engrossing, I really enjoyed it. While there is quite a bit of exposition, it's handled nicely- through all of it, the story keeps moving forward, it never feels like the reader is being lectured to. A particularly good example of this is the first description of Lady Darkknife- we get just enough information to give us a clear image of the character's appearance and early hints of her personality, but it's written in a way that flows along with the story, and thus doesn't feel like exposition.
Occasionally, however, the story is hurt by questionable word choice- at one point, we get a reference to "Another of the brave, or perhaps foolish, men in front of her", which is somewhat cliche, then is followed by the use of the word 'foolish' again in the next paragraph.
As someone familiar with the songs that provided the inspiration for the story, I enjoyed the references to them, such as the knock (a particularly genius idea that, on my first reading, left me, like the children, trying to get the significance of that particular pattern until it was explained in the artist's comments), as well as the references to the historical Shankill Butchers.
I also really enjoyed the three siblings- It's impossible not to both love and hate terrible little Anne, and seeing her grow up to be a Butcher was horrifying in the best way possible. Billy's more rational and beleivable nature offset her nicely, and I really liked having a character that, despite being to some extent 'brainwashed' by the Butchers, still had doubts, and ultimately turns against them. This made him seem to me to be the most complex and real character in the story. While Patrick's death was easily forseeable, I would have liked to have seen more from him. And while we're talking about characters, I'll mention that Darkknife was very, very cool- who doesn't love 'badass chicks' like her?
In closing, Beatlesfan931 was definitly ambitious with this one, and the work he put into it is clear. Great work!