>>It's more than a 'dialect'. It represents a complete devolution in language to parallel the devolution in society. Once you get 20 or so pages into it, it does become easier. By the time you're halfway through it, it almost becomes second nature.
>
>If it's remotely like Finnegans Wake, then it will quickly be on my DNR list.

No, it's not. Finnegan's Wake was essentially stream of conscousness writing. Riddley Walker is the story of a boy growing up in future society that has been blasted back to basics, sometime after the big war. It's about how society is going about trying to either evolve, or make the same mistakes again (depending on your point of view).

The thing is that language has devolved along with the society itself, and the story is told from the point of view of the boy, in his devolved English.