Overall, I really enjoyed the book, a definite page turner.
The author did a great job of creating a gripping tale in a fully imagined environment. I was thoroughly absorbed throughout.
Desertgrandma has already made some good points about the way communities and individuals react in lawless circumstances.
This could almost have been a Western - with the 'man with no name' riding into town to protect it from the outlaws.
It was a relief that the violence didn't get more grim than that of the first few chapters - I worried that the ante would keep being upped to even more nauseating levels; but the author resisted that temptation.
There seemed to be a whiff of intellectual pretension in some parts of the narrative (discussion of IQs, use of obscure vocabulary, foreign language snippets etc.) - but it didn't get too annoying, and just about fitted in.
The fetishising of weapons - knives and guns - was depressing, but probably realistic in an environment where they were relied on for survival. (There seemed to be a lot of Kalashnikovs in England; I know nothing about weaponry - but I'd have thought there would have been other types of rifles in our military stores.)
I was hoping Suter wouldn't get sucked into the community at the end - but that's just me.
I'd happily recommend it for those not of a squeamish disposition.
There were a few apparent typos in my copy:
Chapter 5
"ward away the brambles in directly front" - think it should be "directly in front".
"'mathematical arrangement of domed druplets"' - think it should be "droplets".
Chapter 6
"Steve made out of the form of two lift doorways" - think it should be "made out the form"
Also, in this chapter, I was puzzled by the word "might" in "Daylight dwindled, might soon be left behind." - it seems a bit uncertain for something so definite.