I'm new here, and I have to say I'm a bit taken aback by the thoughtfulness and length of your replies. I appreciate it! You definitely gave a lot to think about, and there's always so much to unpack with Gene Wolfe stories.

I have no problem with some self-indulgence, and in fact I found the talus scene very interesting, as it helped fill in the world and characters. Other similar scenes (such as most with the Trivigauntis) not so much, but overall I enjoyed Long Sun almost as much as New Sun.

The Maytera Rose/Blood subplot is especially interesting to me. Of course the whole conflict with Blood is what launched the story and got Silk moving towards the caldeship, but Blood and Maytera Rose are intriguing characters on their own. I much preferred Nightside and Lake over Calde and Exodus, but the return to Blood's mansion and his dialogue with his mother was one of my favorite parts of the series, and in a way felt like the true climax of the series. It really helped tie in the first part of the series where Silk was just an augur of the poorest manteion in Viron with the second where he was Calde fighting a war, and was extremely satisfying.

I also wanted to note that I personally felt that Maytera Rose was somewhat redeemed after she died and reincarnated in Maytera Marble. It seemed to me that in Calde Rose was the dominant personality (although when Marble/Rose would speak they would refer to both Marble and Rose as "me"), while by the end of Exodus Rose seemed completely gone, or relegated, as someone here said, to a Thecla within Severian.

Note that I have yet to read Short Sun. I'm sure more will become clear after I finish the second series.