Lightbringers and Rainmakers by Felix Gilman

This novella by Felix Gilman follows the journey of Harry Ransom, a charismatic traveling inventor and "Lightbringer" who navigates a surreal frontier war zone. Through a series of epistolary letters to his sisters and acquaintances, Ransom recounts how he lost his equipment during a military raid and fled to the drought-stricken town of Disorder. There, he enters a tense partnership with a suspicious rainmaker named Flood to negotiate with the mysterious Hill Folk on a peak known as Big Witch. The narrative explores themes of scientific ambition, the reliability of memory, and the clash between industrial forces and ancient magic. Ultimately, Ransom survives a series of betrayals and strange temporal shifts, emerging with a renewed sense of purpose and a functional perpetual light apparatus.