Is "Lightbringers and Rainmakers" a standalone work, or is it an excerpt of "The Rise of Ransom City"?

Question

I just finished reading The Half-Made World. It was great. I'd love to read more, and I know that The Rise of Ransom City is a sequel of sorts.

I also see on Amazon that there is a short piece entitled "Lightbringers and Rainmakers" (also available on Tor.com for free). Since it's also written from Harry Ransom's first-person POV (unlike The Half-Made World, or the other short fiction that shares the same world on his website.), My natural inclination is to think that this was an excerpt released early, or a short piece that later became the whole novel. Is this the case? Or does it stand on it's own as a separate work that I should read before The Rise of Ransom City?

Answer 1

According to the reviews on Goodreads, the story should be read after The Half-Made World and forms a bridge between the earlier book and The Rise of Ransom City

His publisher; Macmillan Press describes it as a "companion" to THMW.

Felix Gilman was born in London and studied history at Oxford before moving to the U.S. to live with his wife, Sarah. His first novel, Thunderer, appeared in 2008, followed by sequel Gears of the City in 2009. "Lightbringers and Rainmakers" is a companion to his new novel The Half-Made World, first in a new series, which was released by Tor Books in October 2010.