I've been a fan of Sanderson since I finished WOT, and I think that the Mistborn (original trilogy) is, by far, one of the best fantasy series written in the past 20 years. I've even warmed up to the Era 2 series. But, as much as I enjoyed this novella, I can't help but feel that: SPOILERS FOLLOW (view spoiler)[ Sanderson, has turned Kelsier into the villain of the new era. How you ask? Well, if you've read the new era books before this novella you will see that EVERYTHING evil that is happening in era 2 is due to the book that Spook wrote. And that book would never have been written if Kelsier hadn't been such an ego maniac! Even Vin's last words to him call him out on this! (hide spoiler)] And before you defend him: Yes even if your intentions are good you can still be the villain in both reality, and fiction. Rashek's (the Lord Ruler) intentions were to save all life on the planet, but he was evil in that world. Do you think this was Sanderson's intention? Do you share this view? Or am I just reading too much into this?
(view spoiler)[I disagree - it's already been made pretty clear that the cause is the god Trell (possibly aka Rust), that the Set and other bad guys are worshippers of that god, and that they are probably in communication with it.
It's not even clear whether or not Spook's book is the ultimate source of the Set's hemalurgical knowledge - after all, inquisitors and their spikes were common knowledge on Scadrial. It's not outside the realms of possibility for a group of unscrupulous people to experiment enough to rediscover some of that knowledge. If they are able to communicate with Trell, then their god is another possible source of knowledge for them.
Even if they did get the knowledge from Spook's journal, I think it's a bit of a stretch to say their evil was caused by Kelsier. Many of their plans and activities include no hemalurgy at all - such as the allomancer kidnapping & breeding program, and all kinds of organised crime - Kelsier is, at most, responsible for some of the abilities at their disposal which might have otherwise been lost. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ Sanderson, has turned Kelsier into the villain of the new era. How you ask? Well, if you've read the new era books before this novella you will see that EVERYTHING evil that is happening in era 2 is due to the book that Spook wrote. And that book would never have been written if Kelsier hadn't been such an ego maniac! Even Vin's last words to him call him out on this! (hide spoiler)] And before you defend him: Yes even if your intentions are good you can still be the villain in both reality, and fiction. Rashek's (the Lord Ruler) intentions were to save all life on the planet, but he was evil in that world. Do you think this was Sanderson's intention? Do you share this view? Or am I just reading too much into this?