Stupid People Syndrome

When characters in a story act contrary to the way James A would act, if he were:
1. in their position
2. was not afflicted with any of those inconvenient emotions that cause people to do things which are not completely rational
3. knew what he knew from the convenient vantage point of third-party omnscience
4. did not know anything which the characters know which has not yet been revealed to the audience

On the other hand, damn that story takes an age to get moving. I guess those 800 pages had to come from somewhere. . .