Of bone and thunder

Why did I pick this book up?
The cover. I want a print of it on my wall.
Otherwise I'm not really sure...it was on my holds list and when it finally came in I couldn't fathom why I'd requested it in the first place. It must have been before I decided not to read any more high/faux-middle-ages fantasy.

Why did I put it down?
“Town criers, until recently solely the mouthpieces of the king, were now paid men–and, shockingly, occasionally women–in the employ of the High Councils and an increasing number of concerned citizens and merchant guilds.”
That line, coupled with the fact that I got 100 pages in and the only references to women were bawdy or referring to the old dragon. Who is currently the only female character. I know that female characters are introduced later, but they're still being introduced in a sexist world.

This is not a criticism of this book specifically. I enjoyed the politics talk and would probably have enjoyed this book more a couple years ago, but it's just the latest in the list of medieval fantasy I've read that is either sexist or set in a sexist world. Sorry sword-and-sorcery.